Gunsmithing 338 Edge troubleshooting -- Primer issues

[propulsionclimbing]

Sorry if this is long, but I'm trying to get to the bottom of this and am hoping that you all can help me out. I have a 338 Edge built on a Rem 700 action that has me about to pull my hair out. The problems all started when initially doing load testing. Everything was going fine as I was using loads that have been proven in this chambering i.e cci 250's, 92.0 grains of H-1000, 300 grain SMK's coal of 3.890" with remmy brass. Things started going wrong when I got a pierced primer. I hadn't noticed any signs of pressure prior to that, so I continued shooting. Five shots later, another pierced primer. Now I was getting concerned. I went back to the bench and loaded some more rounds with a reduced charge of 91.0 grains. As I pulled the trigger on one of these loads, the primer did not ignite and I could tell that there was something wrong with the firing pin. I proceeded to remove the firing pin and cleaned it out thinking the blowback from the pierced primers fouled something up. This seemed to resolve the issue; however, after another five or so shots, another pierced primer. I went back to the bench again and loaded some more rounds with 90.0 grains of h-1000. The first few shots out of the rifle seemed okay. I was very concerned however when the next chambered round failed to discharge upon pulling the trigger. I waited with the barrel down range for a few seconds then proceeded to eject the round. There was a slight indent where the firing pin struck the primer, but obviously not enough to ignite the primer. This happened three more times. I determined that something had occurred to damage the firing pin due to the blow back or that something was wrong with the firing pin to begin with. I proceeded to order a Tubbs speedlock firing pin for the rifle and installed it upon receiving it. The first round ignited fine and showed no signs of pressure with the 90.0 grain load. However, the second and third shot did not ignite and demonstrated the same problem with a slight indent on the primer.

I'm not quite sure how to proceed from here. Has anyone had similar issues with a rifle before? Any ideas as to what is going on? And most importantly, how can I fix this rifle? Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Ed Baker]

Re: 338 Edge troubleshooting -- Primer issues

Have you tried using any other primers to see if it is the primers and not the firing pin?

 

[AQC440]

Re: 338 Edge troubleshooting -- Primer issues

Firing pin that falls below the minimum measurement on a firing pin protrusion gauge.
Really excessive head space.
Hard primers
Deep seated primers
I also agree with the trying a different brand of primer...for what it's worth.

 

[Dennis_in_VA]

Re: 338 Edge troubleshooting -- Primer issues

Well let me tell you about my "Custom" rifle woes.

I got my EDGE and my guy says H-1000+CCI 250+300 SMK loaded to XX? OAL.

Well I followed his load data and I had numerous FTF (failure to fire) situations and I was told ( by another "smith") that CCI's had HARD cups and to try Federal so I did and still the FTF were occurring so I inquired again and was told to try a stronger firing pin spring so I installed a Wolff 28 lb spring and the problems still existed.

So one day just prior to boxing the thing up and shipping it back to the guy that put it together I took the action out of the stock to look things over. While I had the action in my hands I gave the barrel a twist and it came unscrewed from the action!

Well it appeared that the barrel was spun on hand tight, brake installed,Cerakote job, engraved, test fired, etc., etc. and shipped to me.

Well I contacted my gun guy and he says "just send the barreled action back".

He did a set back and returned it to me. I assembled the rifle and took it to the range.

I fired quite a few rounds and the FTF problem ceased and I have not had any since.

He was even good enough to send me a bag of brass.

So the light strikes you describe were what I was getting and they were not predictable.

My action is a Lawton 7500 single shot.

Maybe you should look into getting your firing pin bushed?

That's my .02

 

[Jim See]

Re: 338 Edge troubleshooting -- Primer issues

First off the little pieces of primer cup that are missing....There in the bolt flopping around between the fireingpin and the bolt causing the no hits and light strikes. Take the fire pin assembly out and clean it and the bolt with pressurized brake cleaner and compressed air to remove all the little flakes.

Second your pressure issues, every barrel is different thats why we start low and work up, H1000 has been seen to get a little faster burning in resent production so this could be an issue with the 92gr load. Did you cronograph during load development to record the velocities? Also New barrels will show pressure if you do not brake them in as you go. Did you do a 1 shot and clean for 5 and if so did all the copper come out between shots. If the copper is allowed to "load up" during the first dozen shots and the powder charge is at max, it is possible to punch holes in primers.

Also inspect that first firing pin tip. I have seen remmys pin tips have a scratch or tooling mark across the tip that was hard on primers. Loose headspace can also cause this problem as the primer backs out then gets smashed flat thus causing more surface stretch making the cup thinner and more prone to pierce.

Good luck.