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Old January 30, 2016, 02:27 PM   #1
Pond, James Pond
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Light strike/primer failures

Ruger Redhawk shooting handloaded .44Spls. (Plated 200gn, 950fps)

Fiocchi large pistol primers: been using them for ages now: several hundred rounds in revolvers and rifles.

Today, I had two, almost consecutive, cases of primers needing to be hit twice to detonate.

By this time the gn had shot about 115 rounds. I clean it every time I go out.

So, primer faulty or the gun. If its the gun, what should I look for as the cause.
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Old January 30, 2016, 02:44 PM   #2
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Have you checked the bolt that holds the hammer spring in place? If this bolt loostens you can have light strikes. I use blue locktite to keep this screw tight.

You might post some photos of your primer strikes and the weak strikes. Any chance you goofed and installed by accident a couple wrong primers........stuff happens when you try to load more then one caliber at a time.
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Old January 30, 2016, 03:23 PM   #3
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Driver error?
Primers maybe not completely seated during reloading?
First strike seats them, second strike fires them.
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Old January 30, 2016, 03:45 PM   #4
Pond, James Pond
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Definitely the same primer type and I'm not aware of the bolt mentioned.

It could be badly seated primers but then they don't usually slide into the shell-holder if the primer is protruding. Could be it, though.
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Old January 30, 2016, 03:46 PM   #5
UncleEd
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I think g.willikers has pinpointed problem.

Put rounds on flat table primer side down. See if any wobble.

Perhaps the pockets were a bit crudded and primers just didn't
seat normally.

Not all primers nor primer pockets are necessarily uniform from
run to run.
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Old January 30, 2016, 03:48 PM   #6
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I'll have to dig them out and check.
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Old January 30, 2016, 04:28 PM   #7
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The single spring in the Redhawk needs to be heavy, not lightened up to sweeten the trigger pull. It serves the trigger and the hammer. I had some rounds in a 38 Special yesterday that did not fire double action but did fire single action. Those were in Winchester cases, and some people have associated light strikes with thin case heads. But the ones I measured, Winchester verses Federal that all fired. were indistinguishable at .055.

Ruger double actions are supposed to feel like we wish we had a Smith & Wesson. That's just the way they work. Messing with springs beyond one increment is asking for reliability problems. Shooting a Ruger is its own skill.
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Old January 30, 2016, 04:32 PM   #8
Pond, James Pond
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As I say, this is the very first time this has happened to me.

It may well be that the primers were not in all the way, but when that has happened in the past, I felt significant resistance when either cocking the hammer or pulling the trigger because the primer was dragging on the rear blast shield.

This did not happen this time!

Other than new grips and a FO front blade, the gun is standard.
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Old January 30, 2016, 10:24 PM   #9
Driftwood Johnson
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Howdy

To be properly seated, a primer should be about .003 subflush of the case head. Just because they don't wobble does not mean they are seated properly. Any primer not completely seated can rob the firing pin of energy as the blow seats the primer further.
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Old January 30, 2016, 11:17 PM   #10
Radny97
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This is unlikely but check for any wear on the sides of the hammer. Friction or catching could slow your hammer slightly and give a light strike. Easily fixed with a couple of hammer shims.
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Old January 31, 2016, 02:53 AM   #11
Pond, James Pond
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Quote:
This is unlikely but check for any wear on the sides of the hammer. Friction or catching could slow your hammer slightly and give a light strike.
There are such signs but they've been there since new.

So it's possible but why now?
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Old January 31, 2016, 04:44 AM   #12
gyvel
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Quote:
Have you checked the bolt that holds the hammer spring in place? If this bolt loostens you can have light strikes. I use blue locktite to keep this screw tight.
Quote:
Definitely the same primer type and I'm not aware of the bolt mentioned.
I think the poster is thinking of the "strain screw" on a Smith & Wesson which puts tension on the hammer spring. The Redhawk has no such arrangement.
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Old January 31, 2016, 05:14 AM   #13
Pond, James Pond
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At the moment, I'm leaning toward the primer-seating issue.

It seems more likely that I didn't seat a primer, rather than somehow the Redhawk has failed.

Sometimes the primers are noticeably harder to seat than other cases and these have been shot once or twice: until now that is as I've started using the Redhawk in competitions.
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Old January 31, 2016, 06:58 AM   #14
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[Driver error?
Primers maybe not completely seated during reloading?
First strike seats them, second strike fires them.]

I agree.
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Old January 31, 2016, 07:34 AM   #15
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Primer Hardness

Remember not all primers are of same hardness.Strike may appear light!
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Old January 31, 2016, 07:58 AM   #16
Pond, James Pond
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Quote:
Remember not all primers are of same hardness.Strike may appear light!
I agree as a genearl rule, but judging by how I get flattening of primers at relatively low pressures in .308, I'd say that Fiocchi primers are on the softish side.
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Old January 31, 2016, 03:21 PM   #17
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i had the same prob when i first started reloading. now I random check my primers doing the wobble test like UncleEd suggested and have no further probs with ftf/light strikes

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Old January 31, 2016, 08:03 PM   #18
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if the wear has been on the hammer since the beginning, that's probably not the issue causing the problem. But if there is wear it sounds like you could benefit from some hammer shims anyway.
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