Federal 210 Primers Not firing

[Allen Kitts]

Oddly enough we just ran into this with a buddies rifle using 215M primers. Thought we had a bad batch of Primers then we thought the rifle was messed up because he had just put a new barrel on it and thought the head spacing was off. turned out to be a dirty spring and some debris that had lodged into the firing pin hole. Clean the crap out of the bolt, spring and pin, make sure the firing pin doesn't have an imperfections in it and try again. If it still continues seek help from a professional gunsmith.

 

[WYO300RUM]

If the primers are extremely hard to seat, do not force it. Buy a primer pocket uniforming tool and fix the primer pocket itself. Should never have any dents on a newly seated primer. Uniforming the pockets will ensure consistant seating depths and smoother installation as well. I encountered this with some new Norma Weatherby brass once.

About a year ago I bought some Norma 300 RUM cases . I couldn't seat my Fed. 215 or GM215 anywhere near flush. Primer pockets too shallow. Never had that problem with Rem., Fed., Nosler and Hornady. Now use just ADG/GunWerks. Lapua and ADG on all else. I've never not had a Fed primer not pop.

 

[misterc01]

So far, so good.

 

[Mikecr]

Only time I had primers not go was when I was wet tumbling my brass and didn't get them completely dry. I let them dry overnight and it wasn't enough. When I pulled the bullets and dumped the powder there was clumps of powder stuck together that was wet. If you really want that brass to dry good you need some heat.
Shep

So this had nothing to do with primers, and everything to do with your brass cleaning plan. Right?

 

[PddPdd]

Mikecr, I had the same problem as 25WSM with 28 Nosler brass that I was drying in a dehydrator style brass dryer for a couple of hours. The dryer was set somewhere between 135 and 155 degrees F as I recall. Even though the cases appeared to be warm and dry externally, they were not dry inside. I didn't really try to find out if it was the powder or the primer that was effected by the water drops or both... either way, several of the rounds would not fire with good primer strikes. I greatly increased my drying times to remedy the problem at the time followed by inspection.

 

[25WSM]

Yes when my primers didn't work it was my fault. Haven't had that problem again now that I dry my brass all the way. Only happened on the one batch. Mistakes are how we learn and I'm glad it was a paper Target and not a monster buck. That would have made me sick inside. Forever.
Shep

 

[jbs2014]

I wanted to ask and see if anybody else has a problem with federal 210 rifle primers not firing. I'm using them on a 6.5 PRC. I have put them back in the chamber and tried to fire them a second time with the same results. They have a good solid dent in them as well. I would throw them away and by a different brand but I just a brick of 1000.

So I had this problem with one of my Lawtons and Federal 215s and 215Ms. It was not the primer, it was the firing mechanism inside of the bolt. Here is one way to diagnose the problem, take an empty piece of brass, prime it, chamber it, and fire it. If it fires then it may possibly be your primers. However, if it does not fire then it could be a problem with the firing mechanism inside the bold. Joel Russo diagnosed the problem that I was having with the Lawton. What was happening was the firing pin spring was binding up with the inside of the bolt sleeve. All he had to do was machine the inside of the bolt sleeve a small bit and the rifle fired perfectly after that and has since. But, as many have stated on this thread, your firing mechanism could be dirty as well, if you clean it up and it works well afterwards then don't worry about the whole binding inside the sleeve issue.

Hope this helps some and good luck with your 6.5 PRC, I hear its an excellent cartridge.

 

[RockyRandy]

I new I came to the right place with this question. A little more info to help with the answer. First my rifle is the one that is in my photo Seekin Havek, It is one year old with roughly 500 rounds threw it, I would hope its not the spring but you never know. The brass is Hornady factory brass that has been fired one time. out of 200 rds I have had 4 miss fires and 3 that I have had a hard time closing the bolt. So I have to lean toward what (reloader222) has said is my problem. Randy

 

[RockyRandy]

+1 on this. I never had one misfire in several gun with Federal primers over my 30+ years of reloading. Federal primers ignite much quicker than other brand - that's why the ordinary brand of Federal is not recommended for semi-auto rifles (slam-fire). I would say that you probably sized the cases too much and that causes a head space problem. Try to bump back the shoulders of the cases not more than 0.002". Turn your seater die out with at least one turn and see what is happening.

Thanks for the info. I think your on the right track for me because I have had a few round where I have had a hard time closing the bolt instead of a smooth closer. I'm not sure I understand as to what you mean on bumping back the shoulder 0.002. Is this when I'm Sizing the round that i'm going to far or when I'm setting the bullet. It's so effortless when i'm setting the bullet that I'm wondering how that could help. Please help me understand this.
Randy

 

[Mikecr]

Bunch of things that can go wrong with striking.
With an empty chamber, watch the bolt handle on dry firing. If it rotates at all, it took away from striking energy to do that. Trigger position and sear drag increases lock time and reduces striking energy. Firing pin fall distance, it's weight, and then all the attributes of springs affects striking energy.
My reference to striking energy includes striking SPEED.

It is unfortunate above all that we lack any striking standard.
We have no measure or calibration process for striking.
And one thing I've learned, but am unable to define without a baseline standard, is that merely setting off every primer is a horrible standard. It's not good enough.

If you adjust released firing pin protrusion with group testing, low to high, you may see that while every single primer fires, grouping still goes from open to close & back to open. I did this. That's what I saw, and I gained a great deal from it(results-wise).
It's a long story, but I believe this could be done in lieu of abstract primer swap testing. That it's possible any primer could work as well as any other, with striking calibrated for it.

 

[Pete H]

I had the same problem with federal primers, 4 out of ten miss fired right off the bat. Switched to CCI and remington primers. I have had 1 CCI in approx 800 not fire...

 

[Blackhawk]

I would contact Federal and tell them your problem. They should replace them. To rule out a rifle or loading snafu try some other primers just to be sure.

I have used Federal 210M primers and never experienced an adverse reactions. I use the them exclusively in 3 firearms in 6.5 and .308 caliber.
But in fairness I make it a habit of tearing down my bolt and lubricating it religiously. I know that just a little carbon .or powder residue can play havoc so I just wan to remove any undesirable variable's from the equations
Also while you are at it check your springs that contain the firing pin for wear. You may find that they will also need to be cleaned or replaced. Additionally clean your ejector, and extractor.

As a last resort or should I say first resort try a 100 ea. box of CCI #200 LR Primers or better yet # BR 4 . ( They are one of the hardest). If you still are having problems you know that it is your rifle that is the root cause and not the brand of primers that you are using !