Meplat diameters

[Backgear]

What is the smallest meplat diameter that would be safe in a tube magazine? Should it be larger than primer diameter?

[MtGun44]

Difficult to say conclusively. Some are successful with various round nose profiles
which, at least theoretically, may bear on the primer somewhat. I would think that
you would want to be as large as the primer as a good safe minimum, but that is not based
on any scientific testing. It just seems that if you evenly load the whole primer you are
loading it much like when seating during reloading, which is pretty safe. Of course, wider
than the primer and you load the case, not the primer which it would seem would be even
safer.

Bill

[runfiverun]

lay a loaded round on the table and see where it falls in line with a case [primer] in front of it then decide.

[Backgear]

lay a loaded round on the table and see where it falls in line with a case [primer] in front of it then decide.

Did as you suggested and it is spooky lookin' enough not to try it. Thanks

[1874Sharps]

When I was having Lee make up some custom molds for me their engineer told me that they use the size of a large primer as the minimum size for a meplat for a tube magazine gun.

[Backgear]

When I was having Lee make up some custom molds for me their engineer told me that they use the size of a large primer as the minimum size for a meplat for a tube magazine gun.

What I was wanting to use were Saeco 315s. I have a load that shoots right well single loading but the meplat is more like a small primer diameter. Oh well not a major problem I have other molds. THANKS

[WHITETAIL]

Remember, It only takes one mishap.
So KISS, and go with a large meplate.:groner:

[longbow]

I seriously doubt that even a blunt round nose would set of a primer but I suppose it might given the right set of circumstances.

To be safe, I would use factory flat points and moulds like the Lyman 31141 as a guideline for meplat diameter.

Longbow

[fecmech]

I have heard some cowboy shooters agonizing over RN bullets and after reading this thread I decided to do a half a**ed test to see what would happen. I loaded 2 empty cases with Federal sp primers (as they are noted for their sensitivity) and held each case in a drill vise under the rim. I then loaded 2 empty cases with cast bullets only (no primer or powder) ,1 RN and 1 9MM TC and heavily crimped in place. I then used the bulleted cases as a punch with a ball peen hammer to hit the primed case on the primer. As you can see I sheared the lead off the 9MM bullet and almost on the RN with the force of the blow. The imprint of the primer and case are clearly in the nose of both bullets and neither primer fired. I personally am not going to worry about this any more!

[S.R.Custom]

...The imprint of the primer and case are clearly in the nose of both bullets and neither primer fired. I personally am not going to worry about this any more!

Indeed. The MFRs have been loading round nose bullets in their ammo for use in lever guns since the dawn of man, and continue to do so.

[ReloaderFred]

I worry about it because I've seen pictures of lever action rifles that have chain fired through the magazine, and the resulting torn up arm of the shooter. It can, and does, happen.

I had a conversation with Boyd Davis, the owner of EMF, just last month about this issue and he assured me that it does happen, since he had to defend against a lawsuit that was filed against him for just such a case.

Use a bullet with a flat meplate for lever action rifles and then you don't have to worry about it.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[herbert buckland]

who when yousing the old lee loader primer seating method has not have a primer go off( suprises the s**t out of you) this has made me think magizine explosions could be posible,though lead would act as a good shock absorber as shown in the pictures,icarnt get the lee loader experince out of my mind,it hapend quite a few times,iwill stick to a flat at least primer sized meplat

[fecmech]

Reloaderfread--Did the owner of EMF give any details of the suit, caliber etc?? I read of a chain fire in a Henry replica when he dropped the follower on a stack of 10 .45 colts. He was using rnfp's and suspected a high primer. http://forums.gunbroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=296344 Heck I 'm pretty sure both WW and Remington still sell RN loads for the 30-30.

[Freightman]

High primers are a concern with me I always look at each case as I hand prim them for my '92 Puma.

[StrawHat]

There was an article in HANDLOADER magazine about this. I don't recall which issue or even what year. I believe the writer was using a Marlin 1895 but did not read the article more than a glance. My lever rifle is an Winchester 1895 so I don't worry about it too much.

If anyone has a HANDLOADER index maybe they can post what issue it was in.

