I shot probably 50 of my cowboy loads in my 45-70 today using the Buffalo bore case with a small rifle primer . I get great accuracy and doesn’t kill my shoulder. Today I got one that was a click, no go. Nice deep impression so it’s not the gun. Powder never ignited at all. Doesn’t this happen often? Cci small rifle primer not mags. I use these cases just for target. I hunt using starline brass and large rifle primers but these Buffalo Bore cases always worked for me shooting paper really well
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What causes a primer not to work
- Thread starter Dano4734
- Start date
There are a number of reasons a primer won't fire.
A defective primer is rare, but it does happen, especially if there was damage to the anvil. I am not sure, after loading 43,000 rounds in the last 8 years, that I have ever encountered a damaged primer anvil. But I have had a few primers fail, less than 5 due to my own actions.
The reasons that a primer failed to fire that I can attest to causing:
I have found that if any oil or fluid gets onto the primer face - maybe when the brass was cleaned and not thoroughly dry before priming and left with the base down so any fluid can drain into the primer hole - the primer can occasionally become fouled and fail to fire. You only do that once before you make sure it doesn't happen again.
Also primers that are not seated deep enough in the primer pocket can absorb the firing pin strike as the force of the firing pin drives the primer into the final seating position. The primer will have a deep firing pin mark but it won't have fired. I can attest that a second strike will normally get ignition because the primer will get the full force of the firing pin when it is fully seated at the bottom of the primer pocket.
I have caused both types of failures, mostly because I was impatient in getting rounds loaded or not fully observant when seating a primer.
A defective primer is rare, but it does happen, especially if there was damage to the anvil. I am not sure, after loading 43,000 rounds in the last 8 years, that I have ever encountered a damaged primer anvil. But I have had a few primers fail, less than 5 due to my own actions.
The reasons that a primer failed to fire that I can attest to causing:
I have found that if any oil or fluid gets onto the primer face - maybe when the brass was cleaned and not thoroughly dry before priming and left with the base down so any fluid can drain into the primer hole - the primer can occasionally become fouled and fail to fire. You only do that once before you make sure it doesn't happen again.
Also primers that are not seated deep enough in the primer pocket can absorb the firing pin strike as the force of the firing pin drives the primer into the final seating position. The primer will have a deep firing pin mark but it won't have fired. I can attest that a second strike will normally get ignition because the primer will get the full force of the firing pin when it is fully seated at the bottom of the primer pocket.
I have caused both types of failures, mostly because I was impatient in getting rounds loaded or not fully observant when seating a primer.
Lol, i highly doubt that...
Been reloading 5-6 years, i know a new timer in the grand scheme, loaded/shot thousands of rounds. Rifle and pistol. And yesterday was the first one. I can't complain.
Can't tell ya the number of "factory" rounds that never went boom.
I did have a good laugh at the range when it happened.
Click... Looked over at my daughter and gave her the Marvin Martian, " there was supposed to be a big kaboom!".
Been reloading 5-6 years, i know a new timer in the grand scheme, loaded/shot thousands of rounds. Rifle and pistol. And yesterday was the first one. I can't complain.
Can't tell ya the number of "factory" rounds that never went boom.
I did have a good laugh at the range when it happened.
Click... Looked over at my daughter and gave her the Marvin Martian, " there was supposed to be a big kaboom!".
What causes a primer not to work
I do not know: I received a phone call from a range, they wanted to know what was wrong with R-P ammo. I asked them if the had a box of R-P ammo, they said yes so I tole them the number for Remington was on the box; call them.
That after noon 5 failed to fire 30/06 rounds show up here with 5 cases that did fire. Seems the shooter purchased a new rifle with 2 boxes of 30/06 Remington ammo.
He claimed he attempted to fire the 5 rounds that failed to fire at least three times and then he allowed ever shooter at the rang with 30/06 rifles to have a go at them. The minimum firing strikes on each of the 5 failed to fire rounds had to be at least 6 strikes.
I checked all of the 15 cases that fired, I thought they were magnificent cases.
And then I pulled the 5 failed to fire rounds down and measured/weighed the powder, bullets cases and primers.; again I was impressed. The measurments came out to be the same length from the shoulder to the case head as the fired cases.
When finished I installed the primers back into the same cases they were removed from and then chambered the cases into one of my M1917 one at a time and then pulled the trigger. All of the primers busted off even after all of the abuse from other attempts.
I believe my M1917s would have busted the primers at the range after 6 attempts at firing.
It is said everyone left the range bad mouthing R-P and their ammo.
F. Guffey
Average Joe
New member
Like anything else, the manufacturing process is not that precise. Sometimes things get off kilter, things happen... But, mostly it's because of a primer that's not seated deep enough, the second hit will let you know...
Never crushed one.
Actually they have tiny little feet that are supposed to bend. 3 of em. Until Unclenick brought it up I had no clue, takes a magnify glass and a right angle.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Box...KHbFtBw0Q9QEwHHoECAEQCg#imgrc=YMMzKrLoYjiCOM:
Try to measure one and you have to know if you are on the feet or not (not the right tech term).
A slow moving firing pin (gummed up) can also cause that.
Its not just the dent, its the sharp impact.
Actually they have tiny little feet that are supposed to bend. 3 of em. Until Unclenick brought it up I had no clue, takes a magnify glass and a right angle.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Box...KHbFtBw0Q9QEwHHoECAEQCg#imgrc=YMMzKrLoYjiCOM:
Try to measure one and you have to know if you are on the feet or not (not the right tech term).
A slow moving firing pin (gummed up) can also cause that.
Its not just the dent, its the sharp impact.