missfire rate

Yeah something is ****ed up there. I've used thousands of those primers and not had one misfire. CCIs have a rep for being "hard" but frankly any handgun that isn't broken or isn't some gussied up revolver should light them off just fine.

That failure rate would be acceptable with wolf skinflint primers but with CCI... no way.

I would look at that gun and make sure someone didn't pull some douchebaggery with the striker spring (or whatever it is in the M&P that actuates the striker and provides the force to set the primer off) . It's either that or you're seating a lot of your primers too high, but I find that awfully hard to believe you're messing up the priming that badly.

-Mike
 
You could also shoot them in another gun.

-Proud to be dad every day, a licensed plumber most days, and wish I was a shoemaker on others.
 
Thanks guys I appreciate the advice. I'll look into all of your suggestions.

Do you guys typically deprime then then clean? Or vise versa?

Clean first, then deprime. Depriming will usually push any junk in the flash hole, out of it. Maybe there is a good reason to do it the other way for some other types of reloading, but for volume pistol reloading depriming and then cleaning is just asking for problems, unless you're cleaning cases with media that can't get stuck in the flash hole. (eg, like those guys that do the OCD stainless steel pin liquid case cleaning stuff. ) Also most depriming ops involve a resize die, so you're just abusing the crap out of your resizer die (on dirty cases) anyways unless you've set it up to deprime only.

-Mike
 
I had a Lee turret press I was priming on and had about the same failure rate. I switched to a Hornady LNL and haven't had a dud yet. The Lee was seating the primer to deep, all the duds I could see and feel the primer was too deep.
 
I had a Lee turret press I was priming on and had about the same failure rate. I switched to a Hornady LNL and haven't had a dud yet. The Lee was seating the primer to deep, all the duds I could see and feel the primer was too deep.


YOU were seating the primer too deep. I have a Lee Loadmaster and I've never had this problem.
 
I removed some of the primers that didn't fire.... It basically didn't do anything, looked like it was unfired. I compared primer strikes and I can't see a difference between any of them.
As far as primer depth, there set flush to just a tiny bit deeper into the pocket. Just as the primer tool instructions say.

I only had a few failures using factory ammo over the course of about 7000 rounds
I'll try to pick up some factory ammo and see if I have the same issue

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sounds like your primers are at the right depth, I suspect some kind of contamination then
 
I thought Remington were the hardest

Maybe, I am not certain. I do know that CCI primers are pretty hard and Federal are known to be the softest.

As Mike alludes to, I have a revolver with a trigger job that will not allow it to function with CCI primers, which is what I wanted, but works perfectly with Federal primers.

Take your reloads out of the equation and shoot some factory rounds, have you tried that?

Chris
 
I have yet to have a FTF on a reload. I'd start shooting some factory ammo in your gun and make sure it's the reloads, then go from there.
 
Also, try to see how many duds you get in a gun with a harder, stock striker spring. Try a stock glock. If you get same number of failures, its the ammo not the M&P. If you don't, it is the M&P and you need to back to a stock striker spring.
 
I have been reloading for quite a while and found that almost all of my FTFs were due to high primers.

I have never cleaned a primer pocket and haven't had any problems I could attribute to a dirty primer pocket.

Some primers are harder than others and CCI used to be the worst. My problem with CCI primers was that they wouldn't seat when used in a progressive press. If they did seat, they would reliably ignite.

The S&W M&P uses a rather unique ignition system. The recoil spring and the striker spring must be in balance or the gun won't fire (light hits). Oddly enough, using a stronger striker spring can cause light hits.

I would make sure that my primers were properly seated and install a new STOCK recoil spring. If this doesn't work I would try a new STOCK striker spring. The M&P does not respond well to changes in recoil and striker springs. I learned the hard way.
 
No one has brought this up so here goes. Are u using single stage or progressive press. If single stage, are u tumbling the brass after u size and deprime. If so check the powder in the bad rounds for a piece of tumbling media. If the flash hole is plugged it will cause the round not to go off.
 
No one has brought this up so here goes. Are u using single stage or progressive press. If single stage, are u tumbling the brass after u size and deprime. If so check the powder in the bad rounds for a piece of tumbling media. If the flash hole is plugged it will cause the round not to go off.

Ooo... Good catch. Never deprime before you tumble.
 
Thanks for all the info guys. After another range trip I tried to refire my misfires. They went off without an issue. So I took my slide apart, pretty clean but did notice the firing pin is worn down on one side. So I have a new firing pin assembly with new Springs on order but it's on back order unfortunately

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No one has brought this up so here goes. Are u using single stage or progressive press. If single stage, are u tumbling the brass after u size and deprime. If so check the powder in the bad rounds for a piece of tumbling media. If the flash hole is plugged it will cause the round not to go off.

I used to load 223 with corn cob grit still in the flash holes and never had a FTF. I gave up on this practice when some of the grit made it all the way down into the trigger group of my AR and jammed it. I thought that the grit would be burned up along with the powder. Boy was I wrong! That corn cob grit is tough stuff.
 
This is usually indicative of high primers. The first strike finishes seating the primer; the second strike sets it off.

This is what I was going to say. Also wondering how you seat a primer "too deep" if you are seating to bottom them out in the pocket there is only one depth, unless you are "squishing" them?

I also wouldnt get into the habit of trying to re-stike without checking that it wasnt a squib.....
 
This is usually indicative of high primers. The first strike finishes seating the primer; the second strike sets it off.

This. Though i prime with lee hand primer and get no where near that failure rate.

Usually 1-2 per thousand maybe.


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I've had FTF with shotgun loads, but not with metallic cartridges. I had a gun that from the factory wouldn't consistently set off Remington primers - about one out of 20 would FTF until struck again and about out of 100 wouldn't fire even with multiple strikes.

I don't know if that was because the Remington primers were harder, shaped slightly different, or what - I just know it wouldn't work with Remington primers but everything else was fine.
 
Here is your problem, you are using the hardest primers, CCI, and you have a trigger kit. Try Federal primers and I bet your misfire problem goes away.

I have never had a missfire except where a primer was installed upside down...

This

Just got back from the range and 4 CCI loads went click...All the federals and remingtons fired just fine
 
The most common cause of a misfire is a primer that isn't seated all the way. When the firing pin hits it, the primer moves in rather than deforming like it should.

The only misfires I've ever had, if you can call them that, is in stuff where the primer flipped upside down and i didn't catch it prior to it going into the bag. This is range ammo only since match ammo gets another visual inspection then nose down into a box where I check COAL and primers.

Don
 
I would consider this success unless the pistol is your carry gun.

No, Browning BAR in 300 win mag. It will dent the primer just fine, but no boom.

I ordered a new firing pin, mic'ed it and the new pin was actually shorter than the old. Finally just gave up on CCI primers for this gun, and it works fine now.
 
How are you cleaning your brass? If you have corn stuck in your flash hole, this could cause it.

I have had 4 failure to fires since i started reloading. It was all with Tula Primers from the same box. I expected it from those primers though.
 
I am pretty careful about looking at the flash hole before I prime it. And it only has happened with those CCI primers.

My Rem 700 .308 shoots them just fine though, not one failure.

My Browning just does not like them.
 
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