I recommended a gunsmith for my buddy to build his first custom rifle. The gunsmith produced his rifle and it shot extremely well. When it shot it was chambered in a 7mm wildcat. My buddy shot it extremely well. When we went to wyoming for an elk hunt we were not successful but as soon as we got home we went to the range. His rifle would not fire. The firing pin hit the primer but would not ignite the primer or powder. It struck the primer but not hard enough to go off. We ended up taking the rifle back to the smith 4 times. He said my buddy had a head space issue every time the smith reloaded the rounds the gun fired and shot. My buddy was frustrated and didn't want to cause any issues so shipped the rifle to a different gun smith and had it chambered in a 300 Norma mag. The other gunsmith said the trigger was catching on the stock and not releasing properly there for the pin could not hit the primer hard enough. Well today my buddy took his gun to the range. He shot his first box of 50 with no issues. The second box the rifle hit the primer but would not ignite this is the second gunsmith on this rifle. We took the rifle back to the first gunsmith and he was ****ed that my buddy took his rifle to another gunsmith after 4 attempts. He said it was a head space issue with the 300 Norma. He put the go no go gauges in my buddies gun and the no go guage chambered. He said it was a head space issue and would fix my buddies gun for free. The thing is my buddie loaded bran new brass with the same load. Does anyone know what is going on?
Need Help Please
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Grumulkin
Well-Known Member
What I can't understand is why there is a headspace issue. Headspace DOESN"T CHANGE except after a lot of shooting. It would appear to me that headspace was off to begin with.
As for the first gunsmith being ****ed, I would be as well. Since he built the gun he should have had the first opportunities to make things right. Sometimes it takes more than one trip to have a problem corrected. I know it's irritating but at times it's best to be a little patient.
As for the first gunsmith being ****ed, I would be as well. Since he built the gun he should have had the first opportunities to make things right. Sometimes it takes more than one trip to have a problem corrected. I know it's irritating but at times it's best to be a little patient.
This has ben going on for 3 years. My buddie has missed 2 big hunts with with this long range rifle. We are getting ready to go on our 4th hunt and he still does not have a reliable long range gun he can take that will go bang.
mountainman56
Well-Known Member
I don't understand a few things.........first how do you re-chamber a 7mm to a 300 not that it has anything to do with the firing issue?
It isn't a trigger problem unless the firing pin doesn't drop at all. Once the sear is released the trigger is taken out of the picture. Since the bolt closes on a no-go gauge it obviously has a headspace issue and the barrel will need to be set back. Also I would disassemble the bolt and check for a bound firing pin spring or excessive lube.
Is your friend loading his own cartridges? Any chance he is getting lube into his primers while assembling?
50 plus rounds in one day at the range?
It isn't a trigger problem unless the firing pin doesn't drop at all. Once the sear is released the trigger is taken out of the picture. Since the bolt closes on a no-go gauge it obviously has a headspace issue and the barrel will need to be set back. Also I would disassemble the bolt and check for a bound firing pin spring or excessive lube.
Is your friend loading his own cartridges? Any chance he is getting lube into his primers while assembling?
50 plus rounds in one day at the range?
I don't understand a few things.........first how do you re-chamber a 7mm to a 300 not that it has anything to do with the firing issue?
He bought a new barrel
Yes he is loading his own bullets.... The brass was ban new never loaded no lube. I can take his rounds and put them in my rifle and they will fire..... This happened on both of his cartridges. We looked at the pin and spring both are clean and strong.
The reason we shot more than 50 rounds is we were developing a drop chart shot 100 yards all the way to a mile. It was an all day affair
He bought a new barrel
Yes he is loading his own bullets.... The brass was ban new never loaded no lube. I can take his rounds and put them in my rifle and they will fire..... This happened on both of his cartridges. We looked at the pin and spring both are clean and strong.
The reason we shot more than 50 rounds is we were developing a drop chart shot 100 yards all the way to a mile. It was an all day affair
shortgrass
Well-Known Member
Trigger, headspace, improperly reloaded cartridges, internals of the bolt,, any of these can cause proplems. Funny though, no one has mentioned firing pin protrustion. Another problem that can't be cured over the web without eyes/hands on.
The gun started with a extreme trigger. It now has a Jewell. At the range once the gun did not fire we put a benchrest Jewell trigger in the rifle. It did not help. Once the headspace is fixed on the rifle if that does not fix the problem do you think the next step is to buy a new bolt?
shortgrass
Well-Known Member
Firing pin protrusion is the distance the firing pin sticks out of the bolt face when the action is in the fired position. This should be checked with the bolt in the receiver as this is the condition that counts. Check protrusion wih the bolt out of receiver, too. See if there's a difference in measurements. Protrusion for a LRP should be .062" min./.066" max. On another subject, if the over travel on a trigger is set too close the sear can't drop all the way and the cocking piece may drag, slowing FP travel speed, causing a light strike. This should have been eliminated with the change of triggers. Have you changed brands/lots of primers? Might have a bad' batch. With the methods available (using a GO and NO-GO gauge, or a GO gage with steel shim stock stuck to it with grease for a NO-GO) how does a rifle with a new chamber ever leave a 'gunsmiths' shop with 'excessive headspace? I strive to stay 'close' to that GO gauge,,, GO + .002" max. or a'huntin' rifle and I check it a minium of 3 times as a build/re-barrel progresses, as headspace is of the utmost importantance for #1 Safety, #2 Function, & #3 Longevity of the brass. What is the maker of the receiver? If it was mentioned, sorry, I missed it. Like I said in a previous post,,Very hard to diagnose/fix this from a distance. Just "changing the bolt" will, most likely, do nothing but change the headspace dimention.
luv long range
Member
Have you tried a stronger firing pin spring.Anytime i have had an issue like this i went to a stonger spring.Its hitting the primer just not hard enough.You would be surprised how often its an easy fix.I have done this with milsurps and the ar buffer springs.It just happens sometimes.Its a cheap way to see if thats the issue.
J E Custom
Well-Known Member
+1
The main thing is to fond the problem first.
Swapping parts without finding out what is causing the problem may only add to the problems.
Head space should not change, and if set right it should fire the same as when it was first done.
Your friend may be over sizing the brass creating this problem also.
shortgrass gave you some good advice and the rifle needs to be scrutinized by a competent Gun smith very hard to find the problem.
Just my opinion
J E CUSTOM
J E CUSTOM
You might try loading up some rounds with "Benchrest" primers and see if they work. They tend to have a softer cup and don't need as much impact force to go bang. It could be that you just have a light weight firing pin.
shortgrass
Well-Known Member
As they're shooting handloads, it could be as simple as the primers aren't seated to the bottom of the primer pocket. Trying to diagnose a problem like this on the web is nothing more than guessing! Buy several boxes of factory loads, if they all work you have a handloaded ammo peoblem, if not.............
