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Sounds like you may be a little speedy, but not enough to blow a primer. In my fairly limited experience (only 10 years, so still a newbie) you have to push a load hard to see the kind of effects shown in your pictures. I'm wondering if the issue is structural.
Swap primers and find out.
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Another thing to consider: Cross-check your loading data (since you're having problems) with SEVERAL other sets of data - reloading manuals, etc. What one manual says is maximum is often well above what another says. But, yes, you're too hot and in August will be much too hot. If I were you, I'd never, ever fire that load (or anything approaching that load) and start all over again. Myself, I'd start with a different powder, a slower one, if you have more case capacity. The closer to 100% case capacity, the better. Remember, a dead animal cannot tell a difference of 50 fps, so safe loads are MUCH more important than achieving the highest speed possible.
What you are seeing with the cratered primers is this: To be able to fire in all guns, the gun manufacturers usually chamber it using the largest SAAMI dimensions. To be able to chamber in all guns in this caliber, the ammo and die manufacturers usually make the ammo to about the smallest dimensions. Therefore, almost all gun/ammo combinations have excessive headspace, even guns that are considered correct. When a cartridge fires the pressure correctly makes the forward part of the case stick to the chamber. The lowest part of the case (the head area) cannot, and should not, expand to that extent. This means that, in a correctly functioning firearm, excessive headspace is manifest by the primer being pushed out of the primer pocket by the case pressure. This is all normal. You don't usually see this on the fired cartridge because the pressure then stretches the brass so that it actually re-seats the primer. That's why cases need to be trimmed from time to time. The primer looks normal and you see no evidence of excessive headspace. When the pressure is too high and there is excessive headspace at the same time, the primer is blown out of the primer pocket (to the amount allowed by the excessive headspace) and is stopped by the bolt face. However, if the pressure can get so high that the primer brass actually flows into the firing pin hole, around the firing pin and is stopped there. The cartridge pressure then stretches the brass back, re-seating the primer but with cratering being evident. The pressure of the cartridge is excessive if this happens. There are other possible causes, as discussed in some of the opinions above. If your pressure is WAY too excessive, the face of the primer will be bulged out at the primer surface. This is caused by the primer coming back and the primer brass not only flowing around the firing pin, but also starting to blow out the sides of the pocket into the excessive headspace area. It increases in diameter at the bolt face until the brass re-seats most of the primer, but by that time (as measured in milliseconds) the primer is already larger in diameter than the primer pocket, and develops a "lip". Bear in mind that all cartridges have a bevel at the beginning of the primer pocket to allow the primer to align with its pocked so it can be properly seated. The lip usually doesn't get any larger in diameter than this bevel. Regarding piercing the primers, this is also excessive pressure. Often its related to the primer blow-out speed being faster than the retraction speed of the firing pin during a high pressure situation. In a large batch of ammo (say, for example, 100 rounds), a safe load might have one that shows some just-barely-visible cratering. More than that and it's too hot, for whatever reason. Yours are 'way too hot. Do NOT fire even one more round of that load. Try slower (lower pressure) powder, different primers, different bullets, etc. All of the above replies are good. BUT, find your new load, back off about 15% this time (since the problem could also be the gun) and work your way up. I know all of this as I was where you are in about 1990. Mine was a .17 Mach IV and the pressure was so excessive that, upon the first firing of new brass, multiple primer pockets expanded so much that the primers fell out and another primer could not be re-seated because of pocket stretch. Another unique problem that I found was with a .270 REN, a .22 Hornet case expanded into a straight wall case. I bought it from a friend who had used it to develop the first published loading data (as far as he thought), and I used his article as my reloading data. Even though it was a hot load, it should be safe you say... Exactly the same barrel and all of the same components, including the amount of powder. But it wasn't! I pondered over this for weeks. I finally realized that there were only two possible answers - either our powder scales did not read out the same or, since we were not using the same lot of powder, mine was slightly faster than his. I was putting more powder into a very maximum load, thus the problem. Now, THAT's one of the weirdest things I've ever come across! And, sometimes, things just can't be figured out and it's time to move on to another project. As you have seen, even using reliable loading data you can sometimes get into trouble, and this load is trouble territory. You can find more about this problem in major manufacturers' loading manuals. Good luck, and let us know what you find out. I'm always interested is finding out what the solutions are.
