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May 5, 2014, 08:53 PM | #1 |
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Question about rifle cartridge not chambering
Last week I was at the range with my .243, shooting rounds that I had loaded with varying amounts of powder, looking for one my rifle liked the most. One of my rounds wouldn't chamber, bolt handle wouldn't close. So when I got home I dropped it in my LE Wilson gauge, and it fit fine. After inspecting the round further, I noticed that the primer wasn't set in fully.
These were Tula primers, and I have found that they can sometimes be a real tight fit getting them seated. Never experienced a high primer before since I've been reloading. I figured that the bolt face was contacting the primer instead of the base of the case, so that meant the distance between bolt face and shoulder would have been increased, thus not allowing it to chamber. Am I close or totally wrong? |
May 5, 2014, 09:07 PM | #2 | |
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May 5, 2014, 09:24 PM | #3 |
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FYI: wilson gage will give you headspace, but it does not verify the diameter of the cartridge.
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May 6, 2014, 01:09 AM | #4 | |
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May 6, 2014, 07:05 AM | #5 | |
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Pull the bullet, remove the powder, then re-seat and see if it chambers. |
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May 6, 2014, 08:41 AM | #6 |
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^^^ A+ advice.
Pull,Dump, then reseat the primer,,, I don't use Tula primers for this very reason,
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May 6, 2014, 08:51 AM | #7 |
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Question about rifle cartridge not chambering
Reseating a primer on a loaded round is not particularly dangerous. Don't apply undue force, it's not going to blow up. If I were worried about applying pressure to seat the primer, I'd be a lot more worried about hammering away on the whole round with a kinetic puller.
My biggest concern is that you'd even notice a high primer when chambering a round in a bolt gun. That bolt has unbelievable camming force. You can crush fit cartridges without much effort. Seating a primer shouldn't be very hard to do. I'd be surprised that you could even feel it. Plus, how high could it be? You wouldn't be able to get it in and out of a shell holder if it was very high. In other words, it seems to me that it's something besides the primer? |
May 6, 2014, 09:06 AM | #8 |
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It's your primer that needs to be seated deeper. I have experienced this before. Not a big deal just go back and seat the primer deeper. That's the biggest complaint about those primers is their size. They tend to be a tad larger then the other large primers
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May 6, 2014, 09:28 AM | #9 | |
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If you feel uneasy about doing this, then just toss the round away. Brian has a good point about how high the primer is, if primed on a press, how did you get the case out of the case holder?? The other point is that a bolt does produce a lot of force when locking the lugs, and should have finished pushing the primer into the case. So my question is "DO YOU HAVE TUMBLER MEDIA IN THE PRIMER POCKET OR FLASH HOLE???" Or was the case neck sized only and the shoulder of the case not set back enough, the picture I posted was of a case that was not set back enough to close the bolt?? Another issue might be that the profile of the bullet you are using and the OAL MAYBE too long for the throat of your rifle and it is getting hung up before fully filling the chamber. jIM
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Si vis pacem, para bellum Last edited by Jim243; May 6, 2014 at 09:49 AM. |
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May 6, 2014, 09:51 AM | #10 |
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I would never try to re-seat a primer on a charged round. Why temp Mr. Murphy and for what the cost of a primer...
To the OP what tool do you use to seat your primers? I use the Hornady hand press and I know with mine if the primer is not fully seated I cant remove the case from the shell holder because the primer will lock it in place if it sticks out pass the bottom of the case, I have had to take the shell holder with the stuck case in it and de-prime it on the press before to get the primer out and start over.
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May 6, 2014, 10:08 AM | #11 | |
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May 6, 2014, 01:03 PM | #12 |
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I had this problem last week and was using a lever action and it wouldn't press the primer in. I would be willing to try a bolt action.
For my case the primer was barely sticking up. Usually my lee prime tool doesn't release the shell if the primer is low. This one must have been a fluke. If I sat it upright on a flat surface it had the slightest of wobble. I took the projectile out, reset the primer and assembled. But another time I intentionally tried to blow a primer in an empty case. No matter how hard I pressed it didn't go boom. I even placed a small bb between the primer and hand prime and it still wouldn't blow. But when it involves a loaded round i'm leery on pressing the primer anywhere. Just feels like a Wile E Coyote moment. |
May 6, 2014, 01:50 PM | #13 |
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"I would never try to re-seat a primer on a charged round, why tempt Mr. Murphy and for what the cost of a primer." I totally agree with this point of view, if you follow this logic there is no way anything can be damaged nor yourself injured. The logic that nothing will happen if you try to reseat the primer is lost on me, I believe in protect myself/yourself at all times then nothing will happen! William
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May 6, 2014, 11:14 PM | #14 | |
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We also do not know why the primer is high, it is possible, although unlikely, that there is something in the primer pocket keeping it high. Re-seating up against this may indeed set it off. You and Brian go right ahead and seat primers in loaded rounds, I'll pass. |
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May 7, 2014, 11:25 AM | #15 |
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There are two question.
One, how likely is the primer to detonate? Two, what will happen if it does? The answer to one is, very unlikely. Primer compound takes a significant impact/shock to cause detonation. It is very difficult to set one off any other way. The odds are extremely low, particularly in the device that is DESIGNED to SAFELY seat primers. The answer to two is, almost nothing will happen. See this video from SAAMI, watch from 2 minutes to about 3:30. Even the most powerful cartridges won't penetrate drywall from 7" away. Wear ear and eye protection, that's a good idea. Otherwise, its not going to hurt you.
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May 7, 2014, 08:40 PM | #16 |
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In 2002 I necked down this 308 brass to 243 and some did not want to chamber. So I pushed down on the bolt handle with ~ 100 pounds of force. Then I had to pound open the bolt handle and pound out the case. It seems that pinching the neck hard delays the bullet from moving, and that makes a pressure spike.
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May 7, 2014, 11:15 PM | #17 |
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Brian, there is a difference between a round that is set off from the heat of a fire and a round where the primer ignites the powder charge.
I think you should test this for yourself. Take a loaded round, put it into a shell holder, then lock the shell holder in a vice of some sort making sure the entire case is exposed. Now, take a punch and set the primer off. Report back if you can. |
May 8, 2014, 07:09 AM | #18 |
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If you watch the video, you'd see that is exactly what they did.
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May 8, 2014, 10:39 AM | #19 |
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There's very little chance that reseating a primer on a loaded round will blow up in your face. But...there is a chance. I'm not doing it, and I'm not going to ever recommend it. And I think anyone that does it is making a mistake.
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May 8, 2014, 11:15 AM | #20 | |
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May 8, 2014, 01:32 PM | #21 | |
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May 8, 2014, 02:37 PM | #22 |
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I don't trust primers. I don't think anyone should trust primers. The least risky approach is to pull the bullet, dump the powder, maybe even, deprime, and start all over.
This guy tried to force a federal pistol primer in his LNL press. Probably a tight pocket. The primer went off. I would not want to experience the effects of a full powder charge going off in my face, or in my press, regardless of any predicted theoretical benignness.
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May 8, 2014, 03:34 PM | #23 |
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I would suggest that anyone who is the least bit uncomfortable with it do not do it.
Alas, that picture took A LOT more than a primer to accomplish... and what part of a Hornady press is that?
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May 8, 2014, 04:25 PM | #24 | |
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