Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Anyone have a shell not go off while hunting??

NO FUGGIN' WAY ! Deer just don't spook at the sound of metallic clicks.Just ask all the goddam experts here. They'll tell you in no uncertain terms that they don't spook from the click of a loud safety so there's no way they'll spook from the click of a misfire. Fuggin' stupid amateurs.

I had that happen years ago with a Ruger Model 77 tang safety 270 win. I had purchased a Timney trigger for the rifle and had a local gunsmith in KS install it.

Never used it again until I drew on the Kiabab (AZ) circa 89. Last day everyone went back to camp after the morning hunt, but me being young at the time, I made a loop by myself on the flats in the cedars. I hadnt gone 100 yds off the dirt road and I jumped a big forked horn. I pulled on him , caught him standing broadside to me about 70 yds away, and...touched off the rifle only to hear the infamous "Click"..... Slapped another round into the chamber but the buck was gone.

First gunsmith sold me a german made firing pin spring. Second gunsmith had no clue what the issue was, Third gunsmith determined it was an improper installation of the Timney trigger, adjusted it, and I was in business.

Geezus....now we have to worry about the deer spooking when a malfunctioning rifle goes "click" instead of "boom"....all those fuggin amateurs spooking deer with loud firing pins and defective primers....LMAO this place gets funnier all the time.

I've had a few light primer strikes in my montana. Was using BR2s.
One was when lined up on a fallow's shoulder. He was kind enough to hang around for round two so to speak which went to plan.
Gunsmith suggested trying a "softer" primer before we messed with it. Bought a brick of federals and haven't had a problem since.
Getting a light strike/misfire (preferably when shooting at paper) is a good measure of your shooting form if your honest with yourself.

I had freezing rain get into the action once. Not only did the one in the chamber not fire, the rest didn't either. The firing pin was frozen in place. Must have been cold.

I've had four FTFs over the years. The first time was in 1994 on an antelope hunt in WY using a Ruger 77 .30-06 with handloads. I had crawled up to about 300 yards on a buck that dwarfed the 72" goat I took the year before. After the ftf he took off when I cycled the bolt never to be seen again.

The second time was in 1996 on a cow elk hunt in CO with a push feed 70 .338 WM with handloads. Clicked two rounds before they ran. Caught up with them a couple hours later and it went off that time on my first elk, a big cow.

The last two times were in consecutive years on spring turkeys with Remington shells in my Benelli. Both times I managed to cycle a second shell and kill the bird. Same box of ammo which then went in the trash.

Prior to 1968 I used CCI primers almost exclusively. Never had a problem till I moved to Nevada when all of a sudden I had a 10 percent rate of FTF in my 30-06. Switched to Winchester primers and never looked back. Never had one FTF even when out in the cold on my last elk hunt.
In the last three weeks, I have been working up loads for two rifles in 7x57 and another in .280 Rem. for an upcoming elk hunt in about three weeks. So far two FTFs from the .280 and six from one 7x57 and two from the other. Only one fired from a second strike in the .280 and one in the 7x57. Primers are a few years old but have been stored under good conditions inside the house.
Leaves me somewhat worried that ammo I have loaded for other rifles I can take on the hunt may give problems as the ammo was loaded from the same lot of primers.
Two rifles are based on Mauser actions and the firing pins fall with a noticeable clunk while the Winchester M70 FWT firing pin has a wimpy sounding click in comparison although primer indents look good.
I picked up a 1,000 CCI primers to try and see if that solves the problem.
Fortunately no FTFs so far on any hunt. Hope I didn't just jinx myself.
Paul B.

I have never had that experience, but a PH I was hunting elephant with in Zim, was roughed up by a cow elephant when his .505 Gibb's reload went click instead of boom. He managed to finally kill the elephant after it had hooked his cartridge belt as he was running away and had fallen (after the belt came undone) between her legs. The ellie was kneeling trying to squash him with her head, and he managed to rechamber a round and fire straight up through her jaw in to her brain.