What you are seeing with the cratered primers is this: To be able to fire in all guns, the gun manufacturers usually chamber it using the largest SAAMI dimensions. To be able to chamber in all guns in this caliber, the ammo and die manufacturers usually make the ammo to about the smallest dimensions. Therefore, almost all gun/ammo combinations have excessive headspace, even guns that are considered correct. When a cartridge fires the pressure correctly makes the forward part of the case stick to the chamber. The lowest part of the case (the head area) cannot, and should not, expand to that extent. This means that, in a correctly functioning firearm, excessive headspace is manifest by the primer being pushed out of the primer pocket by the case pressure. This is all normal. You don't usually see this on the fired cartridge because the pressure then stretches the brass so that it actually re-seats the primer. That's why cases need to be trimmed from time to time. The primer looks normal and you see no evidence of excessive headspace. When the pressure is too high and there is excessive headspace at the same time, the primer is blown out of the primer pocket (to the amount allowed by the excessive headspace) and is stopped by the bolt face. However, if the pressure can get so high that the primer brass actually flows into the firing pin hole, around the firing pin and is stopped there. The cartridge pressure then stretches the brass back, re-seating the primer but with cratering being evident. The pressure of the cartridge is excessive if this happens. There are other possible causes, as discussed in some of the opinions above. If your pressure is WAY too excessive, the face of the primer will be bulged out at the primer surface. This is caused by the primer coming back and the primer brass not only flowing around the firing pin, but also starting to blow out the sides of the pocket into the excessive headspace area. It increases in diameter at the bolt face until the brass re-seats most of the primer, but by that time (as measured in milliseconds) the primer is already larger in diameter than the primer pocket, and develops a "lip". Bear in mind that all cartridges have a bevel at the beginning of the primer pocket to allow the primer to align with its pocked so it can be properly seated. The lip usually doesn't get any larger in diameter than this bevel. Regarding piercing the primers, this is also excessive pressure. Often its related to the primer blow-out speed being faster than the retraction speed of the firing pin during a high pressure situation. In a large batch of ammo (say, for example, 100 rounds), a safe load might have one that shows some just-barely-visible cratering. More than that and it's too hot, for whatever reason. Yours are 'way too hot. Do NOT fire even one more round of that load. Try slower (lower pressure) powder, different primers, different bullets, etc. All of the above replies are good. BUT, find your new load, back off about 15% this time (since the problem could also be the gun) and work your way up. I know all of this as I was where you are in about 1990. Mine was a .17 Mach IV and the pressure was so excessive that, upon the first firing of new brass, multiple primer pockets expanded so much that the primers fell out and another primer could not be re-seated because of pocket stretch. Another unique problem that I found was with a .270 REN, a .22 Hornet case expanded into a straight wall case. I bought it from a friend who had used it to develop the first published loading data (as far as he thought), and I used his article as my reloading data. Even though it was a hot load, it should be safe you say... Exactly the same barrel and all of the same components, including the amount of powder. But it wasn't! I pondered over this for weeks. I finally realized that there were only two possible answers - either our powder scales did not read out the same or, since we were not using the same lot of powder, mine was slightly faster than his. I was putting more powder into a very maximum load, thus the problem. Now, THAT's one of the weirdest things I've ever come across! And, sometimes, things just can't be figured out and it's time to move on to another project. As you have seen, even using reliable loading data you can sometimes get into trouble, and this load is trouble territory. You can find more about this problem in major manufacturers' loading manuals. Good luck, and let us know what you find out. I'm always interested is finding out what the solutions are.
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Internet tells me all kinds of things: Hillary won the election. I'm a genius. My donkus will get bigger if I eat this root. It goes on and on.
As far as shooting, I take everything with a grain of salt. I seldom get the published velocities out of my custom loads.
On the Core Lokt, or any other OTC ammo, I am not surprised. Sight it in at 100, point blank range is all the way out to 250-300, and I would hope most hunters would take their rifle and check its accuracy (as well as their own) before going into the field.
I don't know what the average shot distance is for game animals, but I would suspect it'd be under 200 yards.
I talked to two guys who both took antelope this year in Wyoming, both at >300 yards, and they sighted in there in Cody before starting their hunt. Off the shelf ammo, but they were dialed in.
" Just required a revert though correct?" What does that mean?
What root?
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Phallium Giganticus
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