robot Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 Not sure if I'm posting in the right forum (perhaps ammo) but since I'm shooting a revolver and almost everyone here has experience with Federal primers, checkout what happened today. I had two light strikes today during our March high round count USPSA match. Out of the 200 or so rounds I shot, I only had these two. I pulled the bullets to see what was happening. Brass is greenish inside. Back of brass case is tinted green: Primer is half empty (or half full) of primer charge: What do you call this? Bad primer? Has anyone seen this before? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50GI-Jess Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 Most likely either crushed primer (when you seated it) or a dead contaminated priming mix. So it shouldn't really matter what the casing look like, if the cartridge never went off at all. Never seen it before, just heard about it. Just a wild guess nothing more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMM50 Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 (edited) Before I use my primers I inspect them in the factory tray. I've been using Winchester primers. For the last 20 years I've looked at 50,000+ primers. The material that goes bang is red on a Winchester primer. Last year I found one primer that had no red material!!! Now 1 out of 50,000 isn't that bad but if it would happen in a major match that would suck. Edited March 28, 2011 by GMM50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almostold Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 I have not seen what you have here - but I did have a Fed LP yesterday without an anvil which was easy to spot. Never inspected my primers before but do now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
granderojo Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 I have had the same thing happen 3 times in the last month. All w/Fed LPP and of all things R&P Nickel brass. The rounds didn't go bang and when I pulled the bullets to see what happened and to reuse the components, I found that the powder had turned to a sulfer looking residue (yellow colored powder). I haven't seen this w/the same powder, bulet and R&P Brass brass combination that I use. The only difference is the caseing. If it happens again w/the nickel brass, that'll be the last of it I will load. It'll be interesting to see if we are the only ones to see this type of thing. I'll post if it happens to me again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Hello: Are you guys washing your brass? I have seen that when someone washes the brass and they are not completely dry before the load them. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robot Posted March 29, 2011 Author Share Posted March 29, 2011 Bizarre Indeed. I don't wash my brass. Occasionally the get dumped into the mud (it rains a lot in the PNW..) and I just toss them into the tumbler for an hour and it'll all come out fine. It looked like the firing pin hit the primer and didn't cause it to ignite but burst a little? causing the primer to expend it's greenish charge through the flash hole and into the case. all this without the correct "explosion" needed to touch off the powder. @Eric, do you mean that it could be a wet primer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50GI-Jess Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Hi Again, Speaking about washing brass! I recently started buying Cabela's Tumble Bright ceramic stones/ and the green mixer liquid. The stones last forever, but Cabela's won't sell the green tumble bright on the side! Does any of you use this stuff too, and what other liquids can be used as a replacement??? Also what other methods really work on brass cleaning on a bigger scale, since I do it for living, and deal with reloading in very high numbers. Just curious to learn more about this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSWEAR Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Jess, I do know one person that uses a small concrete mixer and crushed walnut, I'm not sure but I guess it would work wet or dry depending on the media? The one he was using is only 2 or 3 feet tall. Maybe some kind of tub with a frame covered with hardware cloth or other wire mesh to use to dump the mixer into? Food for thought maybe? Hopefully someone who's done it will chime in. Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Service Desk Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 (edited) The green / yellow tinge is the priming mixture that has migrated from the primer cup to the case... the most likely cause is damage to the primer while loading. One of my XL650's does that sometimes when I am loading 41 Magnums. Federal LPP's seem to be the most troublesome, Remington and Fiocchi are the least. Edited March 29, 2011 by Service Desk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDPMatt Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Had a few of those at AR State IDPA in '09 shooting ESR.... thought I had broken a firing pin until I switched ammo. All good after that. I think those 100 or so primers were short on mix or got contaminated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Hello: Yes the primer got wet and would not go bang. The yellow color looks like sulfer to me? Another thing is if it is really damp where you are and you leave alot of powder in the hopper then it can pick up moisture as well. Just some thoughts of what it could be or not. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
granderojo Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 I don't wash my brass and the humidity is fairly high here in central Tx. The only rounds that have been affected so far, are the ones loaded in the Nickel brass. It may be a installation problem that is causing damage to the primer, but if that's the case, it has only happened a few times and all in the nickel cases. I'm more inclined to beleive that it's a quality control problem from the manufacturer. Nothing is 100%. If I don't get any more failures by % than I've had so far, I can live w/it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robot Posted March 29, 2011 Author Share Posted March 29, 2011 hmmm.. it was indeed raining when we were shooting, water could have gotten into the primer. I need another showercap for my moonclip server. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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