Rye Miles #13621 Posted October 18, 2021 Share Posted October 18, 2021 Weird thing happened, shot two rounds from my 73 rifle and all of a sudden it locked up like a safe! Took out the follower and emptied the remaining rounds. It was still locked up. My pard, who is a gunsmith took the rifle apart and discovered a primer fell out of the round and stuck itself under the lever inside. The primer was in two little pieces. The round was intact with no primer. He said he’s never seen that before and neither have I! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickel City Dude Posted October 18, 2021 Share Posted October 18, 2021 Was it a fired primer or an unfired primer that fell into the rifle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Cornelius Gilliam, SASS#5875TG Posted October 18, 2021 Share Posted October 18, 2021 In the high power rifle world (223, 308, 300 win mag, etc.), the high pressure causes the primer pockets to expand and get loose over time and will loose a primer, locking up the gun. I've never seen it with a low pressure 38 special, but it's possible the cases has been reused so many times the primer pocket could enlarge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted October 18, 2021 Share Posted October 18, 2021 Worn out primer pocket or someone used a primer pocket sewage/uniformed a little too aggressively. Back when I was a teenager shooting a semi-auto 243 saw it happen. From then on if the primer seated real easily that case went into the scrap bin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rye Miles #13621 Posted October 18, 2021 Author Share Posted October 18, 2021 55 minutes ago, Nickel City Dude said: Was it a fired primer or an unfired primer that fell into the rifle? Unfired because the round was intact. The primer was in at least two pieces that broke apart when it got stuck under the lever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.S. Sooner, SASS #73526 Posted October 18, 2021 Share Posted October 18, 2021 Could have been crushed sideways when seated, then fell out when slammed back onto the lifter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunder Creek Kid Posted October 18, 2021 Share Posted October 18, 2021 1 hour ago, Rye Miles #13621 said: Weird thing happened, shot two rounds from my 73 rifle and all of a sudden it locked up like a safe! Took out the follower and emptied the remaining rounds. It was still locked up. My pard, who is a gunsmith took the rifle apart and discovered a primer fell out of the round and stuck itself under the lever inside. The primer was in two little pieces. The round was intact with no primer. He said he’s never seen that before and neither have I! Sounds like somethings wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TN Mongo, SASS #61450 Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 This exact thing happened to me 2 years ago during a match! In my case, the round fired and then the primer came out. It locked up my rifle like a bank vault. No one in our posse had seen anything like that before. I must admit, I reload brass until it splits. Some of my older brass was developing loose primer pockets. Now when I reload on my Dillon 650, I pay attention to the amount pressure I need to seat a primer. If I don't feel a little resistance, I don't finish loading that round. Because I'm cheap, and primers are scarce, I do carefully de-prime the cases and save the primers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Devil Dale Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 I have wondered if repeated case cleanings with SS rods in a tumbler (or with any abrasive cleaning for that matter) might enlarge primer pockets. Seems logical, if it is cleaning them to a shine, the harder SS is likely also removing minute amounts of surface oxidized brass. And primer pocket tolerance seems necessarily very tight. Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 Bet it was a well used case. Better do a 'tap' test with any other cases of the same headstamp. OLG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene, SASS # 27489 Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 I would be very glad that the live primer only broke in two and didn't fire when down in the action. Might not have hurt anything, but who knows? Occasionally one or two of my ancient REM-UMC Brass shotgun hulls is minus the fired primer after the cleaning process, not sure when it actually came out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rye Miles #13621 Posted October 19, 2021 Author Share Posted October 19, 2021 4 hours ago, J.S. Sooner, SASS #73526 said: Could have been crushed sideways when seated, then fell out when slammed back onto the lifter. No I check all my brass when loading, I would have seen that. I think the primer pocket was a little too big and the primer came out. Maybe......? