Ever had a misfire from handloads?

[Coopa02]

I had my first misfire with a batch of handloads the other day, and it made me rethink my process, and man, it got me wondering, how many of you have had it happen, and what changes did you make afterward?

 

[Muzzlestuffer2012]

Yes CCI small pistol primers so I switched to federal easier to ignite. Also it appears that main spring ratings are not correct and it could be your issue I have a company that has been doing extensive testing on springs and told me the only main springs that are actually as stated or a little stronger are the wolff springs.

 

[Brisky1]

Damn, first misfire's always a gut punch! It happened to me once too, I double-checked powder, primers, seating depth and I learned to slow down, inspect every round. How y'all tweak your loads after a dud pops up?

 

[Coopa02]

Yes CCI small pistol primers so I switched to federal easier to ignite. Also it appears that main spring ratings are not correct and it could be your issue I have a company that has been doing extensive testing on springs and told me the only main springs that are actually as stated or a little stronger are the wolff springs.

Thanks for sharing, I've been wondering if primer choice or spring tension might be the culprit. Did switching to Federal primers and different springs completely solve your misfire issues?

 

[KingSnake]

I use Federal primers in single and double action revolvers.
I use Winchester primers for all semi-auto pistols. I've tried the Winchester in revolvers with lightened springs and had some light strikes

 

[Muzzlestuffer2012]

Thanks for sharing, I've been wondering if primer choice or spring tension might be the culprit. Did switching to Federal primers and different springs completely solve your misfire issues?

Yes so far all I had to do was switch primers with this particular load issue depending on how many rounds you already have loaded I would switch the hammer spring first takes 5 minutes.
I always change one thing at a time that way you will know exactly what the fix was.

 

[crazymonkey]

Every now and again I get a failure to fire with my tc contender in 357 harrett. It's super critical to get the dies set correctly or this can happen. Usually i give it a few minutes with the barrel pointed in a safe direction and re - cock the action and re-set the trigger and it goes bang . It's usually a light primer strike the first hit. Only ever had one squib load . A 44 mag round that I got lucky to catch . Not sure what exactly happened but it dumped powder in the action and sent the bullet about a inch down . Just enough that the next round stuck out funny. Was a contender action.

 

[Coopa02]

Yes so far all I had to do was switch primers with this particular load issue depending on how many rounds you already have loaded I would switch the hammer spring first takes 5 minutes.
I always change one thing at a time that way you will know exactly what the fix was.

That makes sense, changing one thing at a time keeps it clear. I'll try the spring swap first since it's quick, then primers if needed, I appreciate the tip, man

 

[Coopa02]

Every now and again I get a failure to fire with my tc contender in 357 harrett. It's super critical to get the dies set correctly or this can happen. Usually i give it a few minutes with the barrel pointed in a safe direction and re - cock the action and re-set the trigger and it goes bang . It's usually a light primer strike the first hit. Only ever had one squib load . A 44 mag round that I got lucky to catch . Not sure what exactly happened but it dumped powder in the action and sent the bullet about a inch down . Just enough that the next round stuck out funny. Was a contender action.

Man, that's wild. Good catch on that squib, could've gone bad quick. I've only had light strikes so far, but hearing your story makes me double-check my dies every time

 

[Muzzlestuffer2012]

Same here only one squib since the 1990's here's a tip when loading and maybe you were tired or unsure if you threw a powder charge. I weigh a load I know for sure it has powder then take the suspect cartridge and weigh it depending on the powder charge weight you can tell if there's powder in the case and weigh a bunch with known powder charges to have confidence.
I load a lot of rounds on a turret press and sometimes maybe too tired so if it gets to that point I just shut it down for the night.