Hey Leftover.....good to see you here......
shu,
I posted this over at Handloads as well but I think that it bears repeating.
I've probably been reloading for the better part of 35yrs, and as far back as I can remember, I really didn't have any problems with primers failing to fire. Maybe the occasional one or two misfires, but nothing much to speak of. In my early years I used whatever my uncle had on hand. But, since maybe the early 80's, I had been using CCI's as that was what our local dealer had on hand usually.
I noticed an increase of misfires that sometimes would go off with a second strike, but not usually. First suspected problem was light primer hits, but upon closer examination, this wasn't the issue either. The primers that would fire on a second strike, I attributed to light primer strikes. They most likely were regarding rifle primers being used in Contenders. That was somewhat understandable, but what about regular revolvers, etc.
I was getting the misfires on several different guns, including rifles.
All the "warned against" mis-handling problems that could've caused such issues were never present. I never touch my primers, and they are all seated by feel, or to "bottom out", setting the anvil.
I called CCI's Tech Dept. last fall to try and find out why this problem exists with many, or at least with me anyway.
I talked with a Supervising Technician, and he explained to me that CCI's cups weren't harder (as the common complaint usually goes), that they make their own cups (I've heard & read where some think they're made by one company & distributed), and that CCI sizes their primer cups on the high end of the acceptable tolerance levels used in the industry.
I used to think that CCI's were harder, by the perceived "feel" when seating them. This isn't the case, it's due to the diameter of the cups being on the larger end of the acceptible industrial standards.
That's all good, but why the misfires ?
When you go to seat one of them in a primer pocket that runs a little too tight, you fracture the priming compound which usually crumbles and falls into the powder charge. Nothing in the world would get it to fire.
Once I spoke with CCI about this and they explained as to the reason why it might occur, I got the picture of what was mechanically taking place.
Since then, I've used nothing but Winchester's and Federal's. My troubles have since disappeared, and priming has never been easier.
Hope this helped somewhat...
Take care,
Bob
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