How To Shoot	Accessories
Ruger LCP	Taurus TCP
Glocks	Walther P22
S&W 22A	Ruger Mark III
Laser Bullet	Reloading

- All Reviews -

    Glock Parts & Mods

9MM Luger Primer Failure (Misfire/Dud)

 

9mm Luger Primer Misfire/Dud This is the reloaded 9mm Luger round of ammunition that failed to fire.

Primers At Cabela's  Great Deals On Handguns Glock Accessories Glock 19 Modifications

 

Gun Primer Dud

This is a pictorial analysis of a reloaded round of 9mmm Luger ammunition that misfired at the shooting range. The misfired 9mm Luger round was photographed, weighed, disassembled and examined in an effort to determine the cause of the misfire. See also Ammunition Reloading Instruction & Reviews.

 

  

	Protruding Primer The primer protruded slightly from the bottom of the case which caused it to wobble when placed on a flat surface. The round could not stand straight up.
	Side View of 9mm Luger With Protruding Primer Close up view of a small pistol primer sticking out of the bottom of the misfired 9mm Luger round. It should be flush with the bottom of the case or slightly recessed a few thousands of an inch.
	Light Primer Strike/Primer Failure Close inspection shows what appears to be a "light strike" by the firing pin. The impact point (indent) is relatively small as compared to other fired primers (shown below). Additionally, there are no rectangular impact markings as are visible on other fired primers, indicating a weaker strike.
	Dud Primer (On Left), Good Primer (On Right) The one on the right appears to have a solid strike as indicated by the heavy rectangular markings and the depth of the indent. The one on the left is the "Dud" that failed to fire. Observation - 50 fired 9mm Luger primers were inspected. 45 of them had a circular indent surrounded by rectangular markings. 5 did not. All 50 were flush/recessed with the bottom of the case. The 5 without the rectangular markings were all factory Winchester rounds (with brass color instead of silver color).
	Disassembling the Misfired Round Using a bullet puller to break down the failed round into its component parts comprising of the bullet, powder, case and primer.
	Broken Round; Component Weights Bullet and case (case still in the bullet puller collet) as removed from the defective round.  Bullet weight = 124.2 grains Case and primer weight = 61.2 grains Primer weight = 3.4 grains Powder weight = 4.0 grains (recovered) Case weight after cleaning primer pocket = 57.8 grains
	Smokeless Powder 4 grains (weight) of powder was recovered from the round. Approximately .4 grains of powder was lost during the recovery effort. (I typically reload 9 mm Lugers with 4.6 grains of Titegroup smokeless powder).
	Inside the 9mm Luger Case View looking inside the case.
	Side View of 9mm Luger Case Side view of the 9mm Luger case shows no obvious defects.
	Removing the Misfired Primer A Lee Classic Turret Press was used to remove the small pistol primer from the 9mm Luger case. It came out easily with little force needed on the press lever arm.
	Removed "Dud" (Top View) Close up view. This view shows the "up side" of the primer which goes inside the case. When you zoom into the picture you can get a good look at the anvil (the gold colored, three pronged thing on the inside).
	Removed "Dud" (Bottom View) Close up view of the bottom end. This is the end that gets hit by the firing pin. The indent is slightly off center and is shallow.
	Inside the 9mm Luger Case Close up view looking inside the case after the failed primer has been removed. You can see the flash hole.
	9mm Luger Case Primer Pocket (Dirty) Close up view of the pocket shows some debris which may have contributed to the failure of the primer to seat to full depth. (Zoom in on this picture for a close look at the crud and debris inside the pocket).
	9mm Luger Case Primer Pocket (Cleaned) View of the case pocket after it has been cleaned with a primer pocket cleaner. The removed debris is shown adjacent to the case.
	9mm Luger Case Cut in Half The case was cut to get a better view of the bottom of the case.
	9mm Luger Case Cut in Half Another view of the bottom of the case. You also get a better look at the flash hole that spits out the fire that ignites the gun powder.
	Relative Position of Primer and Case Primer is press fit into bottom of case. Shown here for information only.

 

MY CONCLUSION:

Subject: Reloaded 9mm Luger Round Misfire (FTF)

Probable Cause: Improper Seating Depth of the Primer

  

EXAMINATION RESULTS:

1. The primer had a light strike.

2. The primer protruded from the bottom of the case.

3. Substantial amount of debris in the case primer pocket.

 

PROBABLE CAUSE OF IMPROPERLY SEATED SMALL PISTOL PRIMER

1. Improperly adjusted die.

2. Insufficient force to fully seat the primer.

3. Debris inside the case primer pocket obstructing the full seating of the primer. As shown in the above pictures, examination of the case primer pocket after the primer had been removed may have provided an obstruction preventing it to fully seat.  I should have verified this by trying to install another one into the case to see if that too protruded. Instead I just cleaned out the pocket. Lessons learned.

