unusual malfunction

[taliv]

so on the night of the "blood" supermoon eclipse, i went out and shot a bunch with the NV and my suppressed noveske SBR lo pro switchblock. at the very end, I fired what felt like the last round and as usual, cleared the weapon by dropping the mag and cycling the charging handle twice and locked the bolt back, then put the gun on the stand for the suppressor to cool for a while, then I threw it in the truck where it rode for a few days, then put it on the stand at home day before yesterday.

Last night, as I walked by its stand at home, i noticed the bolt was slightly out of battery. so I opened it up and was very surprised to see a round in the chamber, which had no primer, so i assumed it was spent. So i cycled the charging handle and it didn't come out. on closer inspection, I realized the missing primer was laying, not stuck, just laying, on the face of the bolt, which was hitting the back of the case and preventing the bolt from going into battery. simply turning the gun up and shaking it slightly caused the primer to fall out into my hand. then the bolt closed normally and extracted the round which turned out to be live, minus the primer of course. I did have to pogo it slightly because the case had corroded into the chamber a bit.

http://precisionmultigun.com/pics/supermoon15malf.jpg

There are still a couple of unsolved mysteries here, but basically, the last round in that mag went into the chamber, but the primer which must have been very loose (these are reloads with brass with unknown number of firings) somehow came out early enough to prevent the bolt from going into battery. I was running and shooting on uneven ground at the time, so I'm not super surprised that what felt like the last round and a bolt hold open caused me to stop shooting, but was really neither.

the fact that the bolt wouldn't go into battery meant that the extractor never got close to the web despite multiple cycles of the CH which felt normal. and since it was dark, I couldn't see that the bolt wasn't going into battery.

i guess i learned that I can't really feel the difference between the bolt going into battery vs almost going into battery when cycling the CH.

What's a little different about this, was simply that it happened on the very last round I fired for the weekend. If it had been in the middle, I would have done immediate/remedial action and fixed it. instead, i went a couple days before I even discovered it.

I don't keep exact records of malfunctions anymore, but I'd guess I'm averaging maybe 1-2 ammo-related malfunctions (and near 0 non-ammo related malfunctions) per 1000 rounds of these reloads. I've got a bit over 7000 rounds on the gun now. For the roughly 17 cents ($170/k) it costs to reload with a 75g bullet, I can live with this level of reliability for practice ammo.

and it's another good reminder that all guns are always loaded, even when you think you just unloaded them. especially in the dark.

if I'd needed to use the rifle since sunday night, i would have been screwed. and i need to clean a bit of corrosion out of the chamber.

[dramabeats]

Blowing primers is pretty common. They will fall in all kinds of weird places and lock up guns.

I rarely see them just fall out though. Was it crimped?

[RazorBurn]

Threads like these just reaffirm me not shooting reloads. I'm glad the OP wasn't hurt and his rifle not damaged.

[Beef15]

That's awful loose, should be able to feel a pocket that loose during seating, granted cranking them out rapidly on a progressive makes noticing less likely.

Was it wet when you were shooting? The corrosion being bad enough to stick the round seems very odd to me, especially in just a few days.

[taliv]

Yeah I load on a 1050 so I can't feel primer seating at any speed.

Yes it was a bit wet. I haven't figured out the corrosion either

[GH41]

If you learn nothing else from this it should be.... Cycling the CH twice doesn't mean the gun is safe. That's what your eyes are for.

[MegademiC]

If you learn nothing else from this it should be.... Cycling the CH twice doesn't mean the gun is safe. That's what your eyes are for.

If I need to clear a weapon in the dark, I lock the action and feel the chamber. If it's hot, I'll prop it open with something.

[taliv]

If you learn nothing else from this it should be.... Cycling the CH twice doesn't mean the gun is safe. That's what your eyes are for.
No that's what the four rules are for.
What were you suggesting I do with my eyes?

[AFshirt]

No that's what the four rules are for.
What were you suggesting I do with my eyes?

Flashlight.

[rjacobs]

Threads like these just reaffirm me not shooting reloads.

