Piercing primers with Hornet loading again.

[chris allen]

the raduis of firing pin can become very important .
When one looks at the spec chart of primers I dont see any hardness rating of the cup material . .020 inches of tissue paper is not as strong as .020 of steel .

I have worked with pressure barrels and pressure testing equipment ,and the pressure you get with your barrel maybe quite different .

That where the saying goes in reloading "is work your way up " never start at max loads .

As stated try a different primer ,or back your load down or both .
Chris

[Danny]

Chris,
Thanks for the info. I looked at that chart and also realized that only part of the story was there. Cup material hardness information is missing (as you note). I am at, or even below the starting loads of a few manuals. As my load does not adhere exactly to what is in the Hornady manual, which is what my load most closely resembles, I will work up another load as exactly as I can according to what they show. Their starting charge is what I am using, but they do not use Remington 6-1/2, but, I THINK WSR, and no Factory Crimp. That Factory Crimp die really swaged the bullet diameter down to crimp the case mouth in. It may be a significant factor in my load due to the grip imparted on the bullet. Curiously, I noted that my Cooper firing pin seems to have a rounded flat on it (now) as compared to the semi- spherical shape I am used to. The pierced hole is very tiny, probably not large enough to accept a standard desk staple, nor probably even one of the smaller diameter "TOT" staples (but I did not actually try it).

Danny

Originally Posted by chris allen

the raduis of firing pin can become very important .
When one looks at the spec chart of primers I dont see any hardness rating of the cup material . .020 inches of tissue paper is not as strong as .020 of steel .

I have worked with pressure barrels and pressure testing equipment ,and the pressure you get with your barrel maybe quite different .

That where the saying goes in reloading "is work your way up " never start at max loads .

As stated try a different primer ,or back your load down or both .
Chris

[sicero]

Is the hole in the middle where the firing pin hit or off to the side? Kenny

[fat cat]

Don't laugh but I tried them in my .294!!Yep not good!

[fat cat]

My .204not 294

[Danny]

Kenny,
The hole is dead center on the firing pin strike, and can be best be described as a microscopic (or nearly so) sized hole.

Danny

Note: I only seem to have problems with the Hornet.

Originally Posted by sicero

Is the hole in the middle where the firing pin hit or off to the side? Kenny

[chris allen]

It's your firing pin

[Danny]

Chris,
Thanks for the info. Can you elaborate a bit on that? Is it the slight flat spot that is causing the problem?

Danny

Originally Posted by chris allen

It's your firing pin

[trotterlg]

In some cases, if the fireing pin has a light mass, the softer cup of the primer will let the pressure push the firing pin back, this lets the primer cup flow into the firing pin hole and the primer fails. A stiffer firing pin helps, but it can also be be fixed by a harder primer. Larry

[chris allen]

If the firing pin has a small dente in the center it will act as a mini hole punch . The firing pin needs to be blended so the hole is gone . You dont want to make it more pointed but the lowest point of the tiny hole needs to become the tip again .Dont want to change the diameter and only change the firing pin length the minimum amout to blend the tip .
Chris