This happened a month before I hunted with him, and to this day, I still admire the courage of this guy (Kirk Mason) who went right back to hunting elephant just a few weeks after having such a close call.

BH63

Had it happen one time to me while hunting elk back in the mid 80's. Winchester M70 push feed 30-06 with reloads. Fired at a bull and heard the click, ejected that cartridge, put another in and the rifle fired that time. I put the bull down and then examined the cartridge that didn't go off. Solid primer strike. Took it to the range a few weeks later and tried it again. It still didn't fire. All of my other loads from that batch fired just fine, so I concluded it was simply a bad primer.

Once while hunting, but it actually did go off, just was delayed by about 30 seconds. That was a hoot.

Had a handload fail to go off during zeroing of several guns in October. Had 40 rounds of 300 Savage w/CCI primers, every round worked beautifully except one. Tried it in 2 different guns, perfect primer strikes. Just never went off.

Not personally but my hunting buddy did twice. Once was a nice buck. Afterwards I urged him to swap the firing pin spring but it shot fine the following summer and he didn't do it.

Next time was when he was shooting at an elk. Click. After fiddling with it he got a shell to go bang and got a different elk anyway.

It was another couple years before I could get him to swap the spring. When we did it was about 2/3 as long as the new factory spring. Seems he had been storing his rifle in the cocked position.

I've had some bad Wolf SRM primers that I ran in my AR. I only use them for plinking now.

Hunting rounds I've only had one not go off (factory and handloads) and that was at the range. It was a factory Remington Corelokt 100gr in 243. Tried it again and it didn't go off, despite a good solid primer strike. No other issues in that box or the next from the same lot. Bad primer I suppose

In 2003 I was trying to take a VT moose with a .44 mag. I took along a Winchester 94 Trapper and a Virginia Arms dragoon revolver. I loaded up 50 300 grain Uni-Cors for the hunt. I had one nickel case and I took extra care in reloading that one cartridge. I kept it under the hammer the whole hunt. On the last day I switched to the .30-06 and killed a Bull. After the season I attempted to fire the nickel case and it went click. I verified it had powder.

Yep, once. On a pretty nice buck too. I had been out all day, started the morning in rain, went to sleat, then snow by evening. I think that caused the action to freeze/gum up causing a light strike. Nice buck and some does made an appearance right before dark. Click...rack bolt, try to find running buck in scope, squeeze, boom, clean miss. The click rattled me pretty bad. At least thats my excuse.

Yep, I had 3 rounds from the same box of remington green box in 270 caliber fail to fire.The first 2 were while hunting.The third was at the range afterward.Needless to say I threw the rest in the trash and have never purchased remington again. The gun was a Browning A Bolt. The gun never did it before or since.But has only shot reloads since. That was 22 yrs ago.

Big gobbler at 65 yds.
Carrying contender carbine, chambered in 6.5 Grendel
Ready, Aim, click!!??!!
apparently someone (not me) had moved the selector from centerfire to rimfire.
Luckily, the distance allowed me to recock after selector adjustment and the gobbler was mine!

I had it happen twice. 30-30 handloads with CCI 200 primers. In my Marlin and also my Uncle's Winchester. I disassembled them and re-loaded them with Federal 210's and haven't had any problems since. I've read that CCI primers are "harder" than other brands. If I remember right, I was using up some older primers in this case so I'm sure CCI's are fine.

Yup it happened...loaded and seated a primer backwards! Embarrassing oops.

Lefty C

Had it a couple of times. Twice it was a certain "brand" of primer which I no longer will use. One was a hunting situation, the other just sighting in. Primers were not exposed to anything that might have compromised their effectiveness, just some were duds. Not fun.

The other situation was when I was young and clicked on a fine 8 point. I got back to camp and in Dad's presence shot the same cartridge at a target, and off it went. Firing pin assembly was dirty/lubed and that slowed things down when it was cold in the morning. Make sure your gun is clean and grease free if hunting in cold weather.