Warning - S&B Brass and high primers

[bkoenig]

Just a heads up in case anyone else runs across some S&B 9mm brass.  I shot in the USPSA match at ENGC a couple weeks ago and had 3 or 4 malfunctions due to my slide not going all the way forward into battery.  It was back just far enough that you couldn't tell without looking closely, and the hammer would fall but not engage the firing pin and strike the primer.  I only recovered one of the rounds in question and noticed it was a S&B case and the primer was very high.  I theorized that the high primer prevented the slide from going all the way forward. 

Yesterday I went to the range and found two more rounds just like that - both S&B, and both with high primers.  They would chamber, but only with a little extra help to push the slide forward.  At that point I figured it must be the brass.  So, tonight while I was loading some ammo I paid attention to the case headstamps and I ran across five S&B cases.  Of those five, three did not seat the primer fully with the normal amount of pressure that was required of other cases.  The primer would still seat all the way, but it required some extra pressure on the press handle.  Not enough to worry about detonating it, but enough that you would think it was fully seated before it actually seated all the way. 

It appears that S&B brass has some pretty tight primer pockets.  I have not run into this before, but I don't ever remember having this many S&B cases so I must have picked up a bunch out at the range.  They're not crimped, and they're not shallow as far as I can tell (I didn't mic them) but the primer definitely fits tight.  It will seat all the way but you have to crank down a little harder on the press.  A search on Google shows that other people have run across this.  In a gun with a floating firing pin a high primer like this could be dangerous and cause an out of battery detonation when the slide comes forward.  Just goes to show, you should always inspect your ammo after loading.  In the future I will make sure I visually inspect my primer seating and run a finger over them to feel if any are too high.

[NENick]

Your theory is sound. I've started separating those cases out.

[jonm]

What primers were you using?

[bkoenig]

Winchester small pistol.  I have not tried it yet with other brands.

[OnTheFly]

Did you try tapping the primer in the rest of the way with a hammer?  Maybe a nail setter might work.

Fly

Kidding of course.

[bkoenig]

Did you try tapping the primer in the rest of the way with a hammer?  Maybe a nail setter might work.

Fly

Kidding of course.


I figure if the priming arm on the press won't work, a 12lb sledge should do the trick.

[HuskerXDM]

I've noticed that too. I use CCI primers.

[abbafandr]

Thanks for the heads up.  I have around 500 S&B cases I've saved after firing once.  I had a special reloading project in mind for them.  I haven't noticed any primer problems with the  S&B I've reloaded so far, but I am still enough of a reloading noob that I check each cartridge when primed

I have noticed some  cases are harder to seat the primer than others, but mostly my brass is not sorted by brand or head stamp.   Haven't needed the love tap with the hammer yet though   Some emptied cases are tougher to deprime also.

[GreyGeek]

I noticed that when I was reloading 9mm cases but they weren't S&B.   I caught them because I always ran my finger over the primer after I took a round out of the press.

[SemperFiGuy]

High primers will usually show themselves if the loaded cartridge is placed bullet-side-up on a hard, level surface.   Such as... an even, hard-surfaced table top.   Any lack of even fit between the cartridge base and the table top will show up the protruding primer.   And the cartridge will usually be tippy.

Such practice provides large-volume processing if you should have a bunch of cartridges to check.

The Great Reloading Safety Dilemma then comes when a large percent of the loaded cartridges are found to be "tippy".   What next?  Bring out the hand primer again??

Actually, best to check 'em immediately after priming the cartridge case and before ever loading powder and bullet.

sfg
[Fly: Please post a video of your Hammer and Punch method.] 

[bkoenig]

The bad part is I'm loading 9mm on a turret press, so pulling each case out and checking after priming kind of negates the advantages of using a semi-progressive system.  Instead I'm now checking them after loading and setting aside any bad ones, and I'll pull the bullets and redo them later when I have a lot of them collected.

[Lorimor]

I've noticed that S&B .45 brass has slightly tighter pockets than other brands.  I just push a little harder on the press handle. 

I have learned that "match" ammo should each be run through a case gauge to check for defects.  This gives me a chance to check for high primers at the same time.  Since I don't handle each case before inserting it into the press like I did with the SDB, sometimes a case with a cracked neck passes through the reloading cycle unnoticed.  The case gauge is excellent for detecting this sort of defect.

One advantage I've found with the XL650 press is the press handle must be fully pressed to the rear to properly and fully position the empty case in the shell plate.  This action basically guarantees a fully seated primer if the press is properly set up.  Still I check the ammo designated for competition use.