Primer seat depth

[STS]

I guess since you are shooting short range BR, my guess is you are always shooting light loads and so your primer pockets stays tight, but that seems to me to be more of an exception than a rule for most people?

It would not be a correct assumption that BR shooters shoot relatively light loads. In fact BR shooters probably operate at the highest chamber pressures of any shooting discipline.

OK, for the sake of discussion, let’s say BR shooter (short range) operates at the highest chamber pressure, how do you keep your primer pockets tight enough not to have mis-fires? I wish I could go with highest chamber pressure and keep all my pockets tight, but it’s just not possible at least for me.

To me the problem is if you don’t absolutely know how tight your pockets are i.e. they are tight enough to grip the primers so that they will 100% not move when that firing pin hits it, you are risking a misfire. Since there is no way to measure this, and you are not measuring it, you are basically just flapping in the wind and hoping for the best.

We don't rely on the primer pocket tension to ensure adequate ignition. We seat the primer anvil on the bottom of a uniformed (flat bottomed and uniform depth) primer pocket. The high pressures will eventually cause the primer pockets to loosen up but the higher quality (hard case head) brass like Lapua resists the expansion much longer. Seat the primers on the bottom of the pocket and fire away. That is as good as it gets. ;D

Dude, good for you, you are sane LOL!

But if you read the whole thread, you would realize that we are not talking about how hot BR reloaders load but just trying to make sense of Reply #13. :

I have read the whole thread, including your post above this one in which you asked me a question. "How do you keep your primer pockets tight enough not to have misfires?" I answered your question. You seem to be missing the point in that as long as the primers don't fall out of the case, and they are seated properly on the bottom of the pocket, it doesn't make any difference how tight they are. The firing pin pinches the priming compound between the anvil that is seated firmly against the bottom of the pocket, and the primer cup. I tried to give you some information you are seeking that is direct from the primer manufacturers and you seem to want to return a smart a$$ response. You can seat your primers upside down and flush with the case head if you want to. :

 

[jlow]

I guess since you are shooting short range BR, my guess is you are always shooting light loads and so your primer pockets stays tight, but that seems to me to be more of an exception than a rule for most people?

It would not be a correct assumption that BR shooters shoot relatively light loads. In fact BR shooters probably operate at the highest chamber pressures of any shooting discipline.

OK, for the sake of discussion, let’s say BR shooter (short range) operates at the highest chamber pressure, how do you keep your primer pockets tight enough not to have mis-fires? I wish I could go with highest chamber pressure and keep all my pockets tight, but it’s just not possible at least for me.

To me the problem is if you don’t absolutely know how tight your pockets are i.e. they are tight enough to grip the primers so that they will 100% not move when that firing pin hits it, you are risking a misfire. Since there is no way to measure this, and you are not measuring it, you are basically just flapping in the wind and hoping for the best.

We don't rely on the primer pocket tension to ensure adequate ignition. We seat the primer anvil on the bottom of a uniformed (flat bottomed and uniform depth) primer pocket. The high pressures will eventually cause the primer pockets to loosen up but the higher quality (hard case head) brass like Lapua resists the expansion much longer. Seat the primers on the bottom of the pocket and fire away. That is as good as it gets. ;D

Dude, good for you, you are sane LOL!

But if you read the whole thread, you would realize that we are not talking about how hot BR reloaders load but just trying to make sense of Reply #13. :

I have read the whole thread, including your post above this one in which you asked me a question. "How do you keep your primer pockets tight enough not to have misfires?" I answered your question. You seem to be missing the point in that as long as the primers don't fall out of the case, and they are seated properly on the bottom of the pocket, it doesn't make any difference how tight they are. The firing pin pinches the priming compound between the anvil that is seated firmly against the bottom of the pocket, and the primer cup. I tried to give you some information you are seeking that is direct from the primer manufacturers and you seem to want to return a smart a$$ response. You can seat your primers upside down and flush with the case head if you want to. :

Don’t have any problem with what you are saying in terms of the primer. But you are still missing the point.

Looks like you missed what poster eww1350 in Reply #13 said “Seat them flush with a priming tool that is adjustable..if your primer pockets are tight you will not have mis-fires...a rifle with good ignition will set off the primer without pushing it to the bottom of the pocket...

I shoot short range BR and use this method successfully...no mis-fires period...”

Here lies the problem which unlike what you and I feel i.e. seating them to the bottom there should not be a problem, the above poster was seating them flush with the top of the head and without pushing it to the bottom of the pocket.

 

[LHSmith]

My 2 cents: a rifles ignition system has much more force that a pistol or revolver. It has been my experience that a rifle with a primer not fully seated will indeed fire provided the rifles mainspring is within spec and there are no other issues with the FP travel. However, it may result in a click-bang where the primer firing is not instantaneous, this delay can be subtle, manytimes goes unnoticed, but always affects the target adversely.