Ive shot basically nothing but reloads since ~2009. I would say 90%+ reloads on 12-15k rounds a year. Only thing I dont shoot reloads in is shotguns and machine guns.

I can recount basically all the bad rounds I have had in the past 6 years and I have a poor memory. I QC my reloads pretty religiously though, but even a very loose primer pocket I wouldnt have caught(I load on 1050's as well).

[Clint]

So the unanswered question is:

Why didn't the round fire?

No powder in the case?
No flash hole?

[sinister]

No that's what the four rules are for.
What were you suggesting I do with my eyes?

VISUALLY CHECK IT. CHECK IT TWICE.

If it ain't cleared it ain't cleared.

Night work in the apparatus. ASSUMING it's cleared because you jacked it twice (and had this nagging suspicion, but you didn't break out a light).

An M4 going off (even following the 4 Rules) in a closed space is awfully loud (even WITH hearing pro on).

[Beef15]

So the unanswered question is:

Why didn't the round fire?

No powder in the case?
No flash hole?
The primer backed part way out or fell all the way out while chambering. It happens with loose pockets.

A high or loose primer can slow the firing pin enough before bottoming in the pocket that it will not be struck hard enough to spark.

[Mikill Drengr]

I've never run a Dillon press that I couldn't feel the primer seat.

[rjacobs]

I've never run a Dillon press that I couldn't feel the primer seat.

youve obviously never run a 1050 then. It seats on the stroke, not a push. Its one of the main reasons, IMO, that the 1050 can be run so fast. Its done through a push rod system similar to a valve train in a car engine. There is no feel and primer seating depth is controlled by setting the length on the push rod on the tool head.

[JC5188]

If you learn nothing else from this it should be.... Cycling the CH twice doesn't mean the gun is safe. That's what your eyes are for.

When I was a kid, I had an old Sears .22 rifle with the tubular mag. I'd unload it, then rack the bolt back 4 or five times. Then pull the trigger to let off the spring tension. Last time I did that, extractor had apparently gone bad and I zipped one through the wall of my bedroom.

I've ALWAYS done a visual on the chamber since that day.


Sent from my iPhone

[NongShim]

No that's what the four rules are for.
What were you suggesting I do with my eyes?
He is suggesting you clear the weapon rather than do the motions.

Luckily nothing bad happened. It happens, everyone has a mistake once. Learn and adapt from it.

Corrosion is often found when dissimilar metals are in contact in the presence of moisture and various chemicals. I doubt your barrel was harmed, just an ugly case with a loose primer pocket.

[Ming_the_Merciless]

Corrosion is often found when dissimilar metals are in contact in the presence of moisture and various chemicals. I doubt your barrel was harmed, just an ugly case with a loose primer pocket.

+1, I doubt the chamber was harmed as well, Noveske N4 light barrels are made from FN M249 barrel steel and with almost double the chrome lining thickness. I typically see the same amount of carbon fouling on your cartridge case from suppressed - the blow back cakes the top section of magazine and the immediate rounds following. As NongShim eluded to, galvanic corrosion occurs when two dissimilar metals or alloys are coupled while exposed to an electrolyte. The less noble/more reactive metal in the environment will experience the corrosion, while the inert metal, the cathode, will be protected from corrosion - in your case the chrome lined chamber. If there is some residual scaling in the chamber from the case, nothing a chamber mop with a little Mother's Mag finish or Flitz wouldn't fix.

[LRRPF52]

From all the night ranges I have done, we would use flashlights to inspect chambers and magazine wells were clear.

That's what I do now at least.

[tommyrott]

would imagine the reason it didn't go to battery is the primer was falling out as it was being feed into the chamber and the bolt scooped it along to the stopping point. have had this happen a couple times with different results , one being hot primer ended up under the trigger, the other one wedged in the lugs of the bolt and chamber blocking it open on the next round till I looked at the chamber and shook it out

[Dstrbdmedic167]

I load with a lee turret press and I can feel every primer seat and it one goes in too easy I toss the case. I've had a primer fall out from a loose pocket causing the rifle to jam.I just cleared and visually checked everything and was GTG. That primer was stuck to the bolt face as well. Simply fell off as soon as I removed it.