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Nucleus Light Primer Strikes

Mine measured in the 4.0 range. That's why I went with the low sear.
 
So is anyone running a BnA trigger having issues? I'd really like to run CCI 450's with the 16lb spring. I'll gladly replace my Huber if needed.

I’m running a BnA TacSport two stage with the 16lb spring without issue with Federal 215M primers.
 
Are the 25# springs available?

I just talked with Justin a minute ago about the Archimedes, and he mentioned that the 25 lbs springs came in today as we were discussing my other Nucleus. Make a made rush... I don't need one.
 
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I sent an email. Thanks for the heads up. I would try a 19# spring, but for how I'll be shooting this 300 PRC, speed means less than consistent ES/SD so I'll deal with a heavy bolt lift.
 
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16lb
Mod 22 trigger
Fed205m

0 issues
 
I just talked with Justin a minute ago about the Archimedes, and he mentioned that the 25 lbs springs came in today as we were discussing my other Nucleus. Make a made rush... I don't need one.

Hoping that my 2 ship this week. I’d be willing to try the 19, but I’d rather have assurance that the issue is no longer an issue.
 
If you haven’t stripped the grease, or shot in sub 30F temps, place the bolt in the freezer for a few hours then go test it while it’s still real cold.

I'm in NC. Rarely gets sub 30 during daylight hours and I have stripped the grease. I've shot it in the low 40s though. No problem there.
 
I have a Nucleus Action ordered pre-shot show 2018. LH long action and 8 of 10 hand loads failed to fire. searched and read Ted's Fixes for the issue.
1. cleaned in Acetone with ultrasonic and 150 degree F heat for 2 hours after scrubbing by hand.
2. assembled, measures protrusion and length from nut to tip of pin. both measurements were in Ted's specs and currently .035" protrusion.
3. Greased only what Ted said on the cocking assembly with 3M Teflon grease. mid temp -45 to 185 F "Aerospace" $150/.5 oz
4. dry fired multiple times to work in the grease and feel.
5. first 5 rounds failed to fire. put them in my hunting rifle and all fired.
6. got with Jon at ARC and he sent me a 19 lb spring. Should have specified long action. new spring was for a short action.
7. got a correct 19 lb spring and a Allen screw to replace the one that I launched off the bench while compressing the spring by hand with the washer.
8. cleaned, measured protrusion, lubed, and dry fired new LA 19 lb spring. still easy cocking.
9. Test fired 60 rounds and 58 of 60 fired. Not good, but much better. 97% fired vs 20% on the new Action before tear down.

I emailed ARC with the test results along with procedural pictures and measurement results to verify I did this correctly.
I am not sure who replied as there is nothing but "sales team" as a signature. I was told to check back in a week for the spring. Also I inquired about the spring tool and was quoted the following.
"That will not be available for a while as we are preoccupied with action and chassis orders at the moment. " also email us back in a week or so to get a update.
I just emailed them back and got the following, watch Facebook, sniper hide, or our website. We will post a announcement.

Ted, really?? WTF, At first you make me out to be a idiot in your explanation of how I messes up your good work by improperly lubing, and assembling my new action. Sir, The firing pin was never removed or lubed and adjusted except by your company! I only cleaned the barrel threads and lubed the recoil lugs on the bolt. No I am not a Aerospace engineer, but if that is what you have to be to make this action fire 100%, maybe I need to go to Senior Citizen action assembly 101 class.
Hire someone to contact your customers and let them know how this is going to go. We are the customer, not your employee. I along with others should not have to look all this up when our only mistake was ordering a pre-production unit.

I understand this came from the "sales team and not Customer Support", but when your more interested about new sales and forsake existing customers with known problems with a current action the company will not have the name you want in the industry. If you watch the long video of Ted showing him struggle to assemble a firing pin with a "Shortened" 16 lb spring due to the fact that it is tough to compress and then add the full length along with 9 additional pounds of tension.
At 60 years old with Arthritis this is a little tough. In the mean time I have made a spring tool that works wonderful.

some info for the forum . I am Using a Timney Standard trigger " Not Calvin Elite" CCI BR-2 primers. 19lb spring .035" protrusion, LH Nucleus long action receiver. 97% ignition rate with this combination of components.
 
