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Primers cratering on 5r WTF!!!!

jellybeenz17

Private
Full Member
Minuteman
Apr 14, 2011
12
0
51
Well, that doesn't look right?.
Powder: Varget.
Primers: WLR.
Case: Win.
Bullet: 168 hpbt SM.
Grains:43.25 then down to 40.
It craters in the 5r. It does not in the XCR
Both rifles are in .308
Any ideas, opinions, new bad words i can use??
 
Re: Primers cratering on 5r WTF!!!!

Chances are you have an oversized firing pin hole. If the loads are not showing any other signs of pressure then you should be fine to run it as is or if it bothers you, have your firing pin turned and your boltface bushed and you will have cute little primer dents and no big ugly craters.
 
Re: Primers cratering on 5r WTF!!!!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 19Scout77</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Chances are you have an oversized firing pin hole. If the loads are not showing any other signs of pressure then you should be fine to run it as is or if it bothers you, have your firing pin turned and your boltface bushed and you will have cute little primer dents and no big ugly craters.</div></div>

+1 and I would add that I wouldn't spend the money on messing with the bolt face. Mine has been doing it since I got it in 1993.
 
Re: Primers cratering on 5r WTF!!!!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 19Scout77</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Chances are you have an oversized firing pin hole. </div></div>

Every Remington I own does it, and none of the custom actions do.
 
Re: Primers cratering on 5r WTF!!!!

Happened to me many times with Remingtons. I installed a bushing on the firing pin hole and problem gone. Be careful using max loads because I've done that and had gas and tiny bits of metal smack me in the face. I'd drop a C note and bush the firing pin hole.
 
Re: Primers cratering on 5r WTF!!!!

going to swap out firing pins, (xcr to 5r) try factory match ammo, and crono my reloads. Is ther anyone that owns a 5r that has crater the primers. or am i making a big deal out of nothing??
 
Re: Primers cratering on 5r WTF!!!!

My 700p leaves a pretty tremendous crater regardless of the load. It seems to be pretty typical for 700's. I can usually differentiate between a crater caused by overpressure and the normal one because the overpressure has a sharper edge.

YMMV
 
Re: Primers cratering on 5r WTF!!!!

Yep, totally normal. I can pick brass up at the range and usually tell if it was fired from a factory Remington.

All of my 700's crater the primers. Since that is the part I throw away when reloading...not really worried about it.

Pierced primers are a different matter.
 
Re: Primers cratering on 5r WTF!!!!

This site is so great. Just finished my 5r build yesterday and noticed this cratering today. I was thinking wtf, these loads are light. Come on here and see the same thing is normal to Remy's. And I can sleep tonight
 
Re: Primers cratering on 5r WTF!!!!

My bolt does it too...

I know i'm bit high on powder when the bolt gets sticky. I even stopped looking at slight extraction marks. I get them shits all the time. even with ridiculously low charges
 
Re: Primers cratering on 5r WTF!!!!

CCIbr 2 primers have a thicker cups, that might be an option. I have experienced this with factory rem bolts. Wear eye gear bud.
 
Re: Primers cratering on 5r WTF!!!!

I shoot CCIBr2s in a 5r and they still crater. Remingtons have an oversized firing pin hole and will crater primers. You won't be able to use cratering primers as a pressure indication in a 5r.
 
Re: Primers cratering on 5r WTF!!!!

Out of curiosity, what is your seating depth cablecardude? If have a 5R and run Hndy Match Brass (similar to Win capacity). The factory Remington rifles have a long throat so there's lots of wiggle room on seating depth. Both good and bad consequences to this. I run 44.6 gr Varget at one seating depth just fine, but if I seat .02 longer, I start to get sticky bolt. However, as others have said, I have a 'micro crater' every time I fire and don't worry much about it. Would be good to know your velocity to easy any fears.
 
Re: Primers cratering on 5r WTF!!!!

My 223 AI on a rem action craters bad. With moderately warm loads a cci 450 would pierce. I just switched to cci nato 41 primers and I've been able to get the pressure up without piercing. I can do it with rem7.5's too because they have a harder cup as well but the 41's shoot better. cci makes a nato spec large rifle primer too. I'd give it a whirl if you start to pierce primers.

Or just send it to Gre-tan and get it bushed for about $80.

Bb
 
Re: Primers cratering on 5r WTF!!!!

You will gain a couple things when Gre Tan bushes the bolt face, Greg will bush the BF and regrind the fireing pin to .062 so there is less chance of a pierced primer, and when he install the bushing he makes it long enough so when finished you end up with a guided fireing pin that is fully captured,and won't be bouncing around behind the bolt face trying to find the hole when the sear drops which can inprove accuracy!
 
Re: Primers cratering on 5r WTF!!!!

I was wondering the same thing. I have an older (70's) Remington in 7mm Rem Mag and it doesn't crater at all. But, the new .308 SPS Tactical I bought craters anything and everything right out of the box. At fist I kind of panicked thinking I did something really wrong with my reloads. But, after rechecking everything, my loads are fine (and not that hot). I just figured it had something to do with the shape of the boltface. It's good to hear it's a normal thing.
 
Re: Primers cratering on 5r WTF!!!!

if you look real close at your bolt you will see why it craters like it does.it looks like they center drilled the fireing pin hole for some unknown reason.my 5R ( 308 ) doesn't do it at all.now my 5R in a 223 really does it something bad.just look for the other signs of pressure when working up a load.look for ejector marks,or bolt lift.

one day I will have it fixed but see no reason right now for it shoots like it is.
 
Re: Primers cratering on 5r WTF!!!!

I am fairly sure the Rem sps will always do it out of the box. I think they designed it that way. ^5r milspec is on to it.

I can load just a primed case, subsonic, mild, med, or hot load. The primer will still look the same on my sps, nice round "crater." It scared the hell out of me at first, but it is definitely not from over pressure on MY rifle, or I bet a lot of other rifles with the same style firing pin. My typical load is 23.8g varget and 69smk. Slower load, but very good and easy on brass in that rifle. Not overpressure, but still craters.