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Wrecking firing pins and need some help

Truck Fireman

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Minuteman
Jan 27, 2019
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Ok guys I have an issue fireforming my 6 bra that I can’t figure out. Need a little help. Fire forming using 4895. Virgin Lapua brass. I have destroyed (bent and damaged) 2 firing pins on an impact action. Stuteville barrel. 29.5 grains of 4895 running 2850. 105 hybrids. Using 205m primers I get pierced primers and damaged firing pin. Using 450s I get a strike and doesn’t fire. I’ve tried 20 thou off and I’ve tried a 20 thou jam in case it was a head space issue. The load shows zero pressure signs on the brass but continues to pierce primers. I’m at a stand still now. And this is my second time fire forming with a Stuteville barrel and had no issues the first time. Any ideas?
 
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What does it do with factory ammo?

could you have a firing pin that is too long?

firing pin with a burr or something that creates a weak spot on the primer?

is the primer flattened? Pressure signs?

pictures would help! Very interesting thread.

Sirhr
Don’t have factory ammo in 6bra. 2 different firing pins now both same result. No pressure signs on the brass. The 205m primers that didn’t pierce cratered.
 
You got a decent amount of carbon in the barrel most likely. I ran into the exact same scenario. I cleaned the barrel to bare steel from breech to muzzle and my piercing primer problem went away.

FYI you will need a borescope to determine if the bore is actually down to bare steel after cleaning...don't be scared to use an abrasive either.
 
Have you talked to the impact team? That’d be my first stop.
 
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Don’t have factory ammo in 6bra. 2 different firing pins now both same result. No pressure signs on the brass. The 205m primers that didn’t pierce cratered.
What happens with the ammo post-fire-forming. Ie. now that it's fireformed, you have a finished round and load? Is that firing reliably? Are you getting primer piercings or cratering with your finished post-fireformed ammo?

Could your firing pin(s) be either loose in the firing pin hole or could your bolt's firing pin chamber be deep? I saw this on a rifle once and had to shorten the firing pin. Any firing pin from the factory would have been in 'spec, but would have had the effect of being too long because the bore inside the bolt was drilled about .020" too deep.

Could case length pre-fireforming be over-long or tight in the chamber?

Are you running it through dies before fire-forming? From what I gather, trimmed Dasher dies are used to move shoulder angle/back? What dies do you have?

Throwing things against the wall for ya! Something will stick!

Cheers,

Sirhr
 
Don’t have factory ammo in 6bra. 2 different firing pins now both same result. No pressure signs on the brass. The 205m primers that didn’t pierce cratered.
I have had the same issue, same actions, 3 of them, and BRA-Dasher size cases. I just replace the firing pin when all the brass is formed. I am sure you are learning, the more cratering and piercings you have, the worse it gets, the firing pin is getting damaged more. I may try a diamond file on mine.
Measuring firing pin extrusion is a good idea, may yield some insight.
The absolute worst for me was firing 500 pcs of peterson dasher brass for the first time, the brass was growing over .010" on the initial firing, and no, the chamber is not out of spec. In my case, CCI 450's cratered worse than 205M's. Out of 500, I bet i had 100 that were actually stuck to the firing pin on extraction. 30.2gr of H4895, 105 hybrid, peterson brass does have 2 less gr of case capacity, but I am not warm here either.

Give us your bump measurements, maybe your brass is growing in length more than designed. Upon firing, the primer has the tendency to leave the case long before the bullet gets too far in the barrel. I know you said you tried a 20 thou jam, try .050". Cratered primers are a pain but doable in FF, but pierced primers will shut you down quickly.
Speculation here, lol, but maybe your bent firing pins were the result of a pierced primer the round before, and that little spec of metal from the primer was clogging the firing pin hole, and upon firing the next rd, now that dot of metal in front of the pin made your firing pin way too long.
 
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That's pretty hot for a fireform load, first I'd back that down. My 6 BRA (full power load) is either 30.2 gr H4895 or 31.5 gr N140, and fireform load is 29.6 gr N140 (and 2753 fps with 105s). Haven't worked up a H4895 fireform load but using those ratios it would be about 28.3 gr H4895.

Agreed on measuring your shoulder growth after firing, Stuteville ought to have it right but as I documented here mistakes happen. If you have a no go gauge that would be best, but you could also try shimming a 6 BR virgin case and seeing if it will chamber.

The hang fires with 450's but could definitely be a sign of excessive headspace if the firing pin can't reach (and 450's are seated deeper than the 205M's for some reason).
 
That's pretty hot for a fireform load, first I'd back that down. My 6 BRA (full power load) is either 30.2 gr H4895 or 31.5 gr N140, and fireform load is 29.6 gr N140 (and 2753 fps with 105s). Haven't worked up a H4895 fireform load but using those ratios it would be about 28.3 gr H4895.
His FF charge may not be ideal, but far from hot, given brass being blown forward absorbs a lot of energy.
 
His FF charge may not be ideal, but far from hot, given brass being blown forward absorbs a lot of energy.
Fair, seems to be a school of thought to take it really easy on brass for fireforming (or first firing generally) but that doesn't mean it's always needed.
 
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