Phill, I got a reply today regarding L/A 25lb springs. Said they'll be available on the ARC website soon.

Not sure if that helps you at all.
 
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Phill, I got a reply today regarding L/A 25lb springs. Said they'll be available on the ARC website soon.
Thank You, Long rant when the support seemed to have stopped. Didn't want to be holding a $1000 paper weight while someone from this year sales gets a new action that works.
I hate my first post went there. sometimes you just get pissed.
 
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Thank You, Long rant when the support seemed to have stopped. Didn't want to be holding a $1000 paper weight while someone from this year sales gets a new action that works.
I hate my first post went there. sometimes you just get pissed.

Have you talked with Timney?

Trigger companies know that sometimes a trigger requires some tweaking with a rifle. These issues are not totally unique to the Nucleus, though it does seem that it might be more sensitive, but I have never paid attention to another action as closely as the Nucleus. Bix n Andy has customized their trigger with different sear heights for this reason.

I am not saying ARC couldn't do a better job in lots of ways. I have expended much patience myself. There might be help at other places as well.
 
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I'm hoping a Bix'n Andy tacsport with the low sear will let me shoot 450's using the 16lb spring. Just waiting to hear back from bulletscentral.com about whether or not it can be ordered with the low sear or if that has to be purchased separate.
 
I'm hoping a Bix'n Andy tacsport with the low sear will let me shoot 450's using the 16lb spring. Just waiting to hear back from bulletscentral.com about whether or not it can be ordered with the low sear or if that has to be purchased separate.

If any trigger will, that and the mod 22 do. Since switching, I havent had any FTFs.
 
I'm hoping a Bix'n Andy tacsport with the low sear will let me shoot 450's using the 16lb spring. Just waiting to hear back from bulletscentral.com about whether or not it can be ordered with the low sear or if that has to be purchased separate.
Just get the TacSport with the medium sear. Should work with 450s. It works with Fed AR primers and they have a thicker cup. I’m also using the 16lb spring with mine.
 
Have you talked with Timney?

Trigger companies know that sometimes a trigger requires some tweaking with a rifle. These issues are not totally unique to the Nucleus, though it does seem that it might be more sensitive, but I have never paid attention to another action as closely as the Nucleus. Bix n Andy has customized their trigger with different sear heights for this reason.

I am not saying ARC couldn't do a better job in lots of ways. I have expended much patience myself. There might be help at other places as well.
Thank you Hereinaz,
I have not talked to Timney about the misfiring. I guess I don't understand what the issue actually is, I thought that it was a mass/acceleration issue between the firing pin, thick grease, and the spring. Is the trigger sear actually dragging on the firing pin and not completely releasing it? As a Remington Clone, is there not a standard distance from the receiver mounting holes to the bottom of the firing pin lock up area and then also from the same holes to the top of the sear? I thought that was what made it possible for "Drop in Triggers".
Could someone please tell me "If this is a truly known" what evidence there is as to whether this is a trigger sear height issue or a receiver manufacturing issue? Include a way to actually measure and verify the problem. "Sorry you already said, talk to Timney"
If this can be verified, why is it not on Teds list of things to address? I could be shooting now? just buy a second trigger, whats another $200-$1000 at this point.
 
I just watched the Bix n Andy Sear selection video,"Bullet Central Videos" then downloaded the chart and measured from the top of pin to top of cocking piece.
4.13 mm average for 5 measurements. high 4.16- low 4.09 Emailed them the measurement for the Nucleus receiver cocking height table.
According to the chart, I need a low sear for a Bix n Andy as It is at the low end of the standard sear but the mid point of the low sear.
I tried to measure the Timney trigger and there is so much sear preload that I can't come close to repeating any measurement.
Now that the sear height is addressed for the bix n andy, where does this fall on sear length? I see Ted has related the issue to length not height.
I totally understand the two differences now, but are they both the issue and where is the chart showing different trigger sear lengths and how to measure to confirm. Also what triggers and models fall where in the sear length chart. You know, Statements without evidence to corroborate is all the news. Sorry wrong category! Fresh Face Mistake! lol
 
The timney 510 doesnt work well on the nucleus. That's why PVA shipped them with the timney 510U. It has a shorter sear length and that's what the difference is. Other triggers also have a shorter length than the 510 and other timney's so that's why their standard r700 trigger works
 
We are here to learn.