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 If the primer was live, and case was empty of a primer, that case has a very loose primer pocket. Only high percentage cause of this problem. Could have been caused by a high-pressure discharge in the case the last time it was fired - as in, a double charge. I've seen a double charge open the primer pocket so far that a primer could rattle around in the pocket. good luck, GJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullett Sass 19707 Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 I shoot uspsa and 3 gun and have seen this happen in 9mm cases several times. The 9mm cases dont split nearly as often as others they go bad with loose primer pockets. Bullett 19707 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.S. Sooner, SASS #73526 Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 9 hours ago, Rye Miles #13621 said: No I check all my brass when loading, I would have seen that. I think the primer pocket was a little too big and the primer came out. Maybe......? If the primer was in the case prior to loading and not after the jam, it came out. The primer was probably mangled by the lever or lifter arm inside the receiver. Sounds like it was a loose primer and most likely came out as the round slammed back onto the lifter. You could measure the primer pocket or try to seat a new primer and see how tight the pocket is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rye Miles #13621 Posted October 19, 2021 Author Share Posted October 19, 2021 6 minutes ago, J.S. Sooner, SASS #73526 said: If the primer was in the case prior to loading and not after the jam, it came out. The primer was probably mangled by the lever or lifter arm inside the receiver. Sounds like it was a loose primer and most likely came out as the round slammed back onto the lifter. You could measure the primer pocket or try to seat a new primer and see how tight the pocket is. I think that's exactly what happened! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Bill Burt Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 15 hours ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said: Bet it was a well used case. Better do a 'tap' test with any other cases of the same headstamp. OLG Tap test? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rainmaker, SASS #11631 Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 Just now, Captain Bill Burt said: Tap test? Yeah, the Bugs Bunny "whack the nose with a big mallet" tap test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widder, SASS #59054 Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 The TWO pieces were likely the primer CUP and the ANVIL. I had a primer dislodge from the primer pocket about 30 years back. The rounds were being fired in a revolver and the primer fell out of the casing as I was putting it in the cylinder. CULPRIT: Enlarged primer pocket. It can happen. It might be more common than we think but because everyone doesn't talk on a shooting community forum like SASS, we won't hear of those incidents. Another, but RARE, cause can be a minimal diameter primer that didn't fit snug up inside its pocket. ..........Widder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widder, SASS #59054 Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 1 hour ago, Captain Bill Burt said: Tap test? Yea, the Tap test. Put a round in a shell holder and keep the case secure with your hand. THEN, lightly tap the shell holder on top of a table. If the primer is loose, it will pop out, sometimes a little, sometimes fully. ..........Widder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rainmaker, SASS #11631 Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 I got a brand new .45-90 shell with a too-loose primer pocket. Brand new! Dang it, those are more than a buck a piece! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 2 hours ago, Captain Bill Burt said: Tap test? Tap the case head at an angle on a hard surface to see if the primer moves. OLG 24 minutes ago, The Rainmaker, SASS #11631 said: I got a brand new .45-90 shell with a too-loose primer pocket. Brand new! Dang it, those are more than a buck a piece! Who made them? OLG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rainmaker, SASS #11631 Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 Jamison Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 33 minutes ago, The Rainmaker, SASS #11631 said: Jamison Didn't they close up awhile back? OLG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rainmaker, SASS #11631 Posted October 20, 2021 Share Posted October 20, 2021 IDK, but I've been able to get some new brass, maybe from Grafs (maybe Mid-South)? Don't remember. Got some from a SASS pard too and that's where I think the bad one was from. It was new but the pocket was definitely loose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted October 20, 2021 Share Posted October 20, 2021 2 hours ago, The Rainmaker, SASS #11631 said: IDK, but I've been able to get some new brass, maybe from Grafs (maybe Mid-South)? Don't remember. Got some from a SASS pard too and that's where I think the bad one was from. It was new but the pocket was definitely loose. Starline makes .45-90. You should anneal the case mouth before loading. OLG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rainmaker, SASS #11631 Posted October 20, 2021 Share Posted October 20, 2021 I have some of them too. Always anneal case mouths on all BPCR brass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Spur Jake SASS #7728 Posted October 21, 2021 Share Posted October 21, 2021 Had this happen at the AZ state championship in 2006 with my 73 rifle. Brand new Starline .38spl brass with Federal small pistol primers and 125gr bullets. Load I had been using for years and never had a problem with many times reloaded Starline brass and Winchester small pistol primer. Got some new brass for big match and bought some Federal primers because that's what everybody said were the best. Primer fell out of fired round and jammed up rifle. luckily it was last round fired and declared broken gun. Upon inspecting other 9 fired brass they all had primers backing up but not out. Never used Federal primers again. Never had a problem with Winchester primers in rifle or pistols. Short stroked race 73 and short stroked race New Vaqueros. All with light springs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.