What happened ?

[mag_01]

:coffee: ----shooting my M39 (7.62x54R) today at the range something strange happened--1st 2 rounds shot well with good accuracy--2 rounds touching---the 3rd round I heard the noise of the action itself but no bang----ejected the case and the powder came out of it black at first which is normal the last part the part at primer looked a dirty white or a weak yellow and boolit was an inch or so into barrel----what happened----the load was (7.62x54R)---185--gas checked--sized .312--with 24grs. of IMR4198--anyone have any Idea---thanks -----Mag

Had ear muffs on so maybe primer went off---not sure--also not sure of boolit depth in barrel.:confused: :confused: :confused:

[Bret4207]

Bad primer, something blocking flash hole, a little lube may have contanimated the primer or powder, no flash hole (have to check that, it happens), any number of things including a broken or blocked firing pin.

[NVcurmudgeon]

Yep, seen the same thing, even to the colors of the powder. I agree with Trooper Bret about the probable causes, leaning toward stray lube CAUSING a bad primer.
Haven't seen a recurrence since I decided to clean up my act, and my hands.

[mag_01]

---Thanks guys -I felt the same---just wondered about the color of powder near primer and NVcurmudgeon said he has seen similar---hands often contaminated with oil or boolit lube

[StarMetal]

May,

tubular powder, such as your 4198 is graphite coated. The powder is actually kind of yellow without this coating. What happen, for some reason, you primer did go off and being the powder closest to the flash hole, that graphite coating got blowed off, thus the yellow color. You either had moist or contaminated powder or a weak primer, like the other's said.

Joe

[hunterldh]

The primer fired or the powder wouldn't have changed color. Very strange. - Hunter

[MT Gianni]

The primer fired or the powder wouldn't have changed color. Very strange. - Hunter

What we don't know is if it fired at it's normal intensity. Gianni

[TCLouis]

in the flash hole?

I have had a couple like that and that seemed to be the cause.

[nicholst55]

I have neglected to clean the flash holes of sized brass (tumbled after sizing) on one or possibly more occasions, and never noticed any problems. Granted, I wasn't running the ammo over a chrony so I don't know how it compared to 'normal' brass.

I would agree in this case that the primer was most likely defective - or contaminated. I never handle primers by hand, unless I'm wearing (clean) nitrile gloves any more. That virtually eliminates the possibility of me contaminating a primer - keeps my hands clean, too!

[Jim]

I have my doubts about the primer being contaminated. A few years back, somebody on this board did an experiment to see what it takes to kill a primer. Don't remember all the details, but I do remember it took a lot of effort to kill one. That being said, I can't see common handling being responsible for this anomaly.

[versifier]

I had the same thing happen a month or so ago, 8x57, 3031, powder blackened but unburned, boolit up the barrel three inches. I am very careful about keeping my hands clean, especially before handling primers, though I never actually touch them, just pour them into the AP2 tray. The cases were neck sized, no lube on them; I never clean them, so no media in them, either. Boolits were lubed with LLA, and it was completely dry, but only the GC was in contact with the powder and there was no lube on that. None of the other 49 rounds in the lot had any problems. I have never had it happen before, nor since. I still have no idea why it happened, and none of the proposed causes seems to fit the evidence in my case. Maybe it was a bad primer, but I heard it go off even wearing hearing protection. Possibly not enough priming compound in it to achieve ignition? But if so, why was the powder blackened? There was nothing wrong with the powder as far as I know, no problems with it in any of the other rounds loaded with it in many other cases and chamberings. I knew something was wrong when I pulled the trigger, the sound was too soft and there was no recoil. I pulled the bolt and saw no daylight looking down the barrel. The case was still full, the powder was sort of fused together and I had to tap it hard several times to get it to come out. Just one of life's little mysteries, I guess.