Hi all, when I was young my dad bought a reloading press and we dabbled in reloading casually together. That was about 20 years ago and I just recently got the itch to pull everything back out again and blow the dust off. He had a few pounds of H335 and a couple thousand cci 450 primers from way back then. I have read how people say powder and primers will last about forever if stored correctly. Maybe my dads was not. I loaded 10 rounds with 22 grains of H335 this afternoon and went outside to see if they shot. I got 2 duds (both with good primer strikes) and my velocities were all over the place every shot from 2300-2700. The last round did not lock the bolt open. I am aware that I am at about a 0 in terms of experience so feel free to nock me if I am doing something wrong but could it be that the powder or primers are bad and I should just dispose of them and buy new components? Thank you for your advice
Are my primers bad?
- Thread starter collinthomp
- Start date
Try new components and see what happens.
Could be several things. Bad components, gun, chrono, incorrect primer seating, etc
not that it would solve your problem but giving info like caliber and gun would help.
Having someone with experience help you would be a better way to start IMHO
Could be several things. Bad components, gun, chrono, incorrect primer seating, etc
not that it would solve your problem but giving info like caliber and gun would help.
Having someone with experience help you would be a better way to start IMHO
Yes I agree, the experience part would be great. Honestly do not know anyone in my area that also reloads though. They are .223 and I shot them out of my ar-15. As far as the primer seating, how do you know if they are seated correctly? I disassembled, cleaned, and lubed, the whole thing before I attempted starting. It is a Dillon 550 and I primed them on the press. They looked like they were seated fine to me.? If I am not seating them consistantly could that cause that much of a deviation in velocity? One round I shot click... banged like a old flintlock. Thought that was odd, and scary.
Just reading your last part I’m guessing bad components. If you don’t know if your seating primers correctly I highly suggest some reading and studying up on reloading before throwing components together. Primer issue could cause misfires but the velocity spread and hang fire is likely bad components.
Start fresh and do some refreshing on reloading before proceeding
Start fresh and do some refreshing on reloading before proceeding
I'm just going to throw this out there, since I don't think this is really an option for you but, a progressive press like a Dillon 550 is not ideal for someone just starting to reload. There's a lot going on, and things that need attention, with setting up a progressive press, that can have a new reloader chasing their tails.
That being said, I would highly encourage you to get on the phone with Dillon and have them walk through your setup. Their CS is pretty good, and they take care of their customers, regardless of how long it has been since you purchased their equipment.
Just a thought...
ETA: And yes, that hang fire is usually a sign of degraded components. Best to start out fresh, if you're not sure what to look (or smell) for, with older stuff.
That being said, I would highly encourage you to get on the phone with Dillon and have them walk through your setup. Their CS is pretty good, and they take care of their customers, regardless of how long it has been since you purchased their equipment.
Just a thought...
ETA: And yes, that hang fire is usually a sign of degraded components. Best to start out fresh, if you're not sure what to look (or smell) for, with older stuff.
Last edited:
One thing to consider... new powder aan primers are better than hurting yourself and going to the hospital. Getting a squib or something where the bullet gets far enough in, so that you can chamber and ignite the next cartridge, will blow up your gun and potentially jack you up. Get some new components. After you get back in the swing of things, you might feel more comfortable circling back around for the old stuff. I'd probably toss the powder either way.
