Thread: Primer failure rate.

Had one yesterday in .223. gave it second strike with no joy,first for a long time.

Re Fiochi primers. During the " great shortage" these became a supply for many in our rifle club. I reloaded a bunch for a guy. Not one FTF, mind you they got a fair smack from his Swing action.
Some folk did have FTFs but its the same people that have this issue with any brand of primer. Its very rare for it to genuinely be the primer. You can really only blame a primer if it has no compound or the anvil has fallen out. Other than that its a rifle issue or a reloading issue.
My 2c 

I've seen quite a few Fiocchi cartridges fail to fire on first strike - 7.62x39, 308 and others at our rifle range. Most fire on 2nd strike.

I have been using Fiocchi LR primers myself and not had a problem though. Bought them during the primer shortages as they were the only ones available. SAI had them, they didn't even hit the open market as all sold by word of mouth before they were even landed.

Thought I had a primer fail the other day, up at the range. Click, wait a minute, open the bolt. Hmm, that's odd, no projectile. Oh shit!
All ended well.Cleaning rod dropped in bore, no force other than gravity. Mind you I was holding my breath. Out it popped, whew.
I broke my cardinal rule, didn't give the cartridge a test shake.

Originally Posted by Crusty

I've seen quite a few Fiocchi cartridges fail to fire on first strike - 7.62x39, 308 and others at our rifle range. Most fire on 2nd strike.

I have been using Fiocchi LR primers myself and not had a problem though. Bought them during the primer shortages as they were the only ones available. SAI had them, they didn't even hit the open market as all sold by word of mouth before they were even landed.

@Crusty when you say Fiochi cartridges do you mean factory manufactured ammunition?
Surely that would be justification for a recall?. The primers used for reloads are maybe on the larger end of the spec. Causing difficulty if in tight spec pockets. I believe thats where the FTF issue arises.

yes, factory ammo.

Wow thats not good. Did anyone ever pull it apart to find the cause?