CCI Magnum SPP No.550 ignition issues.

[Jeff Napoleoni]

I loaded 100 cartridges of .357 recently using the primers in the title line. I was shooting my usual load; 158gn RN FP lead from Acme, 16gn H110 powder and the CCI Magnum SPP No.550. The brass has been shot multiple times.

Four of fifty didn't fire.

I took apart the cartridges and the powder measure was correct.
The primer dimple looks identical to successful rounds fired.

I'm shooting it through a model 19-3 in good condition. These are the first misfire events since I've owned it, 6000 rounds through it since I bought it. Mostly 38 special, zero problems with that load.

Any Ideas?

Thanks Jeff

 

[ken158]

First, tighten your strain screw then make sure your primers are seated to the bottom of the primer pocket.

 

[cmj8591]

I'm going to bet on the primers not being seated properly. Especially if they fire on the second hit. What happens is the force from the firing pin is driving the primer to the bottom of the pocket which cushions the blow. Make sure your primer seater is adjusted to bottom out the primer in it's pocket.

 

[Jeff Napoleoni]

Checked it,
thanks

 

[243winxb]

Try different primers.

Try a different brand of primer, if it misfires, check end play & headspace.

I had a defective primer issue, in my 357 mag S&W M28. I just tested CCI 400 & Federal 205 in the M28, Taurus G3C 9mm, & S&W 337PD, 38 special. Every primer fired.

Didnt have other pistol primers.

 

[smithra_66]

I loaded 100 cartridges of .357 recently using the primers in the title line. I was shooting my usual load; 158gn RN FP lead from Acme, 16gn H110 powder and the CCI Magnum SPP No.550. The brass has been shot multiple times.

Four of fifty didn't fire.

I took apart the cartridges and the powder measure was correct.
The primer dimple looks identical to successful rounds fired.

I'm shooting it through a model 19-3 in good condition. These are the first misfire events since I've owned it, 6000 rounds through it since I bought it. Mostly 38 special, zero problems with that load.

Any Ideas?

Thanks Jeff

If i ever have ignition problems, it's with CCI primers. They must be the hardest.

Outside of that check your mainspring. Has it been modified? I had that happen on a few S&Ws that I've bought used over the years.

 

[Nevada Ed]

With the four loads that did not fire;

Dismantle one of them, reseat the primer in the empty case, making sure that it is flush
then see if it will fire on it's second try.

The primer will either fire or fail, which might mean you maybe, have a bad lot, of primers.

With cases that have been fired several times, have you ever cleaned out
the primer holes?

Good luck.

 

[Krogen]

First thing: what is different in this batch? New lot of primers? Different dies or press? Different case cleaning procedure? Did the gun change? Say, a chipped firing pin? Did you tear it down for a deep clean?

Most all anomalies have a root cause. Figuring out what changed is often the key to isolating the problem.

 

[DWalt]

It is virtually never the primers, at least if they are not elderly. Generally the result of primers not fully seated or a weak firing pin strike.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Guys, some of the questions being asked are off base. He said 4 of the 50 did not fire but he has fired 6,000 through that revolver already.

The suggestion above to check that the primers are fully seated is the most probable reason for.the 4 failures. The OP never did tell us if he tried a second strike.

 

[Miracle Man]

Occam's razor: the simplest answer is usually correct

I'm with the guys saying primers not fully seated.

 

[Jeff Napoleoni]

Thanks for the response. I did not attempt a re-fire on these cartridges. I am going to take all of the advice everyone offered and if it happens again, Ill let you all know. Thanks Jeff

 

[243winxb]

Misfires

Velocity of the firing pin is most important, along with protrusion.

For years I loaded 38 special using the RCBS LARGE seat plug. This only seats the primer flush with the case head. NOT TO BOTTOM OF POCKET. Never had a misfire.

 

[Nevada Ed]

Velocity of the firing pin is most important, along with protrusion.

For years I loaded 38 special using the RCBS LARGE seat plug. This only seats the primer flush with the case head. NOT TO BOTTOM OF POCKET. Never had a misfire.

Article states a minimum of .012" .

A SPP has a +/- height of .109".

What ever the spec's, I adjust my primers to be at least flush with the bottom, of the case.

 

[mikld]

FWIW; in 35+ years I have had zero primer fails that were my fault. Reason? I use a ram prime...

 

[SMSgt]

I had a worn-out Lee hand primer that would seat primers high enough the primers would drag when rotating the cylinder in my Blackhawk. Never had a failure to fire. The only dud primers I ever had came from the same pack of CCIs back in the late '70s. It happens.

 

[daverich4]

It is virtually never the primers, at least if they are not elderly. Generally the result of primers not fully seated or a weak firing pin strike.

That's not been my experience. I have an S&W M&P R8 that worked fine with CCI 500 primers until I had it tuned. With those primers it started failing maybe once every cylinder in single action and a couple of times every cylinder in double action. Only primer that makes it go bang every time are Federal 100's. I have a tuned S&W Model 14 that exhibits the same behavior. If you spend any time on forums that involve competition revolvers such as Brian Enos you'll discover that the topic of CCI primers has been hashed out and put to rest a long time ago.

 

[Jeff Napoleoni]

Good morning , thanks to everybody who gave advice on my primer ignition issue. At the range yesterday I took the same lot of my reloads. Sure enough one did not fire. This time I cycled through the cylinder and sure enough a second strike fired it off. I will attribute this to an unseated primer mentioned by many. Thanks for the help. Jeff

 

[rockquarry]

I guess I've been incredibly fortunate with primers since I began handloading in 1965. With rifle or handgun cartridges, I try seat the primer fully which almost always means the primer is slightly below flush. It takes but a fraction of a second to run an index finger over the primer to check this; a little less convenient chore if using a progressive machine but it can still be done.

If using a handheld priming device make sure it's not worn out. A worn tool often prevents primers from being fully seated regardless of the amount of effort used.

With regard to revolvers in particular, I've yet to see an out-of-the-box unmolested revolver that would not fire any and every primer with 100% reliability. Change springs and get action jobs if you wish but you always take a chance on forfeiting reliability only for a somewhat lighter and maybe smoother trigger. Instead, consider practicing more with the as-is gun and you'll likely get used to it and be quite happy with it.

If a modified revolver requires a specific primer to work reliably, that's not really a reliable gun in the strict sense, but that's okay if that's what you want.

 

[peh_7]

It looks like the OP has found his problem, but I have had a couple of situations like this where the a second or even third strike would not fire the round. On taking the round apart I found the primer did not have any priming material in the cup. (CCI Primers).