Contender firing pin not hitting primer consistently

[KYODE]

" I feel Kyode is spot on with his diagnosis."

It is at least one big possibility to check out!

Thanks for the vote of confidence mr sheehan. Nothing worse than typing all that stuff out and nobody listen lol. Especially on an iphone.

 

[WYO300RUM]

95% of the time it fires. About 5% of the time it doesn't fire with no primer dent or about half the normal dent.

What could cause this? Ideas? Trigger return spring is lightened, but nothing to the hammer or firing pin block.

Hmm

I had an Encore 308 barrel that would do the same thing. Didn't matter if it was factory or reload. It never happened on any other Encore barrel I had so I ruled out trigger spring . I sent it to TC. I forgot all they did but it still did it after I got it back. Never have had that problem with any contender, G2 or Encore barrel but that one. It's gone now...

 

[TxPhred]

After years of shooting contenders, buying Don Bower, out plus many visits with Mike Bellm, I feel Kyode is spot on with his diagnosis.
Too much or too little head space will cause you a world of grief. If a guy doesn't size the case enough you can feel it as you close the action, as you mentioned. What happens is it doesn't allow the interlock safety to drop out of the way and let the firing pin to move its intended full range of motion. On the other side, excessive headspace lets the case go too far into the chamber that you can get a light primer strike. As you mentioned, no issues with your rimfire so that helps us understand it better.

One other thing I have seen in the past is that the screw that hold the interlock safety came lose and it caused me some of the same issued of not wanting to fire. Never hurts to go in once in a while and check to see if everything is still tight.

Hope it helps. Feel free to message me if you would like to visit on the phone.

Sheehan, you bought out Don Bower? I have one of his barrels in 7mm Super Bower, plus a folder of his load development. It is very accurate! Basically a 7mm08 AI in 16". But uses a 307 case which is rimmed. So I head space off of the rim and only bump the shoulder..

 

[WYO300RUM]

I have a 25 BullBerry from Fred with integral brake vintage 1985 30-30 case necked to 25 cal. Have never had a problem with it or an MGM 6.5 PRC barrel . Only the one Encore 308 barrel.

 

[TxPhred]

Contender. From around 1992.

I have some springs (trigger, firing pin, and barrel lock up) and firing pin bushings your are most welcome to.. or any other member, getting into them is not complicated, however, not judging but, it ain't fer everybody. I have Encores and the Contender in the pic, I have "ACCURIZED" them ala Mike Bellm, I purchased everything from Bellm. And used his instructions. And mine benefited a great deal. 223, 220 Swift, excellent shooters.

I will not use what I have, so I am willing to pass along same. I would love to get a bull barrel at 26" to match my 7mm SB, aka 7mm08 AI on 307 cases. I like the rimmed cases on this platform. Just my preference.

 

[sheehan93]

Sheehan, you bought out Don Bower? I have one of his barrels in 7mm Super Bower, plus a folder of his load development. It is very accurate! Basically a 7mm08 AI in 16". But uses a 307 case which is rimmed. So I head space off of the rim and only bump the shoulder..View attachment 476516

I did buy him out many years ago. Sure miss him. We had a lot of fun shooting together.

 

[nksmfamjp]

Out of curiosity, would you know how far off the shellholder the size die is?
In general, my size dies seem to be in an approximate range of .005"-.010" off the shellholder.

I'm measuring base to shoulder like I always did with rifle. I will do some comparable measurements with my Belm tool against the end of the barrel.

Again, my next step is to shorten another 0.001-0.002".

Thanks for the vote of confidence mr sheehan. Nothing worse than typing all that stuff out and nobody listen lol. Especially on an iphone.

I read it all! Sounds like you really understand this gun. Why gap to case holder instead of cbtd?

 

[KYODE]

Im trying to figure out what cbtd is lol??

After I figure out how much to size my case, i then see how much gap i need between the shellholder and size die. I use a feeler gauge to read that amount and document it. I also keep that particular shellholder in that die set.
I seldom lock my size die down so i use the feeler to reset die height each time. Only takes a minute or two.

Im not sure im good at explaining what i try to do. Sorry for that.

I also have the stoney point/hornady headspace gauges. I do use them for some things. Especially, as you mention in a bolt gun.
The contender is a weaker action and can flex a little. So if you "bump" the shoulder a couple thousandths that may not always be enough to get you back where you need to be.
The single shot differs a little bit compared to the bolt gun on adjustment for headspace. When the action is closed there is still "barrel to frame gap" that needs accounted for. This will probably vary between different actions and barrels.

I highly recommend reading all you can from mike bellms information on this. He has been controversial in some circles, but he has it down to a science.
Link > scroll down to the article "headspace, how to get it right"

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[mnoland30]

X10 on Bellm. My misfires only happened when it was cold. Shot a javelina with a rifle bullet that didn't expand, and couldn't get a second shot off for quite a while. I took it to a gunsmith who said everything was within factory spec. Unscrewing my sizing die a bit solved the issue. I use varmit bullets now with great effect.

I believe Bellm also sells an aluminum trigger spur that doesn't slow down the hammer strike. He also sells barrel lockup springs that tighten the barrel to frame lock for better accuracy. On an old gun, it could be the springs, he sells those too.

 

[Goose71]

I had issues with a 7-30 switch Cci to fed 210 no more issues

 

[nksmfamjp]

On an old gun, it could be the springs, he sells those too.

It's hard for me to call it an "older gun". I'll bet that frame has seen under 500 shots.

I had issues with a 7-30 switch Cci to fed 210 no more issues

Interesting. That said, these don't have a hit to the primer. Step 1 in my mind is size until they all close easily. Step 2 is probably get a new locking block spring for this barrel.

 

[KYODE]

It's hard for me to call it an "older gun". I'll bet that frame has seen under 500 shots.


Interesting. That said, these don't have a hit to the primer. Step 1 in my mind is size until they all close easily. Step 2 is probably get a new locking block spring for this barrel.

This is just opinion and thoughts on what i might try in the same situation…….

Id be careful on the sizing and go in small increments. Id Probably start with a case that is harder to close on, of course.
I think id do a new hammer spring as the second step.
Keep the updates coming.

 

[crazymonkey]

Well being a gluten for punishment I just got a 30 harret barrel to go along with its bigger brother the 357 harret I already load for. So once I get dies I'll be giving it a try myself.

 

[nksmfamjp]

Data is hot off the press.

So, in all fairness, I picked a case and sized until the gun closed ok. I measured CBTD with my Sinclair bushings and ran with it.

Today, I rechecked 10. Well, barrel to breech gap is 0.006". If some are 0.010", they are going to be hard to close!

I will take a couple long ones and size to +0.004" max. That should fit and work well. Then I will get a CBTD from those to set a target.

After, I will load another 20 to confirm my load and reliability. Thanks.