Remington primer problem or firing pin issue?

[Dave A]

New member here, so first post.

I just started shooting a 6BR that I put together for our clubs varmint matches. New Remington 700 action with a Tubbs lightweight firing pin assy.

I have shot a heavy barreled AR15 and a Remington 700 in .223 in these matches for several years and never had a primer fail to ignite. In the last two range outings three Remington 7 1/2 primers failed to go off. The first time the round did fire when I tried it again. This week two rounds would not fire and when disassembled there was powder in the case, so not my error.

My primers are stored in temperature controlled conditions, so am wondering if I ran across a bad batch (they are from the same lot of 1,000) or if I have a firing pin problem. The pin does seem to be providing a good strike and leaves a nice dimple, but three failures out of 120 rounds is way too many.

All thoughts welcome.

 

[wmdron]

The first round fired when you tried it again, how about the other two misfires did you try them again? I had a problem with misfires when I started using a new priming tool, turned out that I was not seating the primers deep enough. The first strike seats the primer all the way and then the second strike causes the round to fire. Let me add ...BE CAREFUL ! ! You probably already know this but wait a bit before ejecting a misfired round If it is a bad primer the possibility exists for a hangfire.

 

[LHSmith]

Go back to the original FP spring. If your shooting off a rest, faster lock time won't gain you anything.(Not sure how your "varmint matches" are conducted- but off a bench the Speedloks actually degrade accuracy. Mike Walker engineered it right the first time. There is a reason Kelbly uses the same spring (poundage wise - but better quality) in the Panda......the action with the most wins in short range BR.

 

[fdshuster]

I would also say to try the original firing pin spring. I've never had a problem with Remington 7 1/2's igniting. For me, they have always been excellent.

 

[dkhunt14]

Get rid of the speedlock. About 2 years ago a guy told me he couldn't rid of vertical in his 80 pound heavy gun. He said when he put it away at the end of the year it didn't do it. I asked asked him what he changed over the winter and he said he put in a speedlock firing pin and spring. I told him to put the old one back in and he did. The vertical went away. Matt

 

[Dave A]

Thanks to all who responded.

To clarify, I did try a double strike on the last two after waiting about five minutes with no ignition, so eventually removed them and placed them in a relatively safe place just in case of a very delayed fire.

We do shoot off of benches with any front rest allowed, but only a glove on the rear. Since I was working
up loads for this new barrel, I was using a sandbag on the rear at the time. Had not noticed any vertical problems as my usual shooter errors are left-right to ruin a group.

I saved the original firing pin assembly, so can reinstall it, but want to clarify some comments. Are you suggesting I replace the Speed lock high tension springs with the factory spring, or just remove the entire assembly and go back to the stock setup?

 

[Albany Mountain]

I bought a 2nd hand match rifle in 223 in a model 700. It appears to be "long chambered" in that I had a hell of a time shooting the first batch of new brass in it. I try and setback the shoulder in reloading minimal around .002. After that it still has about 1 out of 200 not fire. It also has the Tubb speedlock in it. I noticed this year that the spring on the pin has a lot of resistance going into the bolt when re-assembling, like the coils get "coiled up". Next door with the .308 model 700 bolt and different speedlock, it's not an issue. It does become frustrating. I have a new barrel ready but waiting to get another 1000 rounds through it. What is the weight of the Tubb speed lock springs? I do have some new wolf springs in the bench.

 

[dkhunt14]

I believe the firing pin is lighter so it doesn't carry as much force when hitting the primer. I am not sure about the spring fitting or if it would work. The benchresters use a 28 pound wolfe spring. Vertical from the firing pin or spring usually doen't show up at 100 yards. It takes 400 or more yards to start to see it. Matt

 

[Dave A]

In response to Albany's post, the speed lock springs used to be one piece and I have been told that they would form a bit of a knot on occasion. The new design is two separate springs, one left wound and the other right wound to avoid this issue.

I am going to put the original assembly back in and see what happens. Will also try some CCI 450's as many recommend them.

 

[LHSmith]

Go back to the original FP assembly. My groups opened up with the Speedlok unit...even at 100 yds. Consistent ignition is required for best accuracy.....the Speedlok apparently offers marginal striking energy.

 

[expiper]

I would never replace a spring unless it lost its tension,,,most of these "improved"/faster/slower/etc springs are a gimic ,,,,,,the spring should be 25-28 pounds,,,,and the firing pin doesnt need to be tungsten/platnum/krypton,,,,,some of these are so that you loose and others win,,,as stated earlier Kelbly's use components equal to Rem weight ,,,that should tell the tale,,,,Roger

 

[Albany Mountain]

I see complete striker assemblies available whereas I may get an extra "stock" assembly. It should work on all the short actions regardless of boltfaces on the 700 remingtons. Doesn't hurt to have a spare or better yet, trip over a solution.

 

[mikecr]

Get rid of the speedlock. About 2 years ago a guy told me he couldn't rid of vertical in his 80 pound heavy gun. He said when he put it away at the end of the year it didn't do it. I asked asked him what he changed over the winter and he said he put in a speedlock firing pin and spring. I told him to put the old one back in and he did. The vertical went away. Matt

This is an example of how striking can affect things, even while every primer is still firing.

 

[Scott Harris]

Go back to the original FP assembly. My groups opened up with the Speedlok unit...even at 100 yds. Consistent ignition is required for best accuracy.....the Speedlok apparently offers marginal striking energy.

+1 I had the same experience.

 

[Dave A]

Just to add a little information to the thread, I spent some quality time at the range on Tuesday. Shot 50 rounds with three different primers. Remington 7 1/2, CCI BR4 and CCI 450's. Had no failures to ignite, which is a pretty small sample, but the Remingtons were from the same tray of 100 as those that had problems.

This is not enough to be conclusive, but I am going to leave the factory firing pin assembly in use and keep the aftermarket one for emergencies. Of interest, a buddy also installed one at nearly the same time in his Remington 700 action with a .223 chambered barrel. He has had no problems, but has been shooting Winchester primers.

Maybe some comment on whether any of the three primers made a difference would be in order. The answer is very marginal with the load I was shooting, which was 27.5 grains of Varget pushing 105 Berger Hybrids in Lapua brass. The best group of five was with BR 4's with the 7 1/2's a close second.

 

[LHSmith]

When you get a good load developed, exchange FP assemblies, compare the groups, and then decide if it's worth keeping.....and let us know the results.