Hangfire

J

James K

Member In Memoriam
There have been postings on the Revolver forum about hangfires, but the issue is of much more concern with rifles.

A hangfire is a discharge that occurs some noticeable time after the firing pin hits the primer. It usually sounds like a "click - boom". The delay can range from a split second to several seconds. If a shooter applies "immediate action" to remove what seems to be a dud round, the round that hung fire can explode outside the rifle chamber, causing damage to the rifle and/or serious injury to the shooter.

With modern ammunition, hangfires are so rare that many people have never heard of the condition. But with the wide variety of ammunition on the market today, much of it stored under less than ideal conditions, the hangfire possibility has increased.

IF A ROUND MISFIRES, DO NOT OPEN THE BOLT! Wait at least 60 seconds before removing the unfired round, and keep the rifle action away from the face when doing so. I know what military manuals say about immediate action, but no one here is firing in combat where such a procedure may have been justified; there is no reason for immediate action on a civilian rifle range. Even losing a rapid fire match is better than losing an eye.

With many rifles, a second try at firing the round is possible without opening the bolt. The Krag, 1903 and SMLE rifles can be recocked with the cocking knob. The Mauser 98 can be recocked by using a case rim in the little notch in the cocking piece. The M1 and M14 can be recocked by opening the trigger guard and then reclosing it.

A friend had a hangfire with his BAR recently. When he applied immediate action, the cartridge was partially extracted and exploded in the receiver. No permanent damage was done to the registered receiver, but the bolt guides were blown out and the magazine destroyed. With another type of rifle or with the round in the air, he could have been injured.

Jim



[Edited by Jim Keenan on 01-11-2001 at 10:34 PM]
 
Some years ago, I got a batch of surplus Lee Enfield .303 ammo made in early 1950's that had a hangfire every five or six rounds. Luckily, I knew from Army training to let it sit for thirty seconds. It was spooky, having the round fire after about a five second delay. After the third time, I threw it all away.
 
Maybe you can solve a mystery to me and a friend of mine.
Last weekend, while shooting his .300 winmag, we had a hangfire. We waited for a few minutes, unchambered it, and layed it to the side. When my friend got home, he pulled the bullet out and dumped the powder. Here's the mystery: The primer was fired and the powder was miscolored.
We had been shooting from the same powder all day, but for some reason, the powder didn't burn.

Ever run into that before?

And thanks for the info on recocking the mauser bolt without opening it.
 
On a .50BMG forum, someone recently described hearing the "click" ("Where's the kaboom? There's supposed to be an Earth-shattering kaboom!" - Marvin) and sat there panicking. Good thing he waited, as the massive round finally went off 17 seconds later.
 
Hi, Cheapshot,

The problem was probably with a dud primer rather than with the powder. You didn't say exactly that the ammunition was reloaded, but you say "with the same powder" so I sort of think it might be. In any case, a powder suitable for .300 WinMag would be slow burning and large grain. That type of powder is hard to ignite, and requires a hot (magnum) primer. I recommend you review the primers you are using, as well as your storage of both primers and powder. It is also a good idea to rotate both on a regular basis.

Sometimes, too, primer failures can be the result of a too light or a cushioned firing pin blow.

Jim
 
Thank you Jim Keenan. I concur that absent a combat situation where an immediate action drill is necessary, the action should remain pointed in a safe direction and left locked for at least 60 seconds. While the courts will attempt to attach a monetary value to it, losing an eyeball or finger is something I'd rather not be compensated for.
 
It may still be a good idea on an 03 Springfield, or a Krag, or a 98 Mauser to wait a minute before recocking it and trying to fire it again. Even though the recocking can be done with the bolt closed and locked, when the weapon is recocked the firing pin is removed from the firing pin hole in the bolt. If the cartridge would fire at this time there will in all likely hood be a blown primer even with a moderate load, due to the fact that the primer is unsupported at this location when the firing pin is in the fire position. We all know what the result of this could be.
 
.... or it could be the gun.

Just thought I'd mention one more thing.

While "once in a while" hangfires are almost always the ammunition, more frequent occurrences may also be the rifle itself.

My brother-in-law had a rifle which was doing it on the second, third or fourth round. Tried different kinds of ammunition and it still happened. We finally stripped the bolt down and washed it in gasoline to remove leftover packing grease. Problem fixed.
 
I know what you mean Cheesehead, I have a rimfire that has had hundreds of thousands of rounds put through it and it got to where it was misfiring every third or fourth round. It turned oput the problem was that the back of the bolt was worn (this is where the "lock up" occurs), and it was leaving excess space between the bolt face and the rim. Headspace if you will. The cure was to weld a bead on the backof the bolt and polish it down to the correct dimensions.
 
One time I dumped 70 grains of FFG blackpowder down the barrel of my .54 caliber muzzleloader, only to have it ignite from some smoldering embers from the previous shot. Fortunately I always point the muzzle away from me. Because the powder wasn't compressed, there was no explosion, but the flame and smoke were amazing. Now, I always swab the bore between shots.

Noban
 
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