Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Had a dud

Have had a few FTF's over the decades, but remarkably few, whether with factory or handloaded ammo.

Once in a while a primer slips through production without any priming compound in it, or not enough to ignite the powder. (Believe it or not, priming compound is still spread by hand, at least in all the primer factories I've visited--which include some of the major American factories.) You can usually tell if this is the case if you decap the case and look at the primer with a magnifiying glass. (Walt Berger taught me that one a while back.) The anvil can also be faulty. But the vast majority of FTF's are due to excess headspace, or a firing pin spring that's not right.

Now to address something that used to be true, but isn't any longer, at least with all the major brands of American primers I know of. Handling primers with your fingers has zero effect, because years ago manufacturers started sealing the priming compound with a water and oil-impervious coatiing. In fact you can soak 'em in water or even oil for several days, rub off the oil, and they'll still go bang. So no, there's no danger of turning a modern primer into a "dud" by handling it with your fingers.

Never have had a FTF on a reload, have had a few with old military surplus ammo. Of course several with 22LR's. I wouldn't worry about it, unless it continues.

Ha! I'm using a SS 3x15 so no wories. ( yet)

John,

I'm glad you pointed that out. Early on when I'd have a rare FTF, I used to wonder if I had gotten a little case lube on the primer while handling it, but more recently I know that most, if not all, modern primers are sealed and in the one or two instances that I've had a FTF, it was either a faulty primer or something in my process had gone wrong.

Mistake ? maybe, You will never KNOW......unless you can find that round and disassemble it.
Maybe bad primer ?
Maybe NO powder ?
You'll never know unless...



In 45 yrs +/- of handloading I've had TWO ftfs.
My little son was watching me at the end of my load table and PICKED UP 2 primers in his sweaty hands.
I ran out of primers ON the table ??? I knew I counted them out. HE had them in his hand.
****** that was before 1986, 82,83,84, somewhere in there. ******

I marked those 2 rounds before I went shooting.
Those TWO rounds did not fire. I RE loaded with new primers.......BANG.

Jerry

There was powder, just no ignition.

O K

Jerry

After burning through several thousand rounds of 223 and 204 over the last couple of years, all loaded with Rem 7 1/2 primers, I had a FTF at the range a couple of weeks ago. I even rechambered it and tried to make it go bang.

Nothing

So I guess the question is, should I find a different primer? Or continue with the Rems? I would probably have use them with my fingers crossed hoping that there isn't another dud somewhere in the two cases I have on the shelf.

By the way, the sarcasm button is on.

👍

I’ve had a couple, didn’t put powder in the case.

I wondered if someone was going to point this out

I had a few FTF's with CCI 200's a few years back. 30-30 in 2 different guns, A 1977 Marlin 336 and a pre-64 Winchester 94. I disassembled them and they all had powder. Reassembled them with Federal 210 primers and the problem disappeared.

Maybe your bolt wasn't all the way closed and the energy required to sufficiently strike the primer just wasn't there. I've seen that happen.

Have broken down all the rounds that failed to fire in my rifles over the years. Found the powder missing in two that I can recall. Otherwise the primer did not go off, and all were retried before breaking them down. Some went off on the second try, and one on the third try. If they didn't fire in 3 tries, I gave up.

Have only had one FTF due to a lack of powder push the bullet into the throat of the rifle. That would depend considerably on the size of the case, and how firmly the bullet was seated (and possibly crimped) into the neck.

I have never experienced a primer pushing a bullet into the barrel. Nor do I know anyone personally that it has happened to. Just my experiences.

From time to time I will pick up a failure to fire at our range. If it is something that I shoot I will try it and find that most fire.

That being said I am very careful what I put in my guns. Most of what I find are unfired commercial loads. Handloads are either tossed or taken apart at home.

IIRC, I read an account where a guy soaked primers in WD-40, loaded them and they all went bang...

DF

I've had it happen with factory ammunition but never with hand loads.

Me too