9mm primer depth and Failure-to-Fire

C

CAK

New member
I had a FTF the other day at the range with an otherwise reliable gun. I was shooting dept issue ammo (Winchester 147gr SXT). I later mic'ed the primer and saw that it was seated to a depth of .009-.0095"; the rest of the Winchester ammo averaged .0075-.008". I believe that this difference in depth is what caused the FTF. I checked other brands of 9mm ammo; Federal averaged .007" and Remington averaged .007" also.

Should a difference in primer depth of only .001-.0015" make a difference in whether the round goes bang or not? Should a pistol's firing pin be able to absorb this slight variation in seating depth and still be able to fire? (I was shooting my SW99).

Solutions?

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El Cid '89
 
What did the primer look like?? Compare the strike to a fired round. Would it fire on a second strike?? Could that round have been exposed to oil?? "in chamber of a gun that was really lubed up and left there for a week?"
Keep in mind that even big ammo companies have a bad round get out every once in awhile. It is very seldom but it will happen.
 
That should not matter in a round, its like the other poster said. What did the strike on the primer look like and how did it compare to a fired case. Also what kind of pistol was it fired in and has it done this kind of malfunction before. If not I wouldn't worry about it. A bad round from the factorys is a rarity but it does happen.
7th

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SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL POLICE, KEEP THEM INDEPENDENT.
 
The fired round was straight out of the box. I did compare it to a fired case and noticed that the firing pin dimple was very shallow. I believe that it would fire on a second strike. The gun is an SW99. I had a similar FTF on round #450 or so, and then this latest one at around #1600 or so. Do you think a stronger striker spring would be a good corrective measure?

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El Cid '89
 
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