CCI primers ?

I've never had issues with CCI primers though the majority I use are Federal. I have light springs in my 686 and no issues. Those that are having issues with CCI what are you using to seat them with? I prime everything with my LNL press and never a missfire.
 
I use CCI primers almost exclusively. I use CCI 250's, 200's 450's, 400's, BR2, BR-4, and small/large pistol. So all except precussion caps, 50 bmg, 34's, or 41's

Anyway.

2 things about CCI primers.

1: They are hard, and need a strong spring/pin
2: they are hard, they need to be seated and slightly smashed. I seat to .006 below flush.

But in tens of thousands of CCI primers, I had a batch of 250's that would yield a FTF about every 50 rounds or so. It wasn't the firing pin, or seating depth, but the primers.

But like Unclenick said, if they were left in a storage container at 200 degrees or something for several months....But that is the one and only brick out of tens of thousands of primers I have ever had an issue with. But it does happen.

If you have a different gun, you can rule out the firing pin. You can't check a struck pin that didn't fire to see how deep you set it because it will smash some after a strike, or get seated deeper. So you can measure primer seating depth of all you have loaded , write it down, make each one so you know which is which and see which ones misfire. That would rule out seating depth.

Or you can, much more easily, try a different lot of primers changing nothing else and if they all work, pitch the bad batch....this is the simple solution.
 
Yep, that was my take. A guy with a highly tuned revolver was commenting.

Not sure why, seemed to be self re-enforcing circle.

I generally run CCI, few fail to fire, all recovered when hit a second time.

My take was I was not getting then deep enough. Paid more attention and no issues.

A whole batch of bad primers would be almost unheard of.

I would give them an extra seat or hand primer and see.

Also per Mississippi (sp?) try a box of available other mfg primers.

The CCI seem to be harder to seat. Not sure on the kapow end.

"Our primers are highly evolved products because we continuously test and improve. Today's CCI primer is more sensitive, easier to seat, and more compatible with progressive and automated loading equipment than even before. CCI primers have always incorporated modern non-corrosive and non-mercuric initiator mixes.
 
With my single stage old RCBS press I can feel the primers seat.If dealing with Military cases, that have primer pocket swagged, I can still feel it not fully seat some times and bump it a big again. Other wise I've never had a reload to fail.
I have tried some new single shots that were increadbly smooth but thee hammer spring is lighter than what I am accustomed to but were all .45 Colt and large primer. Still no problems.
I like hard primers, like Federal magnums, and Remington four and halfs for 5.56 in auto guns.
Only things I know of and I don't know all of them I'm sure, is firing pin on the nose like Smith is not long enough or off to one angle where it enters the bushing, or perhaps a burred or damaged firing pin.
The other is oil or solvent on primers, which I haven't experienced, and not fully seated hard primers and soft hammer springs.
There is one other I can think of is an old gun with a lot of cylinder shake front to back, and cylinder weak cylinder latch spring.
I've even read of a single action Colt going full auto, from a loose bushing, plenty and of cylinder movement front to back.
 
That's a good thought.

This is also a good read, and it explains why primers need to go deeper than the anvil feet just touching the bottom of the pocket.

"There is some debate about how deeply primers should be seated. I don’t pretend to have all the answers about this, but I have experimented with seating primers to different depths and seeing what happens on the chronograph and target paper, and so far I’ve obtained my best results seating them hard, pushing them in past the point where the anvil can be felt hitting the bottom of the pocket. Doing this, I can almost always get velocity standard deviations of less than 10 feet per second, even with magnum cartridges and long-bodied standards on the ’06 case, and I haven’t been able to accomplish that seating primers to lesser depths."

Dan Hackett
Precision Shooting Reloading Guide, Precision Shooting Inc., Pub. (R.I.P.), Manchester, CT, 1995, p. 271.​

You need adequate seating for consistent ignition and consistent ignition strength, pistol or rifle. It was the late Creighton Audette who first documented this and reported on it.
 
Primers are made by squeegeeing the wet compound over a perforated plate. Each perforation has a primer cup at the bottom. It seems possible that a small deficit in compound can leave a few cups with a deficit in compound. Usually if this happens you seem to get a small number of weak primers in that tray or in that brick. I think Ive seen this 3 times over a lifetime.
Mifflin pointed out tension screws can back out and reduce striking energy. Ive seen a situation where the needle like firing pins like in Brownings or Savages just transfer enough power to a primer that might be hard or weak. A more robust pin like a Rem seems less prone to misifires.
 
I just have a hard time thinking its bad primers. Any time I had that suspicion, it was me and now powder (not an issue in a ;rifle, puts the bullet in the barrel on at least a semi auto)

Somewhere I have a study on what it took to successfully ignite a primer (firing pin indent) and how crazy it was how narrow the range was (that was just protrusion, springs, seating and cases not a factor for that study)

It amazed me that the system is anywhere near as reliable as it is.


I am just writing this as a thinking pad out loud (or letter as it were) . As its not firing in other guns, that eliminates the gun itself.

That takes it down to the brass and primer. Mfg of the primers on the first firings?

Just for getting all details, what's the powder and bullet?

The first rounds in the Starline fired ok be it fired once or twice?
 
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I suspect bad primers... Given they seem to be seated properly. When 4 guns don't light 'em... Primer problem.

I use almost exclusively CCI, and just don't see a problem, unless I get light strikes from a weak hammer spring.
 
I haven't bought or use CCI rifle & pistol primers in say~~ 25 years. "I just don't like em."

My choice. I've always relied on Winchester or Federal for my shooting.
 
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