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Thread: Bolt Rifles and Military Primers

  1. #1
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    Bolt Rifles and Military Primers

    Should a bolt rifle reliably fire rounds loaded with military (i.e. hard) primers?

    Specifically, I have a .223 Ruger American Rifle and a CZ 527.

    I would like the option of using CCI No 41 primers in reloads and shooting the rounds in either AR or bolt guns.

    Thank you

    Andy
    Last edited by AndyLate; 12-31-19 at 10:04.

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    Probably not a primer issue, but a chamber dimension issue.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jack crab View Post
    Probably not a primer issue, but a chamber dimension issue.
    Thanks, Jack. I edited the post to clarify what I am asking.

  4. #4
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    Shouldn't be an issue. I've only had magnum rifle primers fail to ignite in a pistol (glock).

    Bolt gun firing pins should run them all day long.
    "What would a $2,000 Geissele Super Duty do that a $500 PSA door buster on Black Friday couldn't do?" - Stopsign32v

  5. #5
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    In looking for a fast lock time bolt actions use a robust firing pin spring, I don't see how military primers will make any difference as long as firing pin protrusion is adequate.
    “The Trump Doctrine is ‘We’re America, Bitch.’ That’s the Trump Doctrine.”

    "He is free to evade reality, he is free to unfocus his mind and stumble blindly down any road he pleases, but not free to avoid the abyss he refuses to see."

  6. #6
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    Thank you. I suspected the "military" primers should not be a problem, but wanted to check with more knowledgeable folks.

  7. #7
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    Quick update - I took the Ruger to the range Sunday. I had no issues firing 100+ rounds, including Hornady Frontier .223 ammo with crimped (and I assume mil-spec) primers. I cleaned the rifle after the last time, so maybe it had some debris causing problems.

    The RAR compact shows decent precision and I am looking forward to taking my wife out shooting with it this weekend. It has the short stock and the scope is mounted where it's comfortable for her. Suprisingly I can shoot and cycle it OK, but it's a bit cramped.

    I was a little concerned buying a used RAR, but it's growing on me and the price was right. Definitely compact and light with a Leupold VX2 2-7 scope.

    Andy

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    I have never had a problem in firing literally thousands of rounds of 5.56 and 7.62 rounds through bolt action rifles.
    THE CHAIR IS AGAINST THE WALL.

  9. #9
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    I took the RAR 223 to the range Friday and had two failures to fire out of ~ 100 rounds of Federal 55 grain 223 Black.

    I am just going to stick to commercial type ammunition or handloads with standard primers. I have ~5000 or so CCI 400 primers on hand, so it's not a sacrifice.

    I know Ruger would fix it if I wanted to send it in, it just suprises me it's an issue at all.

    Andy

    P.S. It does explain why the rifle was used when I bought it.
    Last edited by AndyLate; 01-25-20 at 17:14.

  10. #10
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    Hot loads in a 223 ignited with standard small rifle primers may exhibit primer failures. Don't have a pic of one but if your primers looked like they are cratered AT THE EDGE OF THE ACTUAL INDENT chances are you primers are about to fail which can:

    1. fail delivering hot gases to the striker nose eating it away.
    2. cause the middle of the primer (indent area) to completely separate and a piece of the primer goes into the striker channel which is likely to retard striker from moving forward and not extend beyond the bolt face correctly.
    3. If you see a primer with just a hole in the back where the indent is supposed to be pull your bolt down and run probes in and hopefully you can get it to disengage and fall out the big end.
    4. MILSPEC primers need about .022" copper indent energy to ignite reliably. Some manufacturers have a internal requirement of .020 indent on their rifles, others are satisfied with .016" indent (SAAMI recommendation) and other just put them together and ship them out and hope you will not be sharp enough to figure out what goes wrong when you get a click instead of a bang.

    Before you get a click you make get a click/bang at same time where you can detect the striker fell followed by instant ignition which I call a click/bang and some call a hang fire.

    I have had at least two rifles exhibit primer failures and insert primer material inside bolt. I have had others that showed the crater edge and I changed the striker spring and corrected it before they failed.

    You can also get this situation hunting on cold mornings when the grease/oil inside your bolt body thickens and retards the striker energy.

    The main thing you need to remember if primers need two things for reliable ignition, energy and striker velocity. Retard one or the other and you are going to CLICKVILLE.
    Last edited by Humpy70; 03-10-20 at 09:17.

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