As I understand, one issue is that a sear that is too high drags falls enough to allow the firing pin to move, but the sear is still in contact because it doesn't fall far enough. That steals speed and inertia with the lower weight springs.

Timney doesn't want their triggers to fail any more than ARC their bolts. Give them a call. Had a buddy do it, and they are aware.

I haven't seen the sear too long issue pop up with regard to weak primer strikes. I have not seen everything though. Do you have a link? As far as a sear being too long, are you conflating that with the cock on close issue that people talk about?

I have 3 nucleus, one has had light strikes. On two, I didn't even clean the grease out of the bolt and never had a light strike. My third, I am getting light strikes. But, the guy I got it from didn't. Sounds like that particular action and trigger are not playing well.
 
We are here to learn.

As I understand, one issue is that a sear that is too high drags falls enough to allow the firing pin to move, but the sear is still in contact because it doesn't fall far enough. That steals speed and inertia with the lower weight springs.

Timney doesn't want their triggers to fail any more than ARC their bolts. Give them a call. Had a buddy do it, and they are aware.

I haven't seen the sear too long issue pop up with regard to weak primer strikes. I have not seen everything though. Do you have a link? As far as a sear being too long, are you conflating that with the cock on close issue that people talk about?

I have 3 nucleus, one has had light strikes. On two, I didn't even clean the grease out of the bolt and never had a light strike. My third, I am getting light strikes. But, the guy I got it from didn't. Sounds like that particular action and trigger are not playing well.
The length of the sear was in Teds list of things to address. Post #232 There is nothing that states what a good or bad length is nor is there info showing models that fall into those categories and how to measure to verify the length. Quote from Ted below.
"2. Short sear bar is reducing striker fall distance.
Solution: Get a new trigger that has a longer sear bar. Ideally, a tiny bit of cock-on-close ensures that the striker spring is adequately compressed."

I would think that the length could be measures from the back of to bolt shroud to the firing pin bolt hole when cocked. Shorter distance means longer Sear length. Measurements on mine are 2.52mm with bolt closed and cocked. bolt open, this distance is 1.48mm , and fired is 7.47mm
pin travel is 4.95mm when fired, there is a additional 1 mm to be had removing .04 mm to allow the sear to still lock. This is the difference from the bolt open to the bolt closed and held back by the sear. 1.04mm If the sear was 1mm longer and the sear catches the firing pin, you would get 5.95mm of travel which is about 19% increase in travel length. rem 700 recommended is .250" or 6.35mm" travel or Fall of the firing pin. If I add the .045" length that the Timney 510 "U" version adds this puts you at 6.09mm.
how much travel is good with hard primers and soft "16 lb" spring?
But the Rem 700 has a heavier spring and larger tip diameter. Apples to Watermelons.
Now to compare which trigger has more or less firing pin travel based on measurements.
I included a picture showing how I measured the firing pin distances.

IMG_5452.jpg
As you said, "We are here to learn" and Teach if possible. As with any truth, it can be verified with facts and measurements that verify the issues and corrections.
The bottom line is a list of Triggers in whatever configuration that work 100% with 16-25 lb springs.
 
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The length of the sear was in Teds list of things to address. Post #232 There is nothing that states what a good or bad length is nor is there info showing models that fall into those categories and how to measure to verify the length. Quote from Ted below.
"2. Short sear bar is reducing striker fall distance.
Solution: Get a new trigger that has a longer sear bar. Ideally, a tiny bit of cock-on-close ensures that the striker spring is adequately compressed."