[Irascible]

I started cowboy action shooting 9 years ago. Until then I had never heard the phrase "high primer". Doing duty on the loading bench, whenever I see a fellow (or gal) load their revolver and spin the cylinder "to make sure I don't have any high primers", I ask three questions;
Have you ever had a high primer? Most answer, "no, but I was told to do this".
Do you clean your primer pockets? Almost all reply, "No, I don't even have time to clean my brass"
Do you load with a progressive press? Most answer, "yes"
From this I have drawn the conclusions that all "high primers" are self inflicted, and most from lazyness. Some of this "rushing through" the process, is accelerated by the progressive presses. So I can only repeat what has been often said, "slow down, if a job is worth doing, it's worth doing right". To this end, I bought a power screwdriver driven primer pocket uniformer from Sinclair and use it to make sure the pockets are the proper depth and then use it to clean the pockets every time I reload a case. I have had 1 faulty reload in 35 years of reloading and that was when I missed putting powder in one case. As was said in CROSS FIRE TRAIL " slow down, you'll have a more harmonious outcome"

[muskeg13]

These are not the result of a half-a**ed test, but are from a real live magazine tube chain fire. After reconstructive surgery, I'll always worry about this.

[muskeg13]

As you can see, the metplat on these bullets was quite large. This should never have happened, but it did.

[pdawg_shooter]

who when yousing the old lee loader primer seating method has not have a primer go off( suprises the s**t out of you) this has made me think magizine explosions could be posible,though lead would act as a good shock absorber as shown in the pictures,icarnt get the lee loader experince out of my mind,it hapend quite a few times,iwill stick to a flat at least primer sized meplat

I have used Lee's hand primer since they first came out. I am now on my third one. I have no idea how many tens of thousands of primers they have seated without ever popping a primer. Yes I do use Federals. A little attention paid to what you are doing when you place the case in the shell holder and a look to see the primer is seated correctly on the punch will prevent ever having this problem.

[herbert buckland]

I have used Lee's hand primer since they first came out. I am now on my third one. I have no idea how many tens of thousands of primers they have seated without ever popping a primer. Yes I do use Federals. A little attention paid to what you are doing when you place the case in the shell holder and a look to see the primer is seated correctly on the punch will prevent ever having this problem.i was refering to the old lee loader were you seat the primer with a rod and hamer not the lee hand primer which i youse and am very hapy with

[jbc]

As you can see, the metplat on these bullets was quite large. This should never have happened, but it did.

Yes that is a meplat much larger than the primers so the only explination for this is a high primer. I would bet that ammo was loaded on a dillon for your cowboy shooting, correct? that is the reason I seat every primer with my rcbs hand primer and slide each round flat across the edge of my bench before putting in the box to triple check for high primers.

[muskeg13]

No on the Dillon. They were loaded one at the time using an RCBS single stage press and were primed with a Lee hand primer. I always clean out the primer pockets on fired brass, but these were new cases. Since the accident, I have taken to cleaning and reaming all primer pockets with a Midway reamer, and you can bet that I check every round to ensure the primers aren't just seated flush, but are slightly recessed. I've also (now) noticed that the Lee hand priming tool doesn't always seat the primers deep enough to suit me, so I often bump them again using the priming arm of the RCBS press. This seems to reliably seat the primers deeper, slightly recessed.

[mack1]

why do you blame a dillon for high primers. I load many rounds on a dillon 550 and have not seen any high primers I do take care to dilibertly bottom the handle in the priming stage, is there more I should watch for. I load for a M1A and many leavers where high primers would be bad

[canyon-ghost]

Muskeg 13, thank you for putting proof behind the rumour. My prayers are with you, (have a few scars of my own). I've been using the RCBS Ram Prime and it's pretty good. Once you set it for your press, it seats every single primer to the same .004" below the case head.
That was just the safest way I could find to do it, and admittedly, I don't shoot leverguns at all. Wow, 44 magnum, that had to be a very bad explosion. I sincerely hope your recovery goes well.
Ron

[45r]

I use a sinclair primer pocket reamer with the lee seater and the primers go in just right with around 5 thou clearence.The 45-70 Marlins have a bulge in their tube that has the nose of a fat metplat boolit against the primer sometimes.I've seen pictures of tube ruptures from them.Not knocking the Marlin 45-70's,like them a lot.Got a GS and XLR and they are very accurate.