I need advice about ammo problem that I had today (blown primer)

[Glock Fanboy]

Isn't a mauser 8mm?

 

[msgriff]

im pretty sure he meant Skiing though. my brain saw sky'ing too. but thats a too few key strokes even for me!

It was either that one or " Don't forget to maintain proper 'Head' space", but nobody likes COVID jokes and Head skis are so 70's.

 

[Dr Prepper]

Isn't a mauser 8mm?

tell that to Springfield lol.
(springifield was sued DURING WWII by the germans and lost the lawsuit because they basically copied the mauser to a T.) one of the main differences being it was .308 instead of 8mm. yes we acually paid the nazis during WWII. true proof right there that lawyers ARE INDEED evil. the axis of evil to be exact!

yes orignally, but there has been TONS of remakes and sporterized and upgrades done to mausers over the decades

also welcome to the forum!

 

[NobullSKS]

looks like an ammo issue, but you can rent headspace gages if you want to check just to be safe.

30-06 Springfield Headspace Gauges

www.reamerrentals.com

Well that's RAD... rentals..?

 

[Dr Prepper]

Well that's RAD... rentals..?

oh yeah.. forgot about that. i just ran across them the other day looking for .338 spectre stuff.
good info.

(you can also rent thermals, price goes towards purchase if you so desire. )

 

[paramedicpat]

Just for the info I believe HSM is remanufactured ammo. I personally haven't used it but have heard it is one of the better ones, they use the same brass manufacturer for the lot they are loading. Then when they run out they switch to the next manufacturer. So I would say it was the ammo problem. Hang fires are a dangerous thing. If you ever pull the trigger and it doesn't go bang, wait a good minute before opening the bolt. You don't want it to explode out of the chamber.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

my 1st thought is to have the headspace checked. i havent read thru any responses but im willing to bet the minds and NWFA agree

 

[arakboss]

You mentioned liking adrenaline. I would try to track down some other brand of factory ammo, fire it in your rifle and see if you have similar results. I would suspect ammo but you never know.

 

[Pops1911]

I still have boxes and boxes of HSM in .357. Shots well and no issues. Sorry for your recent experience.

 

[SUPER X]

Its the Ammo. you had a hang fire, many people have had problems of all sorts with that brand of ammo Predominately the re-manufactured aka Reloads . including myself. Looks like you have mixed Head stamps so i would guess that's what you have.It should say on the box .Some of the factory new ammo Ive had they built was decent stuff.

 

[bbbass]

The simplest explanation is usually the correct one. Which is simpler:

1. Some of the ammo is defective

2. Headspace

Asking for a friend...

 

[tac]

I knew there had to be a reason why HSM[?] is totally unknown here in Europe. I've been shooting, mostly here in Europe, since 1962, and until I read this thread I'd never heard of it. TBH, I'd be happy to leave it that way.

It is only MY opinion, which counts for absolute zero, but the very first FTF would have gotten me unloading that rifle - one that was a proven and safe-to-fire rifle - and doing some very hard looking at the carp I was putting through it.

Y'see, I work on the basic principle that ammunition is cheap, but a fully-working eyeball is harder to come by, and as for a bolt-proof forehead, well, that has yet to be perfected. Ask the gentleman - an expert shooter and reloader of great renown - who continued to fire his Navy Lee [?] with way-too-heavy hand-loasds until the bolt sheared and cleared his head, back to front, in full view of a range-load of people.

You can take it to the bank that THAT didn't heal.

This was a few years back, mind, but I'm sure there are folks here with whom that rings a bell.