I would think that the length could be measures from the back of to bolt shroud to the firing pin bolt hole when cocked. Shorter distance means longer Sear length. Measurements on mine are 2.52mm with bolt closed and cocked. bolt open, this distance is 1.48mm , and fired is 7.47mm
pin travel is 4.95mm when fired, there is a additional 1 mm to be had removing .04 mm to allow the sear to still lock. This is the difference from the bolt open to the bolt closed and held back by the sear. 1.04mm If the sear was 1mm longer and the sear catches the firing pin, you would get 5.95mm of travel which is about 19% increase in travel length. rem 700 recommended is .250" or 6.35mm" travel or Fall of the firing pin. If I add the .045" length that the Timney 510 "U" version adds this puts you at 6.09mm.
how much travel is good with hard primers and soft "16 lb" spring?
But the Rem 700 has a heavier spring and larger tip diameter. Apples to Watermelons.
Now to compare which trigger has more or less firing pin travel based on measurements.
I included a picture showing how I measured the firing pin distances.

View attachment 7029886As you said, "We are here to learn" and Teach if possible. As with any truth, it can be verified with facts and measurements that verify the issues and corrections.
The bottom line is a list of Triggers in whatever configuration that work 100% with 16-25 lb springs.

Ahh, yeah, now I do remember that a shorter sear reduces compression and can give lighter strikes.
 
Finally got it out to the range yesterday for the first time with my Nucleus build only to be greeted by light primer strikes. Of the 10 rounds I tried only 3 fired. Running CCI 450 primers with a TT Special trigger. Checking the three fired cases the shoulder was only bumped forward 0.004" compared to an unfired case so it's definitely not a headspace issue.

Shot an email off to ARC yesterday afternoon after returning home from the range and was told about the pending 25-lb spring. Decided to get online and see what else I could find and found this thread and a couple others. After a lot of reading I'm hoping that with some luck a good thorough cleaning and double-checking of the firing pin protrusion will get it going bang consistently and reliably.
 
Bix N' Andy UPDATE!

wanted to pass this along for BNA trigger users, ill try to keep this short as best i can.

obviously there are many variables on why light strikes can happen and each cartridge and component specs can vary so ill include what im using and what ive tried to get where i am.

260 30* improved, peterson SRP, CCI450's and experimenting with CCI41's just to see.

1)virgin brass: light strikes on both primers. got and installed the 19lb spring......still light strikes.

2)at that point, i loaded some rounds with a decent jam and that mostly cured the issue but not 100%. tested jammed rounds with the 16lb as well and no bueno on that.)
(NOTE: being that my cartridge is somewhat of a wildcat so take that into account. BUT, my cartridge is designed to take factory 260 ammo out of the box, fire and out comes 260 improved brass so that really shouldnt be the issue. also, i think there is a slight difference in the peterson brass shoulder length and the original lapua 260 that i had always ran and had zero problems. but that was with cci200's. peterson may be a fuzz shorter?? my smith did test fire vigrin lapua and it was gtg with the original 16lb spring.) i no longer have any virgin lapua to compare to so not sure on that measurement.

3)with formed peterson brass i have no problems with light strikes and the 19lb spring. the 16lb spring and cci41's were iffy.

4) i said eff it and ordered the LOW sear from BNA and installed it yesterday......It has helped!
i had taken my measurements on my action and was in the 3.9-4.0mm range so i figured i was close enough to try the LOW sear. As mentioned, it’s helped but I’m not at 100% yet but I’ve got most of it figured out....probably the remainder or the issue is brass needing formed.
only tested cases(not a loaded round) and so far so good with the CCI450's and the 19lb spring. formed cases were gtg with both the 450's and 41's.

ill test with the 16lb spring as well.

unfortunately ive gotten so good at tearing down the bolt i honestly think i can do it blindfolded while being pretty deep into a 12pk of my favorite beverage.

i believe my particular issues could be a combination of things but the low sear definitely helped.........i do know its NOT an issue with lube, pin protrusion, yada yada.


with that said, i know the LOW sear helped my situation. if you are running a BNA and having light strikes, take your measurements and run the LOW sear IF need be.

now im off to try and fix the feeding issue with the bolt jamming into the back of the feedlips on my AICS mags in a T4A Elite Mini Chassis, wish me luck........................should of kept my trued up REM700 action:unsure:.
 
