Reloading Issue
 

GP100 bought years ago used. Never had a problem using factory ammo: Remington, Winchester, Federal (American Eagle) ammo, .38spl and .357mag.

Started reloading this year, and initially no problems. Typical reloader, not saving money, just shooting more frequently. .38spl mixed used brass, light loads of Bullseye and Remington small pistol primers. .357 296 Winchester, new and mixed used brass, CCI small pistol magnum primers. Hornady XTP jhp and some cast lead bullets, 158 grains. Don't believe ammo is the limiting factor in shooting effectiveness, so not trying to "improve" on published loads, and I have weighed every charge. Bullets all built on a Forster Co-Ax press, and the press is used to seat primers.

I'm getting light primer strikes on both the .38s and the .357 reloads. Single and double action. 2-3 per cylinder. Factory loads are flawless. A friend provided reloads for me to try, and his reloads were unreliable, while mine fired from his gun. I thought maybe a previous owner swapped to a light hammer spring, so I ordered a Wolf set and installed the heaviest 12# hammer spring, and no change. Also, my initial reloads were also flawless, this is a new problem, last month or so with reloads only, but both his reloads and mine, .38spl and .357mag double and single action, Remington and CCI primers.

My friend also mentioned that I might not be seating the primers deep enough. Forster says the press will do it properly, visually I make sure they are recessed below the brass, and I've been running the ram teice for each primer (and handeling them with tweezers).

Any suggestions?

I always set my primers with a handheld Lee primer. I have a Lyman Spar-T turret press (several, in fact), but I always set my primers with the handheld tool and I've never experienced a lightly struck primer or any other primer issues.

I also use the RCBS hand primer and I recommend that tool over the Lee just because of the durability of the RCBS tool. The Lee priming tool isn't as well made as the RCBS, I believe...

My reloader sets the primer just barely below flush. If you are placing them too deep, maybe your firing pin is not capable of traveling far enough to set it off????

FWIW, I use only Federal primers for my IDPA competition reloading as they are known to be the easiest primers to light off. In fact my reloader instructions (Lee Loadmaster) caution me against using them as they can go off more easily when reloading if they encounter a problem when entering the cartridge. (has happened once to me.... definitely glad I had a blast shield and safety glasses)

Have you........
 

checked the cleanliness of the revolvers action? If some crud has built up in the wrong place, it could be interfering with the forward movement of the hammer. I believe that you can press out two pins and then pull the entire action out of the frame. Makes for easy cleaning!

Both of these make me think it is the gun. Not sure why it would be different with reloads over factory in your gun, but It sure seems like something changed.

IIRC CCI has a reputation for primer cups harder than other brands, (in rifles at least) so you could try a box of Remington or Win primers to see if that makes a difference (assuming your friend is using CCI as well)

Yep,
Tear the revolver down (easy) and clean and lube it per mfg's instructions. See if there's a Youtube video for your particular revolver, I bet there is...

I agree with all that has been written here.. I reload a huge amount of 38sp and seldom have a problem. Most all my brass is once fired and scavenged from Police ranges by friends.. I would stay with Federal small pistol primers for now. Also clean the action well as I have gotten problems with dirty burning powders. I do believe that most armorers will advise no lube on revolvers. It's possible also to get lead fouling down inside the action but can't say I've ever seen it myself..pick a hard cast bullet and size and crimp it properly if you find lead shaving down inside.. When reloading your own brass...or any for that matter..I would deprime before tumbling and use a wet tumbler with a dash of Dawn dish liquid detergent. I find the Thumlers Tumbler to be the best and cheapest. Please report back when you find the answer.

Sounds more like a gun issue to me as well.
Are there drag marks on the sides of the hammer?
Have you measured end shake? Headspace?
It could be the hammer dragging on the sides of the frame are absorbing energy that should be going to the transfer bar. Damaged/ too short firing pin? a 10# spring should be more than enough to light any primers.

Driven firing pin protrusion should be .040"

Thanks so much for the responses. I'm new to reloading, and figured that since factory loads were functioning and reloads not, that while I'd like to blame the revolver, probably the ammo/reloader was at fault.

I've field stripped the gun before, and it is not dirty, but there are drag marks on the hammer. My memory is that they've always been there, and they didn't bother the function before. But today I stripped it again and really tried to clean that up, tried to deburr the frame and smooth up the hammer.