4. Other potential causes of the FTF may be simply a dud primer from the manufacturer, crimped or deformed primer pocket in the case, mechanical problem with the gun causing light firing pin strike, primer contaminated with oil or other contaminants.

  

Recommendations

1. Adjust primer seating die (if possible).

2. Clean each case primer pockets prior to installing primers (not likely).

3. Inspect the primer seat depth of each reloaded round of ammunition by standing the round upright on a flat surface (looking for wobbles), visually inspecting and performing a finger swipe test to ensure each primer is flush or slightly recessed to the bottom of the case. (Finger swipe is best way).

4. Install removed primer into new case and test fire in a firearm. (Pending trip to the range).

 

 

References 

How important is the .005 primer seating depth??
"You do have to use a fair amount of pressure. In 20 years of seating primers manually I've never had a primer go off, though it is possible. I wouldn't be too worried about measuring each primer to make sure of the seating depth. I usually just run my finger over about every 5th one to make sure. You can feel if it is below the edge. If the primer isn't seated solidly against the bottom of the primer hole then the force of the firing pin will be taken up by the forward movement of the primer and it may not go off. The anvil must be seated firmly to the bottom of the hole."

"There is no magic to .005" but for safety and good ignition, the primer must be at least flush. High primers are a major cause of misfires; I have never seen a slamfire on one and don't want to.
"
"IIRC. the SAAMI spec. for primer seating depth is 0.002"-0.005" below flush and most handloaders do not measure it."
http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-621.html

 

Pistol Reloading Basics
"Properly seated primers should be a few thousandths of an inch recessed into the primer pocket in order to ensure they can not detonate if the round is dropped, and to ensure proper feeding (automatics) or proper cylinder closure (revolvers)."
http://ultimatereloader.com/?page_id=43

 

Preventing primer non-fires in reloaded handgun rounds
"That many FTF's is odd. Especially if the commercial ammo is OK. High primers (not fully seated) are the usual culprit. When you examine the cases, the back of the primer should be just below level with the flat face of the casehead (the part with the printing embossed into it). You can lay a small steel straight edge across it to check?"

"Seat a primer into an empty case using less than normal pressure. You can even feel the primer being a little less than flush. Fire the empty case with primer (use hearing protection--it's louder than you think). You'll likely experience a misfire. The force of the firing pin was cushioned by the primer moving forward to seat itself. It's likely that the second strike will fire the now seated primer."

"If the primer did not fire due to the fact that it was not totally seated, a second strike with the firing pin will usually set it off. That will surely tell you if that is the problem vs. some faulty primers."

"I like to check mine by using a razor blade. I holed it against the center bottom across the primer. You should see a gap of light If it is below flush."

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=336938

 

Small Pistol Primer Feedback Messages

-------------------------

9mm Primer Failure

April 22, 2012
Excellent pictures, excellent article and excellent analysis. I am sure that you are correct that the primer being not fully seated was the cause of your misfire. And its darn good think it did misfire and not fire the round. Your Glock was in an "out of battery" position. This means the round was not fully chambered. If it had fired, this would a story about a Glock K-Boom. The pistol did its job by failing to fully dent the primer. Nine mm is notorious for widely variable sizes of brass. Something a little too big or a little too small and it could have K-boomed.

In my experience if I have a failure to fire, its because I did not put the black stuff in. Oh yeah gun powder! I check for high primers by feel, by placing them nose down in an ammo box and looking, or standing them on a flat surface.

The gentleman with the Remington misfire troubles me. If the gun was new, it should have fired, unless.... Was he in a cold environment? Like Alaska? He may want to detail strip the bolt and wash it out with gas. Remington has no control over the gun after it leaves the factory and they put preservatives like grease in places like the bolt. This can get too thick if its too cold or if they got carried away.

-------------------------

What Caused A Primer Misfire?

January 22, 2012
I had primer misfire the other day at the range .I used a hand seater to seat my primers could to much pressure with the hand seat cause a primer misfire. THANKS
Gilbert


Response - Gilbert,

What kind of misfire did you have? Did your firing pin hit and make an indent on the primer and it just didn't go off?

I would doubt whether too much pressure with the hand seat would cause the primer to fail.

I have cranked on primers with lots of pressure with my bench press (more leverage than a hand priming tool) with no problems. Odds are you just had a bad primer or the primer wasn't set down far enough. Did you try firing it again?

Tanner


Follow-up Email

Tanner,

The firing pin did dent the primer but did not fire. I'm using CCI 250 Large Rifle Magnum Primer and i have years this the first misfire ever. This is a new rifle Rem. 700 5R in 300 win mag. Thank You Sir!!

Gilbert

-------------------------