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I have fired 223 rounds through my Nucleus with zero misfires with the stock spring using a TT diamond trigger.
90% were Lapua brass+CCI450's, the rest were Hornady brass+Federal 210M and Some Hornady factory ammo.

I soaked my striker assembly in kerosene overnight to clean it but did not dissemble it.
I measured from the tip of the firing pin to the castle nut and its 1.345.
 
Not sure if this might be the cause for the light primer strikes, but I just went through mine and after about an hour and being perplexed why I couldn’t get it to turn just a bit further realized I was putting the spring loaded “detent” for lack of a better word in backwards (didn’t notice it dropped in from the thread side when I took it apart and had the larger diameter part outside instead of inside). This prevents the firing pin from threading all the way in, and was causing what would have been light strikes when manually checking. Bolt functioned fine this way too but didn’t look right. This is what happens when you eat crayons lol. If you did what I did, it might not have anything to do with the spring.
View media item 898
 
Update...

Disassembled and thoroughly cleaned the bolt assembly
Checked FP protrusion and distance to castle nut - both spot on
Took it back to the range this afternoon and I'm still getting light strikes. First round I tried ignited on the second try (fourth if you count the two attempts from the previous range trip), and the second round I tried still failed to fire after three attempts.

My desire to keep this action is dwindling by the day.
 
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I read a post that described ARC. He's a great engineer but he's not a shooter. On paper, the Nucleus has all the features you want, but it doesn't perform those things the way a shooter like me would want. Control round feed is defined differently from Ted and the light primer strike issues are apparent. The action having to be run a certain way and fast is an extra thing that you have to think about when under time. I can't state how many times I have to remember to push the bolt forward while I was closing and it was annoying enough to me that I wish I had never gotten one. No more preorders for me.
 
Update to my light primer strikes.

-I've checked and verified my pin protrusion and it is with in spec.
- Swapped to the 19 lb spring.
-I checked seating depth of 450 primers and all are seated correctly.
- I swapped triggers from a Huber 2 stage to a TT Diamond.

With everything done, the light strikes did get better but still a high percent of rounds are not lighting off (about 30%). I also recently tried CCI 41 primers and have had better luck. I tested 50 rounds and all but one went off. For now, I guess I'll keep using CCI 41's but as for the 450's, I'm still not able to light them all off. I'm going to buy another 100 from a different lot and see if the ones I have might be the issue.
 
I have a stock spring first run nucleus. Huber two stage trigger, shot 20-20+ of 140 hornady black, 140 eld-m, 143 eld-x. Ladder test with Hornady brass 41gr to 43.5gr of h4350 and 140 hybrids with large match federal primers. Shot a coyote during gun deer at 0 degrees with eld-x. Never have taken bolt apart and cleaned. Only greased cocking ramp, have not had one failure to fire yet.

I have only ran one Nucleus which is mine. All I can say is mine has no cocking on close. Have no idea if that means anything. Seen some issues with that from others. Just bought Lapua brass and will be trying 450 primers eventually. Hope I have no problems then. I have a feeling mine is no unicorn. Think theres some smart minds that will figure these issues out.
 
I think what happened here was that Ted was more concerned with a light bolt lift than anything else. In his video going over the action in detail he even talks about being on the fence on what weight firing spring they will come with and notes that he was leaning towards the lighter one to keep bolt lift as light as possible. Clearly that decision was a mistake at this point.

My local gunsmith just happens to be extremely knowledgeable when it comes to action design, bolt timing and firing pin energy requirements. He has discussed and researched those topics ad nauseum with the likes of Jerry Stiller, George Kelby, Ralph Stolle, John Pierce, Speedy Gonzales and the late Fred Sinclair. He is who I had my Nucleus action shipped to, and upon arrival I let him give it a thorough examination for his own enlightenment. After measuring the firing pin spring weight (16.5-lbs on mine) and the firing pin travel (0.183") he chuckled and just said "I bet you're going to have all kinds of ignition problems with this." Six months later I finally get my build finished and sure as shit he was dead right.

