This a Primer or Trigger issue?

[joelogic]

I didn't even look at the fired round. Some pretty good flattening going on.

[bruce381]

sucky relaods and I would think headspace or OAL to shoulder is too short allowing some cushion when firing and thats why primers dent but push foward and cushion blow, or not

[bcrich]

I agree with Bruce, excessive headspace will also cause that. What gun were you using?

[Quickdraw559]

Just a quick question from a non-reloader. I plan on starting sometime this summer, but for now, I'm just studying and saving.

I noticed the primers that have fired have a slightly raised edge around the strike point, and the ones that have not fired have more of a dent in the primer.

Assuming the primers are the same, the operation of the rifle was the same, yada-yada-yada, ceteris paribus, wouldn't this indicate a variation in the striking of the primers? Would excessive headspace allow for, "play," of the cartridge inside the rifle during the strike? I just don't see how primers could be at fault when they don't have a uniform strike point.

[Pacilander]

The ones that didn't fire I believe the OP stated he tried two to three more times which would explain the primer strikes being so deep. Which is why my vote is on faulty primers!

[HK Dave]

Thanks for all the advice folks. I took some measurements.

***Problematic Ammo
-Fired Brass Length: 2.002 - 2.006
-Unfired Brass Length: 1.996
-OAL with 175smk: 2.805

***Factory Ammo
-Unfired Brass Length: 2.005
-OAL with 175smk: 2.805

I believe SAAMI recommended trim length is 2.005".

Looks like some of you were right on the money, brass is too short... so now I wonder if this will run in any of my 308s.

[cowboyup]

Wow, send that ammo back and or refund. That had to be extremely frustrating.

[cowboyup]

HKDave,

308 HSpace's off shoulder, not off neck. It's trimmed after resizing, how does short neck affect primer strike bro?

[CenterX]

Woooo...
Sending them back is an option. The assembler should set this straight.
Primers do age and if not stored in a dry location can be failures.

As mentioned, headspace can cause this intermittent failure. Additionally, as well as spring/firing pin issues can cause issues. But three strikes and no discharge - mmm primer. Could still be a spring issue. The rate of the strike is important, as the friction cause from the strike ignites the charge.

Have you checked to ensure the pin is intact and the spring is also intact?

[HK Dave]

HKDave,

308 HSpace's off shoulder, not off neck. It's trimmed after resizing, how does short neck affect primer strike bro?

LOL sorry, you're right, just ran a marathon, head has no blood. Let me go measure.

[Fjold]

It's not plugged flash holes. If the flash holes are plugged the primer will still go off. You will see black carbon around the edges of the primers because the pressure is not high enough to seal the primer edges.

[Mesa Defense]

Did you check / compare headspace on new & fired cases? Is it a headspace (shoulder setback too far) or did they trim neck short?

[HK Dave]

Woooo...
Sending them back is an option. The assembler should set this straight.
Primers do age and if not stored in a dry location can be failures.

As mentioned, headspace can cause this intermittent failure. Additionally, as well as spring/firing pin issues can cause issues. But three strikes and no discharge - mmm primer. Could still be a spring issue. The rate of the strike is important, as the friction cause from the strike ignites the charge.

Have you checked to ensure the pin is intact and the spring is also intact?

Do you think it could be a spring issue given how deep the impacts are on the primer? It is a brand new surgeon spring, but i suppose it could be bad.

[CenterX]

Short shoulder shouldn't be much of an issue. Fire forming short shoulder ammo to make larger brass is a common practice.

Check your spring for the heck of it. Dimpled primers again indicate a strike, but is it consistently fast enough?

[Pacilander]

HKDave,

308 HSpace's off shoulder, not off neck. It's trimmed after resizing, how does short neck affect primer strike bro?

I agree, even with shorter headspace, with those strikes the primer should have gone boom! The shorter headspace if there would just be a whole other sort of problem and possibly dangerous.