Here's a list of SAAMI compliant manufacturers in the US of A -

Alliant Powder
Beretta USA Corporation
Browning Arms Company
CCI/Speer
Federal Cartridge Company
Fiocchi of America, Inc.
Glock
Hodgdon Powder Company
Hornady Manufacturing Company
Howell Munitions & Technology, Inc.
Kahr Arms
Marlin Firearms Company
Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems/New River Energetics
North American Arms, Inc.
Nosler, Inc.
O. F. Mossberg and Sons, Inc.
Olin Corporation/Winchester Division
Quantum Ammunition
Ruag Ammotec USA, Inc.
Savage Arms, Inc.
SIG SAUER
Smith & Wesson Corp.
St. Marks Powder, Inc.
Sturm Ruger and Company, Inc.
Taurus Holdings, Inc.
True Velocity
Weatherby, Inc.

Our OP's brand seems to be totally, how can I put it?

Absent.

ALL US-made brands of arms and ammunition sold in the fourteen CIP signature nations are required by LAW to submit their products for testing [ammunition] and proofing [in the country in which they are to be sold]. For ammunition this means handing over an initial lot of 20,000 rounds of EACH calibre and load for assessment - and then a lesser amount, every now and then at the whim of the CIP organisation for assertion of the maintenance of compliance.

That's probably why we haven't seen this carp over here.

 

[deadeye]

Today I shot 40 rounds (2 boxes of HSM 30-06 Springfield 180 gr ammo) with my old sporting Mauser (Gew 98 with K98 bolt and Remington RA 2-44 barrel). I recently purchase the rifle through this forum and the deal included few boxes of 30-06 factory ammo including 2 boxes of HSM brand. Last week I shot 40 rounds of Federal 180 gr and the rifle was performing great, smooth action and accurate. However, I had a serious problem today with the HSM ammo. The first box of 20 rounds was all smooth and everything was perfect. However, when I started using the second box of the same ammo, about every 3rd shot was not correct. When I pulled the trigger, I could hear "click" and then the rifle fired (delayed action). The shots were accurate, but I could feel much more recoil and it just did not feel right. However, being kind of risk taker (I am adrenaline junky), I kept shooting until I finished all the rounds. The last shot was the creasiest. It was delayed and the primer was blown, and the rifle felt it was going to disintegrate. I had to pull the bolt really hard to eject the last shell. Here I posted some pictures of the cartridges including the one that had its primer blown. My question is simple. Is this 100% ammo related (I asked 3 people so far and all 3 said it is ammo issue), or could it be rifle related (firing pin issue)? I still have few 30-06 ammo boxes, various brands. I am concened to shoot the rifle if the problem is firing pin related. I can easily buy another firing pin and spring and replace them. Any advice would be highly appreciated.

Dan

I am in the bad ammo camp. Did the headspace change between shooting the Federal and the first box of HSM, I rather doubt it. The HSM is not the greatest ammo out there but they have been in business since 68 so if they were that bad I wouldnt think they would still be in business.

I would suspect that maybe the guy had it stored improperly and it picked up some moisture causing the hang fire's. Who knows how that box was stored or treated, maybe he dropped it at some point and unbeknownst to him set some bullets back in the cases. Unless you are looking for it most people wouldnt notice it or think it was an issue. I would inspect the other box for equal proper OAL and if you're daring fire a single round and if it shoots fine move to the next if not soak it in a bucket of water for a week and toss it.

I dont think HSM is going to be of any help as you have no way of saying how it was stored and it isnt newer production. You are not the original purchaser as well.
What a new box looks like so who knows how old your boxes are. Have you looked for a date of manufacture on the box not sure how they do their lot numbers.

 

[CLT65]

I've never seen nor heard of loose headspace causing hangfires. I've had plenty of hangfires over the years, but only in old surplus ammo. In my understanding hangfires are caused by weak primers or deteriorating powder, or possibly damp powder?

In any case, your photos in post #23, the top two, who very nice looking ammo that to my trained eye don't appear reloaded, damaged, or deteriorated in any way.

If it were me, and I didn't reload, I'd contact HSM just as you said, and if they were no help, I'd just give them to someone who did reload. I see no point in tossing good components. Pull the bullets, toss the powder, and load them back up with a proper charge, and you're in business.

