oak creek martin Posted August 21, 2022 Share Posted August 21, 2022 This is some once fired 38 special brass that I picked up at a garage sale. Started sorting some of the brass and notice that all of the PPU brass had extremely light primer strikes. I am assuming that all of this ammo was fired out of the same firearm. No proof of that just an assumption. Wondering why the PPU ammo fired with such light primer strikes and the other brass had normal primer strikes. Just thought it was very odd to see such light strikes and have the round go bang! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widder, SASS #59054 Posted August 21, 2022 Share Posted August 21, 2022 Although a primer can have an indication of a light strike due to the appearance of the primer, if that 'shallow' dimple was hit very hard, it would be enough to set the primers off. We often associate a shallow dimple as being a light strike, due to weak springs, etc....... But if the strike is a hard strike, even though the firing pin didn't protrude as much as we prefer, it can still go 'bang'........ ESPECIALLY if the primers are fully seated. ..........Widder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warden Callaway Posted August 21, 2022 Share Posted August 21, 2022 I'd be suspicious that they weren't still live and the last owner just pulled the bullets and dumped the powder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHOOTIN FOX Posted August 21, 2022 Share Posted August 21, 2022 Or on the other hand, they went bang and reseated the primer and flattened the strike a little. Check the ring mark around the firing pin dimple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Assassin Posted August 22, 2022 Share Posted August 22, 2022 13 minutes ago, SHOOTIN FOX said: Or on the other hand, they went bang and reseated the primer and flattened the strike a little. Check the ring mark around the firing pin dimple. That would be my synopsis also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oak creek martin Posted August 22, 2022 Author Share Posted August 22, 2022 I know for sure the owner did not pull the bullets and dump the powder. But that makes sense that it is a hard hit just not a deep indentation on the primer. It just seems kind of weird that the other brands of brass that was in this large assortment all had very deep and normal looking firing pin indentations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kloehr Posted August 22, 2022 Share Posted August 22, 2022 Maybe picked up accidentally at some range when the original owner collects his brass? How much of it is there compared to the total quantity of brass? Maybe someone else "provided" the PPU? And just to be safe, maybe you should try and see if those primers are still live... Just for peace of mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burn Through Posted August 22, 2022 Share Posted August 22, 2022 id say they were hot jacked and fulll of power ......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I. M. Crossdraw, SASS# 8321 Posted August 22, 2022 Share Posted August 22, 2022 4 hours ago, SHOOTIN FOX said: Or on the other hand, they went bang and reseated the primer and flattened the strike a little. Check the ring mark around the firing pin dimple. Agree +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orient Express Posted August 22, 2022 Share Posted August 22, 2022 Do those primers look odd, like maybe the load was too hot and the primer flattened? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tennessee williams Posted August 22, 2022 Share Posted August 22, 2022 Might just be the picture but they look domed to me. Have you pulled one and looked at it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
"Big Boston" Posted August 22, 2022 Share Posted August 22, 2022 PPU has four loadings for 38 Special. https://ppu-usa.com/ppu/38-special/ Those would all appear to be working loads, not cowboy at those velocities. Primers will look different at those pressures. They look a bit different than what I'm used to seeing, not surprising you noticed. BB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozark Huckleberry Posted August 22, 2022 Share Posted August 22, 2022 The primer strikes that are wider and shallower than others have small peaks in them. I’d suspect those loads are verging on blowing through the primer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oak creek martin Posted August 23, 2022 Author Share Posted August 23, 2022 All the primers are fired. There is a definite dome on the primer. And the PPU brass is approximately 1/3 of the total brass amount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Rich Posted August 23, 2022 Share Posted August 23, 2022 Brand of primer? Maybe a different gun for some of them, the primer strike is in the center for some and off to the side for the others. kR PS I use ppu brass sometimes and no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rainmaker, SASS #11631 Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 Probably just the primer that PPU uses. I have some PPU brass and they are fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chantry Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 PPU (Prvi Partizan) loads a lot of odd calibers and I've shot a fair amount of PPU of various calibers and never had a misfire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michigan Slim Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 On 8/21/2022 at 7:54 PM, SHOOTIN FOX said: Or on the other hand, they went bang and reseated the primer and flattened the strike a little. Check the ring mark around the firing pin dimple. My thoughts as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rip Snorter Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 Sure look like pressure signs to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Hanger #3720LR Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 Looking at your photo, all the primer hits are not lite. Look closely and you can see the primer has been flattened out from the recoil against the recoil shield. Looking at the right two cases I can see a half moon line where the primer made a crater and the primer lifted around the primer strikes. Then this lifted ring was flattened out during recoil. These are not lite hits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bull Skinner Posted August 25, 2022 Share Posted August 25, 2022 6 hours ago, Rip Snorter said: Sure look like pressure signs to me! That looks like high pressure distortion. Those primers would be indicating at best +p pressures if not dangerously high pressure. If my hand loads looked like that I’d be backing the charge down a couple tenths! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom, SASS #54973 Posted August 25, 2022 Share Posted August 25, 2022 As others have stated - not light hits. Light hits leave no distortions. I would also agree (not that it matters, but this is the Interweb), that the pressure looks to have been pretty high. Phantom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widder, SASS #59054 Posted August 25, 2022 Share Posted August 25, 2022 Just curious.......... But have you checked the 'flash holes' on those pieces of brass to ensure the holes are correct and not under sized. ..........Widder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom, SASS #54973 Posted August 25, 2022 Share Posted August 25, 2022 2 hours ago, Widder, SASS #59054 said: Just curious.......... But have you checked the 'flash holes' on those pieces of brass to ensure the holes are correct and not under sized. ..........Widder I drill all mine out to an .125"...but only after cleaning the primer pockets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widder, SASS #59054 Posted August 25, 2022 Share Posted August 25, 2022 6 minutes ago, Phantom, SASS #54973 said: I drill all mine out to an .125"...but only after cleaning the primer pockets. Great minds think alike..... I check mine also. A few years back, I got a BUNCH of .357 SIG brass that had an undersized flash hole, and of course, I had to drill them open. ..........Widder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom, SASS #54973 Posted August 25, 2022 Share Posted August 25, 2022 11 minutes ago, Widder, SASS #59054 said: Great minds think alike..... I check mine also. A few years back, I got a BUNCH of .357 SIG brass that had an undersized flash hole, and of course, I had to drill them open. ..........Widder I also check for wall thickness uniformity. If the cartridge walls are not uniformed, the bullet won't line up properly with the chamber...all hell breaks loose then!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Devil Dale Posted August 25, 2022 Share Posted August 25, 2022 IF we know that the rounds went BANG, then I think we can assume the cases, flash holes, primers, etc., were OK. Beyond that we can only speculate. It does seem odd that some of those primer hits were functional. But we don't know what propellants were used in the fired rounds. Some double base powders, such as Power Pistol, will ignite from a fairly weak primer flash. If there were FTF issues, I would focus on the firing gun and fix the light hitting, rather the ammo -- but keep in mind that the ammo appears to have worked OK. Load up some of the cases with your powder, loads and primers and see if they fire properly in YOUR guns. And BTW, I agree w/ Phantom -- checking flash holes should be a standard procedure for competition ammo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyesa Horg Posted August 25, 2022 Share Posted August 25, 2022 For 9 lousy cases that weren't fired by the OP, why worry about it? If they are a bother, just chuck em and use the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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