One of my .223s pierces Fed. 200 pimers. The same happened with PMP factory loads in this rifle but no other rifle. This does not happen with the same modest loads and different primers.

Obviouly there is some characteristic in the rifle that is contributing to this but that right now isn't the concern. There is some difference in fed 200s as opposed to other primers. Are there any of you that share this or similar experience with the Fed. 200s? roger

sounds to me like more of a rifle problem than a primer problem

Roger ; Do you use a titanium firing pin ?.
Has it had a spring change or been really cleaned lately ?.It's possible the spring is becoming weak ?.

I use match 205 ,& Winchester but have not experienced a problem . What loading are you using out of curiosity ?.
Have you examined the firing pin it's self ?.

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

Mr. Bartshe,

I have read that Federal primers were made of a softer metal that allows detonation with a lighter blow from a firing pin. And that is why they pack them in the thick plastic container that keeps them spread apart helping to prevent accidental discharge of the whole box if only one went off for whatever reason. Merg

Go here. http://www.jamescalhoon.com/primers_and_pressure.php this will answer your question. Federal 200 primers are only 0.019" thick. Hope this helps.

Merg and Crash. Thank you. I think the primer part of the problem is identified. I'll work on the rifle. In fact the firing pin hole was found to have a very sharp edge. It is now nicely radiused.

The loads themseves were not IMHO near max. Other primers, as previously stated exhibit no cratering or pierceing at these loads. roger

I think I'll go paint a stock!!

I wouldn't modify much of anything will out more testing.
Here is one that chalked up to weird metallurgy in the primer cups. I had a Ruger .357 OM Blackhawk that shot everything normally. If anything the firing pin might have been a little longer than average but not excessively so. It had a tiny flat on the tip maybe .007 or .008 across. I had no problems with any loads except one. Using 5 grns of Unique with a 158 grain cast bullet it would occasionally cause a CCI small pistol primer to crack in the bottom of the firing pin dent. It never cracked with any other primer. The CCIs never cracked with hotter (normal .357) loads.

Federal has always had a rep for "sensative" (thin) primers. That, along w/ a slightly long or pointed firing pin could easily cause pierced primers. I had this happen once w/ a M57/41mag. Try switching primers. If it's still happening, you could try lightly stoning the firing pin, but go very slowely.

Pierced primers can be caused by Fed primers, weak fireing pin spring, too short fireing pin, and fireing pin hole needing bushing.

quote:

Originally posted by JAL:...firing pin hole needing bushing.

quote:

Originally posted by fredj338:
Federal has always had a rep for "sensative" (thin) primers. That, along w/ a slightly long or pointed firing pin could easily cause pierced primers. I had this happen once w/ a M57/41mag. Try switching primers.

Fred the only other primers that got pierced were the PMP factory loads. All other primers are fine.I'll be useing the remainder of this ammo in another rifle Wed. We'll see what happens. Thanks, roger

Hey Bartsche, Did you bring this question up once before? I believe I told you at that time, "You are pulling the Trigger to Hard!"

quote:

Originally posted by Hot Core:
Hey Bartsche, Did you bring this question up once before? I believe I told you at that time, "You are pulling the Trigger to Hard!"

I think I did mention the PMP piercing before. and pulling the trigger too hard is a strong possibility.

Dr.K

Roger ; Do you use a titanium firing pin ?.
Has it had a spring change or been really cleaned lately ?.It's possible the spring is becoming weak ?.

I think I can give you 3 nos, Dr K.but thr front of the firing pin does have an irregular surface and that may be part of the problem.

Oh!!! I learned not to put my thumb over the action vent hole when firing. roger

I have had Federal 205M crater in my 223 Rem when shot from both a M70 HV and a Win High Wall. Luckly none have pierced yet. I switched to Rem 7 1/2 and the problem has gone away. Velocities are for purposes the same and I notice no difference in accuracy that can be blamed only on the load and not me.
I think Federal has a thinner cup and doesn`t stand up to high pressure as well as the Rem 7 1/2. Both by the way are std primers, the M in Federals is for match.

quote:

Originally posted by Ol` Joe:
Luckly none have pierced yet.

A friend had a continous string of Fed primers piercing right through in a big hole. No gas seemed to excape and no other problems appeared.

Two only (other brand) I had, showed some smoke wafting out of the action.

Hey Bartsche, I was thinking about your Primer Piercing issue and was wondering if you had tried swapping the Firing Pin with another one of your rifles to see if the Piercing follows along with it. If it did not follow, I’d put it back in the original rifle and try swapping the Spring.

But, I’ll guess there is a small burr, scratch, burned spot, or step on the Tip of the Firing Pin. You might take a look at it with a magnifying glass and compare it to one which does not Pierce the Primer.

If you find an irregularity, you might be able to remove it by putting some JB Compound on some 0000 Steel Wool and Pinching it against the Tip as you spin the Firing Pin in a drill. If not, a new Firing Pin might just fix it.

By the way, I'd want the radius and tip to be much, much smoother than heil-ery and moscow bill explaining landing in a hot zone under sniper fire.

Best of luck to you.

quote:

Originally posted by Hot Core:
Hey Bartsche, I was thinking about your Primer Piercing issue and was wondering if you had tried swapping the Firing Pin with another one of your rifles to see if the Piercing follows along with it. If it did not follow, I’d put it back in the original rifle and try swapping the Spring.May just do that

But, I’ll guess there is a small burr, scratch, burned spot, or step on the Tip of the Firing Pin. You might take a look at it with a magnifying glass and compare it to one which does not Pierce the Primer..

I think I can give you 3 nos, Dr K.but thr front of the firing pin does have an irregular surface and that may be part of the problem. roger
The irregularity is a slight concavity rather than a portrusion. Since there isn't a real problem with other primers as yet the whole thing is an annoiance rather than a high priority to fix.

Although the 12BVSS-S is terribly accurate it has been enough of a PITA to turn me off from giving it any serious attention for refinement.

The idea at the start of the thread was to find what others are experiening with Fed. 200s. Seems that a rather good picture has been painted in that regard. roger

A few years ago, I had a couple of Fed 200 primers that "blew out" on the radius of the primer. On the first one, I did not notice any gas coming out of the action. On the second one, I did notice the gas. I looked at to what was going on and discovered the two primers that had holes in the radius. I also had two small craters in my bolt. I contacted Federal and they acknowledged that they had a bad shipment of cup material. No offer to replace the primers or even kiss my ass. I sent them photographs of the damage done to my rifle by their primers. No answer at all. I will see Federal Cartridge in hell before I will use any of their products.

Well the same ammo was fired in my Ruger # 1 and my Stevens 200 today. No problem what so ever.Another indication that my SAVAGE Mod. 12VBSS is a marginal POS. roger