 

[ddjchemist]

I've never seen nor heard of loose headspace causing hangfires. I've had plenty of hangfires over the years, but only in old surplus ammo. In my understanding hangfires are caused by weak primers or deteriorating powder, or possibly damp powder?

In any case, your photos in post #23, the top two, who very nice looking ammo that to my trained eye don't appear reloaded, damaged, or deteriorated in any way.

If it were me, and I didn't reload, I'd contact HSM just as you said, and if they were no help, I'd just give them to someone who did reload. I see no point in tossing good components. Pull the bullets, toss the powder, and load them back up with a proper charge, and you're in business.

I won't definitely shoot that last box of HSM. I will give it for free if anyone wants them. Of course I will disclose the issue and warn the person about potential problem.

 

[ddjchemist]

Isn't a mauser 8mm?

Original non-modified German and Yugoslavian Mausers are 7.92mm (here in the US we call it 8mm). However, after WW2 many of these German Mausers were imported to the US and converted for hunting and were called SPORTING Mausers (calling a rifle sporting is silly in my opinion). Mine is one of them. Mine has German Mauser Gew 98 Receiver, K98 bolt, magazine and trigger assembly, and Remington RA-2-44 barrel (in 30-06 Springfield). From my research about these sporting Mausers, the reason they were converted was that 8mm ammo was not common in the US, so they were converted to accommodate common North American calibers (mostly 30-06 and .270, but I saw online other calibers as well). I do not know how familiar are you with old German Mausers, but their design is genius. They are super easy to disassembly and barely ever need any cleaning. I am convinced that few hundreds years from now, most of them will still be functional.

 

[Xaevian]

Believe me, I'm not one that normally craps on local companies (HSM, Hunting Shack Munitions is in Stevensville, MT), and my experience with them has been with 9mm handgun ammo about 20 years ago. But that ammo was of mixed headstamps, and the brass was fugly. I never used their stuff again, regardless if they are a primary LEO supplier.

 

[Dr Prepper]

Isn't a mauser 8mm?

Also worth noting there are two different kinds of 8mm that will fit a 8mm chamber.
When the round was first developed it was black powder in around i think the 1890's maybe even earlier. It was updated and converted to shoot smokeless powder later i think before, WWII maybe during.
But you CANNOT shoot the smokeless powder loads through a really old mauser not made for smokeless pressures. They will blow up.
(Same reason we lost most old classic shotguns, most of them got "departed")
I believe the smokeless ones are called "JS". Or visa versa.

 

[ddjchemist]

I absolutely love this forum. For me, this forum is a source of knowledge. I grew-up around firearms (mostly Yugo and German Mausers and Yugo SKSs), but after moving to the US in 1999, I could not legally own guns while on student visas (first 15 years of my stay in the US). Finally when I received my green card, I was able to legally buy firearms. The hardest part for me was to learn all the calibers on the market, and certain technical terms. This forum helped me to get into the game. So, I thanks all the members for the help. There is so much to learn and just this post gave me a lot of information. Sometime, hassle and troubleshooting are the best way to learn.

 

[Dr Prepper]

I absolutely love this forum. For me, this forum is a source of knowledge. I grew-up around firearms (mostly Yugo and German Mausers and Yugo SKSs), but after moving to the US in 1999, I could not legally own guns while on student visas (first 15 years of my stay in the US). Finally when I received my green card, I was able to legally buy firearms. The hardest part for me was to learn all the calibers on the market, and certain technical terms. This forum helped me to get into the game. So, I thanks all the members for the help. There is so much to learn and just this post gave me a lot of information. Sometime, hassle and troubleshooting are the best way to learn.

Yup, the rest of the world by in large now doesn't know (or remember) what they are missing.

Its the ultimate zen sport. Nothing works better for just completely blanking every thing out and focusing on the shot.
Pretty sure thats why Vets still love to shoot even after the wars. Helps them escape. Even for just a few moments.