The result is that the misfires improved. It also seemed that moving the bullets in the cylinder helped, so I tried that with inconclusive results. Opening and closing the cylinder was as effective as moving the bullets to fired chambers. What had the biggest impact however was whether or not I staged the trigger. A good firm pull (really pretty much a jerk and not good for accuracy) was way more reliable than a smooth pull, or staging the trigger for accuracy. That along with the drag marks leads me to believe the hammer is being interfered with.

Unless you disuate me, I'm going to take the gun to a smith and have him clean up the frame and hammer, give him some of my reloads and see if he can make the revolver 100% reliable. Unless you guys think that is a job I should do. Thanks for the direction and suggesting I focus on the gun rather than the ammo.

Taking it to a smith at this point is a very good idea!

Sometimes just removing a slight (.002") amount of metal from the hammer step will be enough to correct this.
Taking it in is a good idea.

Agree again but the fact that factory loads go bang reliably still concerns me re: your reloading procedure, equipment or components. It can surely be a difficult puzzle to solve and your smitty should be able to advise you there too so take a bunch of your reloads in...not just a few hand picked ones.

The only ammo I've ever had issues with is commercial ammo. I'm betting it's an issue the the gunsmith can fix.

I don't think it is this.. . But still worth a try. Maybe your cases are not being resized enough and they are not seating the last 100 microns into the cylinder. And when the hammer strikes it, it moves it forward slightly nstead of it being a full blown whack on the primer. Try using the micrometer to compair your case sizes (and bullet length) against a factory load. Also a good scrub of the inside of the cylinder occasionally doesn't do any harm.

+1 Another good idea...

After a while using shooter bullets you will get carbon build up at the front part of each chamber of the cyl. This can make good chambering of a bit longer bullet into a built up chamber difficult... A good cleaning brush of proper diameter...brass only...will work this crap out over time...Use Hoppes or other good solvent.

I always use a case gauge to be sure that my completed ammo is within spec, as far as physical limits are concerned. If a completed round doesn't fit in the case gauge exactly as it should, it gets discarded...not in the trash, though!

im a gonna throw a wild azz'd guess here...................


ARE YOU USING WD-40 ANYWHERE around your bench? like cleaning brass or lubricating spoon with it. spraying completed rounds down with it???????????


because if YOU OR ANYONE is USING WD-40 ANYWHERE around firearms...............



yer a freeking MORON!



guuuuurrrrannnteeeeeed to DEACTIVATE YER PRIMERS! and thats a FACT!



and yer spoon WILL GO CLICK and NOT BANG and then the BIG BAD BOOGAR MAN or BEAR will KILL YOU DEAD DEAD DEAD!


throw WD-40 AWAY as FAR as YOU CAN! worthless crap mfgd in wwII to spray onto aircraft fuselages and wings sitting outside s.calif. mfg plants to resist salt water corrosion.....................nothing MORE!

Is this an issue with rimmed cartridges? I assumed the rim determined the spacing in relation to the firing pin. Also There may be some who keep their cylinder cleaner, but a build-up of carbon isn't the issue. I shoot at home, so generally a "trip to the range" is less than 100 rounds and happens pretty often, and I clean the weapon regularly.

Odd Job. I knew about WD-40 (actually oil in general) and while my bench is in the garage, it is not contaminated with oil. Thanks for mentioning this, because as I'm new to reloading, something like that which is obvious to veteran reloaders is exactly the kind of dumb move that I'm likely to make.

a "BIG-10" AZ hunter(all species inc. bighorn sheep) amigo of mine, was spraying down EVERYTHING with WD-40. cleaning spoons,spraying down shells ........everything.


went 1st on a bear hunt......................."CLICK!" WTF?????????????????


next a prized BULL ELK hunt and you guessed it..............."CLICK!" WTF? WTF? WTF?



after we listened to his drill over a few cervezas.......................the criminal was WD-40 in even the MOST MINUTE AMOUNTS will DEACTIVATE ANY ALL FACTORY or BENCH PRIMERS!

THROW WD-40 AWAY unless ya live by salt water and yer trying to curb rust on yer B-17 fuselage or wings!


light primer strikes are common enough to warrant a visit to yer lokal "smithy".



when you can blast 200rds as fast as ya can with no problems and good accuracy, thats the flavor ya want. and STAY WITH IT UNTIL END OF TIME!