I'm not here to bash Ted or ARC as every company out there has issues from time to time, but what matters and sets one company apart from another is how they handle those issues and how well they take care of their customers. Having a newly built $3,600 rifle that's nothing more than a paper weight at this point due to a spring that only costs a few bucks doesn't leave me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, and being told "We should have a spring available sometime soon for little or no cost" isn't very reassuring.

The "little cost" is what really chapped my ass with that email response though. I already paid $850 for this action expecting to get a product that functioned properly and was "as advertised," now you may want me to PAY for the replacement part to fix your design flaw and that fix is likely going to make the bolt lift significantly heavier negating one of the key selling points that prompted my purchase of this action? That's rich right there!
 
How are you all measuring firing pin protrusion and how much are you getting? I’m just using calipers with the pin dropped on the bolt. With .040” protrusion I was basically getting 100% light strikes. At .030” protrusion I have not had a light strike ever in 300 rounds fired. All CCI450. This is with 19lb spring and clean/dry pin and internals.
 
I have a stock spring first run nucleus. Huber two stage trigger, shot 20-20+ of 140 hornady black, 140 eld-m, 143 eld-x. Ladder test with Hornady brass 41gr to 43.5gr of h4350 and 140 hybrids with large match federal primers. Shot a coyote during gun deer at 0 degrees with eld-x. Never have taken bolt apart and cleaned. Only greased cocking ramp, have not had one failure to fire yet.

I have only ran one Nucleus which is mine. All I can say is mine has no cocking on close. Have no idea if that means anything. Seen some issues with that from others. Just bought Lapua brass and will be trying 450 primers eventually. Hope I have no problems then. I have a feeling mine is no unicorn. Think theres some smart minds that will figure these issues out.
How are you all measuring firing pin protrusion and how much are you getting? I’m just using calipers with the pin dropped on the bolt. With .040” protrusion I was basically getting 100% light strikes. At .030” protrusion I have not had a light strike ever in 300 rounds fired. All CCI450. This is with 19lb spring and clean/dry pin and internals.


I don’t get it either and I wasn’t going to open my mouth yet because I have Lapua brass and cci450s coming today or tomrow but I have an earlier nucleus with the 16lb spring still installed I had zero failure to fires through 400 rounds plus until I started handliading this winter at which point I’ve had 1 and it was a hornady factory loaded 140eld I was shooting over the chrono I’ve shot 200cci250s and 400 cci 200s since without an issue we shall see how small primers work out but I have .035” pin protrusion and a trigger tech diamond my action is also left handed maybe something was done a little differently on them but in any case hopefully it continues to work well but it makes me wonder how some people are having 30% failures and some people are not having issues what could be different between them that could cause that much variance in our results
 
I read a post that described ARC. He's a great engineer but he's not a shooter. On paper, the Nucleus has all the features you want, but it doesn't perform those things the way a shooter like me would want. Control round feed is defined differently from Ted and the light primer strike issues are apparent. The action having to be run a certain way and fast is an extra thing that you have to think about when under time. I can't state how many times I have to remember to push the bolt forward while I was closing and it was annoying enough to me that I wish I had never gotten one. No more preorders for me.

Like so many things, personal preference is huge here. I don't have to think about running the bolt, I just do it.

Yeah, the light primer thing sucks. I got lucky and my first two have no problem. I have a third, and got some light primer strikes. I can see where guys would be mad...

I have a feeling the issue is a lot with trigger interface, and I will test my other two triggers from the other Nukes to see what happens. I will test bolts as well on my two .473 heads.
 
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I'm having an opposite effect and getting cratering with Lapua srp; cci 450; h4350 (all charge weights); TT Diamond. I'm going to try new brass and a new box of primers to compare. I've read some things about the fp hole being slightly larger on remy 700 bolts which can cause this, so maybe that is all it is. There doesn't seem to be any signs of excessive pressure, I've measured case heads against factory Hornady and the are the same. The factory loads aren't cratering however.

View media item 901
 
I'm having an opposite effect and getting cratering with Lapua srp; cci 450; h4350 (all charge weights); TT Diamond. I'm going to try new brass and a new box of primers to compare. I've read some things about the fp hole being slightly larger on remy 700 bolts which can cause this, so maybe that is all it is. There doesn't seem to be any signs of excessive pressure, I've measured case heads against factory Hornady and the are the same. The factory loads aren't cratering however.

