[hwill]

During our first try at reloading .223/5.56 cases we had two 2 round burst. It was not in the ACR but in my Bushmaster AR15. This was out of 150rds we had to test.

We now noticed that some of the primer pockets are just too big and the primers are not seating good. Something we didnt catch the first time.

This is reloading the 5.56 Federal xm193c 200rd bulk cases.

I also had my first failure with the ACR a week before when a primer was knocked out and wouldn't let the bolt go all the way forward. This was with brand new 5.56 Federal xm193c bulk pack.

Anyone had this issue before?
Could the loose primers have been our problem with the 2 round burst?

 

[DSM]

What primers are you using? For an AR it's recommended to use a harder primer like a CCI41 or Wolf since the firing pin floats. Though, every rifle is a little different, some need it and some don't. Note, this type of doubling was what spurred the recall and the newer, lighter firing pin in the ACR. If primers were loose in the case head it's quite possible the process of feeding/chambering/locking could have placed the primer cup and anvil in a position to be ready to pop on a hair trigger.

As for a stretched primer pocket in the XM193 brass, it's a mil-spec load so it is a little on the warm side and could be blowing out the brass, so to speak, causing a larger primer pocket. That is a possible sign of high pressure. But, having shot and loaded tons of the stuff myself the LC brass is pretty good stuff.

How did you handle removing the primer crimp; swaging or reaming? If swaged the mandrel may be out of spec. If reamed you may have reamed too much.

 

[cjt50]

During our first try at reloading .223/5.56 cases we had two 2 round burst. It was not in the ACR but in my Bushmaster AR15. This was out of 150rds we had to test.

We now noticed that some of the primer pockets are just too big and the primers are not seating good. Something we didnt catch the first time.

This is reloading the 5.56 Federal xm193c 200rd bulk cases.

I also had my first failure with the ACR a week before when a primer was knocked out and wouldn't let the bolt go all the way forward. This was with brand new 5.56 Federal xm193c bulk pack.

Anyone had this issue before?
Could the loose primers have been our problem with the 2 round burst?

If the primers are not seated atleast below flush with the case head, then it could happen, (The bolt slamming home will crush primer) Also, if you are very aggressive with seating the primer, you could pre-crush it, causing it to pop before it's designed to.

One thing to look into is to make sure the recall has been performed on your rifle. It was for a heavy firing pin and lighter firing pin spring. The symptom is doubling, (2-3 round burst) The fix is to replace with lighter weight firing pin and heavier firing pin spring.

 

[losman]

hwill<<This is reloading the 5.56 Federal xm193c 200rd bulk cases>>
were these casings initially come with a boxed primer?

 

[hwill]

What primers are you using? For an AR it's recommended to use a harder primer like a CCI41 or Wolf since the firing pin floats. Though, every rifle is a little different, some need it and some don't. Note, this type of doubling was what spurred the recall and the newer, lighter firing pin in the ACR. If primers were loose in the case head it's quite possible the process of feeding/chambering/locking could have placed the primer cup and anvil in a position to be ready to pop on a hair trigger.

As for a stretched primer pocket in the XM193 brass, it's a mil-spec load so it is a little on the warm side and could be blowing out the brass, so to speak, causing a larger primer pocket. That is a possible sign of high pressure. But, having shot and loaded tons of the stuff myself the LC brass is pretty good stuff.

How did you handle removing the primer crimp; swaging or reaming? If swaged the mandrel may be out of spec. If reamed you may have reamed too much.

We are using the CCI400 primers.
Maybe we are doing it wrong but we have not found a shell that needed swagging or reaming. If anything we are finding them blown out and have been throwing them in the junk brass pile.
That batch of reloads was done using a RCBS press to seat the primers. My father preferrs to us a hand primer over it but didn't have the shell holder for the .223
He has one now.

If the primers are not seated atleast below flush with the case head, then it could happen, (The bolt slamming home will crush primer) Also, if you are very aggressive with seating the primer, you could pre-crush it, causing it to pop before it's designed to.

One thing to look into is to make sure the recall has been performed on your rifle. It was for a heavy firing pin and lighter firing pin spring. The symptom is doubling, (2-3 round burst) The fix is to replace with lighter weight firing pin and heavier firing pin spring.

This was NOT on the ACR but my AR15.
Thats what I was thinking was the bolt slamming home fired it off. Maybe those two got by use and didn't seat properly.

hwill<<This is reloading the 5.56 Federal xm193c 200rd bulk cases>>
were these casings initially come with a boxed primer?

Yeap.


Thanks for all of the advice.

We may sound like super newbs reloading but I ensure you that I make sure everyone is safe on the range.

 

[DSM]

We are using the CCI400 primers.
Maybe we are doing it wrong but we have not found a shell that needed swagging or reaming. If anything we are finding them blown out and have been throwing them in the junk brass pile.

What were they fired in originally? Those primers are crimped in so they should take at least a light pass with a reamer to seat a new primer. If there is any of that crimp left it could be crushing the anvil in the primer cup.

 

[hwill]

What were they fired in originally? Those primers are crimped in so they should take at least a light pass with a reamer to seat a new primer. If there is any of that crimp left it could be crushing the anvil in the primer cup.

They were fired in either the Bushmaster AR15 or the ACR.
I just double checked some recently primed cases and the primers were in good condition.
Also checked the primer pockets of some cases after punching out the primers and none required reaming to seat the new primer. Seems as if there was a crimp in them punching them out removes it.

We have over 300 rounds to test out next

 

[oif0709]

After reviewing this thread I remembered on a few occasions on the range while zeroing and qualifying in he army I have had a double fire. I was told to clean my weapon but I called bull on that one. It had to do with the ammo or possibly something else. All I could come up with back then was maybe scavaging of the gas but that doesn't make sense. Then a primer not seated makes alot of sence. Fire one round then the next chambers and a primer not seated fully would be hit by a floating pin. The ar is designed to not slam fire but an unseated primer would cause an issue I suppose. Never had an issue with ammo I bought. Only the stiff I shot in the army. I guess not seating a primer fully during reloading would do it. I had done it myself but had caught it. It was when I was using a single stage press. So thanks to the advice from other members I have to be aware of my throws when using my progressive. The primer pocket size is new to me. I only used the small brush to clean the pocket and have a sonic cleaner now. So hopefully I wont have the issue. Double fork.g wouldn't be a headspace issue would it? Overall length too short?

 

[hwill]

This was indeed a priming issue. I ended up buying my dad the shellholder to use his Lee hand primer and never had an issue yet. He said he didn't like priming them on the press.

I just started reloading .223/5.56 myself and have to say that the LC cases rarely need the primer pocket reamed/swagged. I have been checking all of them but only found maybe 10 out of the 3000 rounds I prepped that needed the primer pocket reamed.

The primer pocket reaming/swagging was new to me too.

 

[oif0709]

I had heard its better to hand prime since you can feel them seat and provide equal pressure every time. So your being consistent. I don't know if I can skip that part on my progressive press though. Just need to take my time.

 

[hwill]

I'll be priming on my turret press . Should be problem free with all the detailed prep work...haha.

 

[oif0709]

Ill ask this here because it doesn't seem necessary for its own thread. I was wondering which primers to get. I found remington benchrest primers. Along with the usual other brands. The remington has #6 1/2&#7 1/2Primers for small rifle. Looking them up I found a chart and the lower number in each cartridge category seemed to be for regular load and the larger for magnum load. So im guessing I want the #6 1/2 the cost wasn't really different than cci or anyone. The different brands designated different numbers but always a low one and a big one. What I read along with the chart pointed me in that direction but id rather ask here from the people with experience.