Failure to ignite primer

[David-K]

I've had a small handful of rounds (5 x .45ACP & 2 x 9mm) failure to ignite after, what appears to be a good strike. In the case of the 9mm rounds, a second strike set if off. Not so with the .45ACP rounds. Both are Winchester primers, big and small.

Further, both handguns are striker fired. Could this be the culprit? I bring this up because it did not occur with the hammer fired pistols.

[CalTeacher]

I've had a small handful of rounds (5 x .45ACP & 2 x 9mm) failure to ignite after, what appears to be a good strike. In the case of the 9mm rounds, a second strike set if off. Not so with the .45ACP rounds. Both are Winchester primers, big and small.

Further, both handguns are striker fired. Could this be the culprit? I bring this up because it did not occur with the hammer fired pistols.

Reloads or factory? Stock or modified trigger/striker springs? My bet is high primers.

[ojisan]

Are the primers seated to the correct depth? (At least flush with case head, a few thousands deeper is better)

Does the striker fired gun(s) have lighter than original striker springs?
(Maybe not enough power to fire the primers, especially if the primers are not fully seated).

[David-K]

Both are reloads.....my reloads. Done on a Hornady LnL AP, primed on the press. All primers were seated flush. No mods to triggers and striker springs are stock.

[CSACANNONEER]

PRIMERS SHOULD NOT BE SEATED FLUSH!!!!!! They need to be .001"-002" below the case head. That said, if you just seated them flush and the primer pockets are deeper, the strikes may have just seated the primers to the bottom of the primer pockets.

[Divernhunter]

Well it could be the primers.
I have had 3 Win primers(large rifle) fail to work in 2013. They were struck more than once and still failed. These are the only cartridges I have ever loaded that did not work. Took them apart and the had powder in them and an unfired primer. All were out of the same carton.

One was at my shooting range and two in Africa during my check sighting of my rifles. Very un-nerving way to start a hunt of a lifetime. Would also make the PH a bit unsure after telling him how good your loads are. All the other ammo shot fine and all primers were from the same carton.

[Jeff213]

I had a winchester small rifle primer do the same thing at the range a few months ago. I bought it in 2013.

[ojisan]

PRIMERS SHOULD NOT BE SEATED FLUSH!!!!!! They need to be .001"-002" below the case head. That said, if you just seated them flush and the primer pockets are deeper, the strikes may have just seated the primers to the bottom of the primer pockets.

I've seen factory ammo with flush primers.
It really depends on the depth of the primer pocket.
For reliable ignition, the primer should be pressed in until it hits the bottom of the pocket.

[David-K]

UPDATE - After some research, I've discovered that the Lock-n-Load AP inherently likes to seat primers flush.....period. And I've got to believe therein lies the problem. I found a small mod to the primer punch assembly that appears to solve this problem. I've since applied the fix to both the small and large primer punch assemblies and ran a couple cases through and now notice that the primers are seated just below flush. I'll bet this solves the problem.

Thanks guys, for setting me out on the right track.