View media item 901
There’s some discussion about cratering on lower charge weights in this other thread but I have the same thing going on cci 250 cci200 have small rifle primers and brass coming this week to see if it gets better or worse but I don’t get it with hornady factory ammo either go figure

http://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/cause-of-random-cratered-primers.6925623/#post-7567938
 
I'm having an opposite effect and getting cratering with Lapua srp; cci 450; h4350 (all charge weights); TT Diamond. I'm going to try new brass and a new box of primers to compare. I've read some things about the fp hole being slightly larger on remy 700 bolts which can cause this, so maybe that is all it is. There doesn't seem to be any signs of excessive pressure, I've measured case heads against factory Hornady and the are the same. The factory loads aren't cratering however.

View media item 901

Those primers look pristine besides the cratering.
 
05BB1601-8CA3-47D9-9E2B-97C372F5D600.jpeg

Bottom rows are 41.0-43.5gns h4350 cci200 hornady 1x fired brass and 140eld 41.1 shows decent cratering 43.3 shows none and that’s where the bolt got sticky
 
I think what happened here was that Ted was more concerned with a light bolt lift than anything else. In his video going over the action in detail he even talks about being on the fence on what weight firing spring they will come with and notes that he was leaning towards the lighter one to keep bolt lift as light as possible. Clearly that decision was a mistake at this point.

My local gunsmith just happens to be extremely knowledgeable when it comes to action design, bolt timing and firing pin energy requirements. He has discussed and researched those topics ad nauseum with the likes of Jerry Stiller, George Kelby, Ralph Stolle, John Pierce, Speedy Gonzales and the late Fred Sinclair. He is who I had my Nucleus action shipped to, and upon arrival I let him give it a thorough examination for his own enlightenment. After measuring the firing pin spring weight (16.5-lbs on mine) and the firing pin travel (0.183") he chuckled and just said "I bet you're going to have all kinds of ignition problems with this." Six months later I finally get my build finished and sure as shit he was dead right.

I'm not here to bash Ted or ARC as every company out there has issues from time to time, but what matters and sets one company apart from another is how they handle those issues and how well they take care of their customers. Having a newly built $3,600 rifle that's nothing more than a paper weight at this point due to a spring that only costs a few bucks doesn't leave me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, and being told "We should have a spring available sometime soon for little or no cost" isn't very reassuring.

The "little cost" is what really chapped my ass with that email response though. I already paid $850 for this action expecting to get a product that functioned properly and was "as advertised," now you may want me to PAY for the replacement part to fix your design flaw and that fix is likely going to make the bolt lift significantly heavier negating one of the key selling points that prompted my purchase of this action? That's rich right there!

How are you only getting .183" of firing pin travel on your action?

Both my short and long nucleus actions have 0.250" of firing pin travel without a trigger fitted. I only have my short action built right now, and with a CG mod 22 trigger the combo has 0.026" overcocking on close for a total of 0.276" of firing pin travel. I'm not counting spring rate or firing pin assembly mass which also has an effect on energy delivered to the primer, but 0.276" total firing pin travel is right in line with many other actions.

I'm 1100 rounds in on my 223AI nucleus build using Remington 7.5 primers with the 16# spring with only one misfire, and that's because that piece of brass had an extremely deep primer pocket and the primer was set way too deep. Last couple times I've been at the range it was about 30F, so I haven't experienced cold weather light strikes. I have a 19# spring on hand, but it's still in the package for now.

The light strikes are obviously an issue for some, but others like myself have no issues... Certainly frustrating for those having the problems. From what I've seen Ted seems to be holding the tolerances very consistent on these actions, so I'm wondering if it's an action issue, a trigger issue, or a combination of the nucleus action with certain triggers leading to excess sear drag causing these light strike issues. I'd love to play with a "problem" action & trigger combo and try to pinpoint the issue.
 
