Hello,
I've been lurking for a while, but this is my first post here. At present I have two Handi Rifles (and a Pardner 12 gauge) and three barrels, .444 Marlin, .45-70 Government, and a .357 Mag barrel rechambered to .357 Maximum. The two rifles were originally the .444 and .45-70 respectively. I got the .444 first, and amid the most recent primer crisis (summer 2009). While I have been handloading for 16 years or so, I didn't start handloading for anything that used large rifle primers until I got the .444. So, in conjunction with my purchase I bought a couple hundred (all the store had in stock) Federal large rifle primers. I loaded up some .444 cartridges, mounted my Nikon Prostaff scope, and went out to sight the rifle in. My twin sons were born just before hunting season last year, so I only made it out two days right near the end and as (bad) luck would have it, I didn't see any deer.
I shot up the cartridges I had loaded for the .444, got the .45-70 Handi, and eventually used up all my Federal LR primers between the two rifles. Generally speaking I use Federal primers whenever I can, but I couldn't find any, and ended up with some Winchester LRs. I took the .444 out earlier this year to play with it and discovered that it simply would not fire the Winchesters. Multiple light strikes leaving very light pin marks on the primers, and I never got one to fire, even on multiple strikes. This was before I discovered this site and knew about the incomplete trigger pull/light strike issue. I took the rifle to a local gun smith with several of my Winchester primed rounds. He replaced the firing pin spring and successfully fired the rounds I provided. I didn't get a chance to fire the rifle again until last month when I took it out to make sure it was still zeroed at 100 yards, using my same Winchester primed handloads. Again, same problem, all light strikes, no bangs, even on multiple hits. Pin marks still look very light, though they appear centered.
I should note at this point that my .45-70 Handi will fire any primer I have tried, and in fact, when I got fed up with the light striking .444 I switched the .444 barrel to the .45-70 frame and it fired all the rounds I had light strikes with on the .444 frame. The light strikes occur no matter how I pull the trigger on the .444 frame and they fire no matter how I pull the trigger on the .45-70 frame. I'm a bit flummoxed.
I have since located some Federal LR primers, but as of yet I have not had a chance to fire any live rounds on the .444 frame to see if I have any success. I did, however, load several primers in empty brass to see if the .444 frame would fire them. I didn't try the .444 barrel on the .444 frame yet because its currently mounted on the .45-70 frame and I'm planning on heading out to the woods in a couple of hours with it. Basically I didn't feel like dismounting it. Here were my results:
.45-70, Federal primer, fired on the first hit
.45-70, Winchester primer, multiple light strikes, never fired
.357 Max, Federal SR primer, fired on the first hit
.357 Max, Wolf .223 primer, fired on the first hit
So, I'm wondering if anyone has experienced anything like this with a Handi? The Winchester primers work fine on the .45-70 frame, and have worked fine with other guns too. They might be harder than normal I suppose, but they are not defective. Has anyone tried the Wolff extra power hammer spring? Might that solve my problem?
Obviously one solution is simply to use Federal primers, but I would rather the gun fire any primer I find available and not have to count on Federal primers always being around.
I look forward to comments and suggestions.
Thanks!
