First hand load was a misfire

[MontanaRifleman]

I am going to air clean my bolt and firingpin. I thought I was doing the right thing. I dont know what head space is. That must be the distance between my ears!! Shelin set up the action and their barrel. I am very happy with their work. The rifle's action has never misfired with factory ammo so it must be me. In the last post the Lamiglas decribed it best as a light strike. So I hope cleaning the the pin and bolt will help. I have not loaded any more rounds yet. I am going to reset my dies and try again. That little voice in my headspace told me not to trim down the cases after the first shooting, but I had to use my new tools..I will pay more attention to the prep work and not use so much wax, and make all the rookie mistakes

. Bill Maylor

Give your bolt and firing pin assembly a good flush with a degreaser type cleaning solvent like Birchwood Casey Gun Cleaner or Brake Cleaner or KG-3, etc. Flush it good. They will leave it dry. Never put or leave any product that leaves any sort of an oily film on your rifle. It attracts dirt and moisture like a magnet. leave all your surfaces dry or coat them with a product that leaves a dry coat that will not interfere with your rifle in any way. Especially the mechanical mechanisms like trigger and firing pin assemblies.

I have learned this the hard way. IMO, You should still check your headspace. it's a real easy thing to do with the right tool.

Good shooting,

Mark

 

[justgoto]

If you are having no problems with factory ammo, I doubt headspace is your problem; especially if it had just been worked on. I would lean toward your dies being set wrong.

If you don't have a reloading manual, buy one; if you do, read it over again... Then re-read the instructions that came with your dies.

Do everything as the manual and the instructions suggest; especially seating the bullet at the suggested depth. When you get more experience reloading, then you could start to experiment by deviating from the manual.

 

[MontanaRifleman]

I would lean toward your dies being set wrong.

That could be the problem too.

 

[mopar440]

my last shooting trip i had some problems with cci primers i think? in 9mm had about 1 out of 10 in 150 rnds load not go off not some even on the second try same result in 2 hand guns and a few in 44 mag 2 out of 100 found this odd because have used this load setup for about year with 44 and 3 years on 9 check ever thing even pop new primer in the same case with the same depth in the pocket they worked although that day i had more miss fires than i have all together had couple of my 9 hydra shocks not go off was not happy with that a couple of wolf and rem 223 in my ar but wasnt really suprised with that all of my large rifle loads work fine no problems it was about 20 degrees outside and a light snow everything was kept dry i did check all of weapons (the entire safe full) for firing pin poturdion all were good

i really dont know what was up with that day why factory ammo and reloads in array of cal and weapons would not go off some bought that day others old half shot boxes

 

[Kevin Thomas]

Bill,

Justgoto posted a link to a surplus rifle site that discussed headspace, but did that answer your question? Do you understand how this effects proper ignition? Need to make sure you're clear on this concept, and a lot of this will suddenly become very clear to you. It's important to understand that you can have serious headspace problems with a gun that measures perfectly, if the ammunition isn't in spec. By the same token, a gun that has serious headspace problems by the gage, can be loaded safely if the die set up is adjusted accordingly. If you're still hazy on this, keep asking until it's clear to you. We'll help you figure it out, no problem.

Kevin Thomas
Lapua USA

 

[Bill Maylor]

Maybe I'll get it right this time! I know I did not have my seating die set up right. I was a fraid to mess with the ajustment screw on the top, and was ajusting the seating depth with the hight of the dies. Big rookie mistake. I payed more att to trimming the cases. They were all out of wack. I did load some Fed 210 primers with the press. My bench priming tool leaves a small flat spot on the primer, dont know what that meens. The OAL was much, much better. I think this is because of the case trimming and a much more uniform seating. I hope they all fire. I will get a chance to shoot later this week, I will let you know what happens... Thanks for the helpgun). Bill Maylor..

 

[justgoto]

My bench priming tool leaves a small flat spot on the primer, dont know what that meens.

It sounds like you are using too much force. Try to feel the primer seat when you apply it. I use a lee press for priming and use my hand to squeeze the lever and press gently together. It doesn't take much force at all.

 

[Bill Maylor]

Guys, I'm sorry but I have been out of the hand loading thing for a while. I was having some problems with misfires and flattened primers on the last batch I loaded back in March. I still have not shot my rifles due to shoulder surgery. I have given this some deep thought while down and out. Please tell me if this makes any sense: I think I have my decapping die set too deep and pushing on the primer hole making it to shallow. Is this possible? I loaded 35 rounds in March, and I think only 15 will be safe to shoot. the other 20 will have to be pulled because the primer is higher then the base of the case. Most all the primers have a flat spot on them. I also have cleaned all the oil from the firing pins. There was a bunch of crap in the bolt. Thanks, Bill Maylor..