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I don’t get it either and I wasn’t going to open my mouth yet because I have Lapua brass and cci450s coming today or tomrow but I have an earlier nucleus with the 16lb spring still installed I had zero failure to fires through 400 rounds plus until I started handliading this winter at which point I’ve had 1 and it was a hornady factory loaded 140eld I was shooting over the chrono I’ve shot 200cci250s and 400 cci 200s since without an issue we shall see how small primers work out but I have .035” pin protrusion and a trigger tech diamond my action is also left handed maybe something was done a little differently on them but in any case hopefully it continues to work well but it makes me wonder how some people are having 30% failures and some people are not having issues what could be different between them that could cause that much variance in our results

My FP is also at .035” protrusion. All other primers I’ve used and shot through the action have fired(win srp, cci 400, cci 41, fed srp) Including a few rounds of factory federal match ammo as well as some wolf gold .223.
Cci450’s are the only ones giving me issues. I’m hoping it may be this lot of primers. So I’m going to pick up a different one and give them a try.
Hopefully yours will work with no issues.
 
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Dependent on my schedule and weather, I will be testing things out either tomorrow or Thursday. Nucleus with 25# spring and Huber trigger, Nosler brass with CCI BR-2 and 250 primers, and Lapua Brass with BR-4 and 450 primers. Assuming 100% ignition, I'll run a similar test with the 19# spring.

IMG_2833.jpeg
 
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How are you only getting .183" of firing pin travel on your action?

Both my short and long nucleus actions have 0.250" of firing pin travel without a trigger fitted. I only have my short action built right now, and with a CG mod 22 trigger the combo has 0.026" overcocking on close for a total of 0.276" of firing pin travel. I'm not counting spring rate or firing pin assembly mass which also has an effect on energy delivered to the primer, but 0.276" total firing pin travel is right in line with many other actions.

I'm 1100 rounds in on my 223AI nucleus build using Remington 7.5 primers with the 16# spring with only one misfire, and that's because that piece of brass had an extremely deep primer pocket and the primer was set way too deep. Last couple times I've been at the range it was about 30F, so I haven't experienced cold weather light strikes. I have a 19# spring on hand, but it's still in the package for now.

The light strikes are obviously an issue for some, but others like myself have no issues... Certainly frustrating for those having the problems. From what I've seen Ted seems to be holding the tolerances very consistent on these actions, so I'm wondering if it's an action issue, a trigger issue, or a combination of the nucleus action with certain triggers leading to excess sear drag causing these light strike issues. I'd love to play with a "problem" action & trigger combo and try to pinpoint the issue.

The 0.183" number might be incorrect as I was going from memory of what my 'smith said 6-months ago.

If I measure off the back face of the firing pin (where you would screw in the hex bolt to compress the spring) to the rear face of the bolt shroud I get the following:

Dropped (fired) = 0.312"
Cocked with bolt up = 0.128"
Cocked with bolt down = 0.118"

That puts the travel at 0.194" with the trigger in place.

With no trigger I get the following:

Uncocked (bolt down) = 0.312"
Cocked (bolt up) = 0.118"

That's a difference of 0.194"

Heading out to my smith's later this afternoon and plan on taking it with me just to verify numbers and see if maybe he has a spring that will work in this thing. Not likely, but worth a shot.
 
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Dependent on my schedule and weather, I will be testing things out either tomorrow or Thursday. Nucleus with 25# spring and Huber trigger, Nosler brass with CCI BR-2 and 250 primers, and Lapua Brass with BR-4 and 450 primers. Assuming 100% ignition, I'll run a similar test with the 19# spring.

View attachment 7033006
I hope it works out for you.
I have a nucleus and Huber trigger on order.
 
My Nucleus was clearly rubbing on the top of my Huber. It also had some amount of cock on close (I never measured it). However, with the Huber and the 16# spring, I still have not had any light primer strikes with Hornady 6 creed or virgin peterson brass with 205M
 
I went to get cci 450s for the srp brass I have arriving after work and lgs was closed I may just order a few thousand federal primers I have not seen many if anyone having issues with them I wanted to go with 450s because that’s all I can get locally but if it saves me some trouble I will have to hold off

So before i go that route I haven’t seen anyone mention it, but has anybody had problems with there nuke and fed 205 small primers and failures?