Solve this primer problem riddle for me.

[Treeman]

*(&^%&%&%&F&% - represents all the foul language I would wish to use, hopefully out of me now !

Friend who hunts a lot with me brought his rifle over, it was not shooting straight anymore. ? not shooting straight ?

After some ragging about curved and skew bullet paths he caught on and said that it was no longer accurate. Stripped it and cleaned it, !!!! yusslike it was baaad. No rust, but years of compacted dirt in the bolt, on the bolt, in chamber, dried grease, oil packed in everywhere. The barrel was not that bad, but had only ever been cleaned with Nitrosol and a nylon brush in the last 18 years or so.

I cleaned it, greased it put it together and it sommer just felt different, especially the trigger.

Went hunting and got him on a jackal - click ! dry fire, click again, click again - 4 times. 4 cartridges did not fire. Back to camp site set up a target aim fire - bang - 20 times tested. Went out shot some kudu and warthog.

I mean WTF ? How ?

I commandeered the dud cartridges and went to my dest to decap them. Careful study under light and magnifying glass revealed nothing other than the anvil seemed to have moved forward a bit from firing pin strike, but did not ignite.
I took each primer to anvil and hit it to a flat disk with a hammer - no bang x 4.

Same batch, same tray - first 4 shots did not fire------------------------------------ how ?

[Ds J]

Were those reloads or store bought ammunition?

Maybe oil got in, or something similar?

Or maybe a bad batch of primers?

[BBCT]

How old was the ammo?

Based on your decription of the condition of the rifle, it seems that little care had been taken of the rifle, so by implication that ammo probably also hadn't been cared for. My first guess would be that those 4 rounds had been sitting in the rifle magazine for some time and oil from the rifle had soaked into them and degraded the primers.

[Treeman]

How old was the ammo?

Based on your decription of the condition of the rifle, it seems that little care had been taken of the rifle, so by implication that ammo probably also hadn't been cared for. My first guess would be that those 4 rounds had been sitting in the rifle magazine for some time and oil from the rifle had soaked into them and degraded the primers.

*************************************
This was my first say to him as well.
The cartridges were loaded night before hunt using his load in use, new primer tray, open tin S365 and bullets we pulled same night. I then said "Ahhhh ! u used the primers we decapped?" and he answered not, they were in my press decapping tray, he had opened a new tray.

[Ds J]

How old was the ammo?

Based on your decription of the condition of the rifle, it seems that little care had been taken of the rifle, so by implication that ammo probably also hadn't been cared for. My first guess would be that those 4 rounds had been sitting in the rifle magazine for some time and oil from the rifle had soaked into them and degraded the primers.

*************************************
This was my first say to him as well.
The cartridges were loaded night before hunt using his load in use, new primer tray, open tin S365 and bullets we pulled same night. I then said "Ahhhh ! u used the primers we decapped?" and he answered not, they were in my press decapping tray, he had opened a new tray.

Check for reports of a faulty batch.

It is one thing if a primer reacts slowly, but something completely else when it does not react at all.

[janfred]

Actually, my first thought was that the firing pin channel was dirty. Would fit in right in with the neglected rifle. Dirty firing pin channel is usually the number one cause of misfires.

[Treeman]

Actually, my first thought was that the firing pin channel was dirty. Would fit in right in with the neglected rifle. Dirty firing pin channel is usually the number one cause of misfires.

*************************
I put a few drops of oil in firing pin because it was bone dry, I wonder if the pin was not hydro locking on oil and dirt ? Early thought of mine ! BUT BUT BUT - why the dead primer when hit with a hammer ?