The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Primer efficiency with light powder charges

**44 AMP** · November 21, 2019, 01:23 AM

which light bullets, 100gr??

and which powder??

23-25gr of anything should be about a bit over half full in a .30-30 case, and shouldn't be a cause of misfires.

cast bullet loads with as little as 6-7gr of powder are listed, and I've shot a lot of 45-70 plinkers with 10gr of Unique in a much bigger case, with no filler or wad and never had any misfires.

One thing you can easily do, simply point the muzzle UP (vertical) before shooting. This puts the powder at the rear of the case closest to the primer.

If doing this solved your misfire problem then you may want to look into a filler or wad of some sort. But if you carefully position the powder at the rear of the case for each shot and STILL get misfires then your problem is probably primer seating.

Primers should be seated so the legs of the anvil are firmly in contact with the bottom of the primer pocket. This normally results in the primer being a few thousandths below flush. I've been using a hand priming tool (RCBS for the last couple decades) and while somewhat tedious, I find the feel of seating the primer is superior to press mounted systems.

November 21, 2019, 01:23 AM	#6
44 AMP Staff Join Date: March 11, 2006 Location: Upper US Posts: 28,867	which light bullets, 100gr?? and which powder?? 23-25gr of anything should be about a bit over half full in a .30-30 case, and shouldn't be a cause of misfires. cast bullet loads with as little as 6-7gr of powder are listed, and I've shot a lot of 45-70 plinkers with 10gr of Unique in a much bigger case, with no filler or wad and never had any misfires. One thing you can easily do, simply point the muzzle UP (vertical) before shooting. This puts the powder at the rear of the case closest to the primer. If doing this solved your misfire problem then you may want to look into a filler or wad of some sort. But if you carefully position the powder at the rear of the case for each shot and STILL get misfires then your problem is probably primer seating. Primers should be seated so the legs of the anvil are firmly in contact with the bottom of the primer pocket. This normally results in the primer being a few thousandths below flush. I've been using a hand priming tool (RCBS for the last couple decades) and while somewhat tedious, I find the feel of seating the primer is superior to press mounted systems. __________________ All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better.