Help Figuring out light strikes?

[Alex]

Took the Henry out again today. Its only its second outing but .. I still love it and it is a hoot. I have had NO problems shooting factory rounds. Since its return from Henry it eats every Factory round I use. I used 125gr Federal and remington HTP both SJHP and SJSP. No problem

My reloads on the other hand ... About 1 in every 3 fails to fire on the first strike but I did manage to get two to fire after cocking the hammer and hitting it again.

I am fine if I just have to use Factory in the henry but I load a lot of ammo for my revolvers and would love to be able to use those reloads in the Henry.
So i am hoping .. someone can tell me what I may be doing wrong. I will add I have been reloading about 2 years and have shot at least 5000 of my own reloads in other guns.

Here is some relevant info.

These were loaded with Winchester Small Magnum primers
This brass has been reloaded probably over 5 times but under 10.
I am using a lee Classic single stage press and seat the primers with the little flip out arm thing that goes on the ram.
I can fire and have fired these same rounds religiously through my revolvers without ever having a problem.

I took a pic of the Brass that fired and of the rounds that didnt. The fired brass looks like a nice strike. The unfired you can see only has a very small dent. Can it be that I loaded that brass to many times and the primer pocket is wallowed out allowing the primers to seat deeper or ???

Wish there was a shrug emoji because .. I just dont have enough experience to diagnose it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

There are larger pix at the links. The top row are the reloads. The bottom row has a reload on the left, then 2 Rem 158gr and 1 Fed 125gr





http://www.boriqualeather.com/stuff/Hen ... 2%20lg.JPG

http://www.boriqualeather.com/stuff/Hen ... s%20lg.JPG

[Mistered]

A couple things.....
Maybe just coincidence but three of your light strikes are SIG stamped brass.

Are you using small PISTOL primers? You say 'Winchester Small Magnum primers' but did not specify small PISTOL or RIFLE.

How are you cleaning your brass prior to reloading ?

Have you removed your bolt and inspected the firing pin (OUT of the bolt) for any issues with it?

Also the R-P brass misfire appears to have a primer seated deeper than it should be. It's definitely deeper than what is normal seating depth.

[BigAl52]

Agree with Ed and I might also go get 100 new pieces of brass load them up and see if it occurs.

[Mistered]

I might also go get 100 new pieces of brass load them up and see if it occurs.

I agree with this.

OR at least separate out say 50 of KNOWN reloads that fired, reload them ONLY and see what happens.

[Shakey Jake]

Not trying to step on toes but it does seem the primers are seated a bit deep. Remington primers are a litttle softer than Winchester, Federal, or CCI. I have to use Remington primers for one of my Sig P229 9mm's in order to make sure it fires every round. Secondly you might think about using a primer pocket cleaner if you don't already use one.
Jake

[Alex]

Jake I was actually thinking about a pocket cleaner!

So .. I haven't pulled the bolt to examine the firing pin just yet because it fires fine with factory ammo .... and while I have done a fair amount of tabletop gunsmithing I am just not ready yet to pull apart the henry.

I use a dry tumbler with 50/50 walnut and corn cob with a smidge of nufinish and half a dryer sheet. I do it before I pull the primers.

This brass is admittedly heavily stepped on but not nearly as much as my 38 brass!

I have 2 boxes of factory ammo inbound. I could set that brass aside so I know it's once fired or should I buy some new starline?

The primers are small mag Winchester pistol primers. My wife thought she could see an angle to the primers. Maybe the pockets are cruddy?

[Mistered]

Since you have ammo on the way shoot it and if no problems set that brass aside for your reloads.

Start depriming BEFORE you tumble.

Double check your priming set up. Make sure the primer 'ram' enters the pocket smoothly and without catching on the edge. Also when you do seat primers just firm pressure is all that is needed - don't 'overdo' it.

Actually in reality you could just prime the brass and test it without a complete loading. Just pop off the primed brass. If say 10-15 fire off go ahead and reload the rest conventionally and see what happens. Cheaper to fire just primers than complert rounds!

[JEBar]

if the primer pockets have a buildup sufficient to prevent the primer from being fully seated, some of the force from the firing pin can fully seat the primer .... the imprint will be light .... as a result, some will fire on the second strike

[Alex]

Since you have ammo on the way shoot it and if no problems set that brass aside for your reloads.

Start depriming BEFORE you tumble.

Double check your priming set up. Make sure the primer 'ram' enters the pocket smoothly and without catching on the edge. Also when you do seat primers just firm pressure is all that is needed - don't 'overdo' it.

Actually in reality you could just prime the brass and test it without a complete loading. Just pop off the primed brass. If say 10-15 fire off go ahead and reload the rest conventionally and see what happens. Cheaper to fire just primers than complert rounds!

Sounds good! Now I deprime with the resizing die. If I deprime this way can I forgo resizing again or do I still have to resize again after tumbling. Seems like a silly question but ?

Oh and I have been mashing those primers in with a good amount of force. I will try not being a gorilla on a few.

Is tumbling with primers out enough to clean the pocket. I have seen some hand tools for cleaning the pocket

[Alex]

Here is what I am using

https://leeprecision.com/classic-cast-press.html