I have a bunch of old Federal 155 LPM primers that I'm going to throw away, once I remove them from all the ammo I have to pull apart.
The first trouble I had with them was a while back when I was working up a full power 44 mag load in a rifle. I was seeing some blow out. I was not quite at maximum and there were no other pressure signs. I switched to another primers and worked up the load just fine. I figured I'd save the rest of those 155 primers for lower pressure loads.
I recently loaded up a bunch of mid-range 44 mags (429421 w/11gr Unique). I had tried some with no trouble, them I went ahead and loaded up a couple hundred rounds. Today I had one lock up the revolver (S&W 29-8). I had quite some trouble getting it free. A primer had popped and the firing pin looks like it's been hit with a torch, with part of the tip missing.
On another note: where's the best place to buy a replacement firing pin? I see some "tactical" stainless steel aftermarket firing pins on ebay. I tend to avoid anything advertised as "tactical", but I wonder if that would be worth while.
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