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Miracle Man
US Veteran
I'll probably pick out the S&B and see how new primers seat and go from there.
Cratered primers/reloading for pistols
- Thread starter Miracle Man
- Start date
I'll probably pick out the S&B and see how new primers seat and go from there.
Herters ammo is marketed by Bass Pro/ Cabelas. They don't show .44 Rem. Mag. ammo. Maybe your discovery of a primer pocket problem is why. Good chance that you can ream out the primer pocket with a primer pocket uniforming tool and be in business. That .44 Rem. Mag. brass is hard to find and pricey.
Paul in Nevada
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When in doubt, ream it out.
As for those cratered primers;
Each chamber of a pistol or rifle will cause different PSI in your loads
from gun to gun. ( revolver chambers: six different ? )
I have seen a load that develops a cratered primer strike in one 9mm pistol
look normal in another 9mm pistol, due to chamber & other changes.
Most pistol primers will take 30,000 PSI before they start to "Flow"
and need a "NATO" load before you will measure a change in it's diameter, reading and the base of case, swelling.
Normal primer loads, should still have the "Rounded corners" and a
small gap to the cases primer walls.
A new SPP is around .1745".
A +P Federal primer measured, .176"
A "Major" load will fill the primer area.
Each chamber of a pistol or rifle will cause different PSI in your loads
from gun to gun. ( revolver chambers: six different ? )
I have seen a load that develops a cratered primer strike in one 9mm pistol
look normal in another 9mm pistol, due to chamber & other changes.
Most pistol primers will take 30,000 PSI before they start to "Flow"
and need a "NATO" load before you will measure a change in it's diameter, reading and the base of case, swelling.
Normal primer loads, should still have the "Rounded corners" and a
small gap to the cases primer walls.
A new SPP is around .1745".
A +P Federal primer measured, .176"
A "Major" load will fill the primer area.
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markr6754
Member
Interesting post. I love S&B brass. Among my favorites. Hold up well, numerous reloads, a bit more challenging to resize factory fired brass, but good stuff. I also love their primers and sadness will reign when I finally run out.
I never paid much attention to fired primers until I began to reload in early 2018. Decapped thousands of saved cases without checking, but started observing my spent cases for signs of overpressure and unusual primers.
Posted this pic to another forum in April 2018, a "normal" primer at the top.
I'm now very comfortable seeing these oddly "cratered" primers, which show no other signs of overpressure. This is the look of every round I shoot from my Beretta 92FS, which has a recess in the breechface surrounding the firing pin. Light load, heavy load, they all look the same.
I never paid much attention to fired primers until I began to reload in early 2018. Decapped thousands of saved cases without checking, but started observing my spent cases for signs of overpressure and unusual primers.
Posted this pic to another forum in April 2018, a "normal" primer at the top.
I'm now very comfortable seeing these oddly "cratered" primers, which show no other signs of overpressure. This is the look of every round I shoot from my Beretta 92FS, which has a recess in the breechface surrounding the firing pin. Light load, heavy load, they all look the same.
Attachments
I traded a buddy some .22 LR ammo for some primers. Some were S&B. I've had a few loaded in 9mm not ignite on the first strike in my Sig P320 compact. It could be that they are harder to seat all the way to the bottom of the primer pocket or they are just harder. The primer hits look good. I've never had that trouble with Winchester or Remington.
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Miracle Man
US Veteran
Interesting
The case all the way to the left looks basically exactly like all those S&B brass cases in my range pickups given to me. Primers hooved up and a very visible crater that I guess was smashed back down.
I just got finished loading about half a box of that same brass and seated two S&B cases with new primers with no issues.
When I started out reloading, like 1983, 4 somwhere in there all I loaded was rifles. 22-250, 223, 270, 30-06 and so on, bolt guns. As soon as I fired a round I ejected the case and gave the fired brass a good look especially the primer. Of course looking for any signs of high pressure.
Like you I've just never paid much attention to my pistol reloads brass/primers after firing. A week or so ago I fired some 357 mag reloads using Blue dot powder and had to push pretty hard on the ejector to get cases out of cylinder. Lightbulb went off and I looked at the primers and they had some noticeable craters.
I pulled all of those Blue dot loaded cases and have been paying a lot more attention to fired cases lately.
I'd guess those cases I've got were fired in a gun with a breech face like yours. I guess there's no problem? I just freaked out a little.
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Miracle Man
US Veteran
A relative of my wife's passed away 3 or 4 years ago. His wife gave me most of his reloading supplies, powder, primers, brass, bullets. A lot of it was pretty old as he hadn't been healthy for several years before he passed.
The powder I just burnt in a backyard fire. Some was in like Old IMR metal cans 4350 or whatever but labeled over H4895 or something, nah I'll pass on trusting what that is. Sorry I've gotten off in the weeds.
Anyways he had some older primers, CCI, Winchester, so on. I loaded some test 9mm rounds up with those old CCI SPP. The ones in the tiny 100 packs with primers turned on their sides. Probably 1-3 wouldn't fire on first strike, A few wouldn't fire at all in a couple different pistols.
Age ? Drew to much moisture over the years ? I don't really know when they quit packaging them like that ?
If I had primers that looked like that with factory ammo (post#15) ;
I would check the face of my bolt, for metal that has been removed, around the firing pin hole.
That is not a face of a "Normal" primer, with a quality bolt, surface.
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