Ok hello all! I have been away too long after a brief intro a month or so ago. I have done my homework but can't figure out why my 308 is not firing some ammo while others it's like clockwork. Here's the History. Recently I bought about 1000 rounds of professionally reloaded 308 ammo from a reputable national reloader who will remain anonymous. I have bought and shot their ammo for 6 or 7 years now and never had a hiccup in any caliber, 9, 40, 223, 308, 38, 44, 41, 357 etc.
The rifle is a Sporter in 308 I bought from a pawn shop just a few months ago. With factory ammo, from makers like federal, hornady, American Eagle etc, it fires and is accurate just like any other rifle. But with the "factory" reloads, I am getting light strikes on more than half of the rounds I tried. I have 150gr FMJ and 168gr BTHP's, both of which work flawlessly in bolt guns and ar-10 platforms. The only thing I can think of is that the firing pin spring is weak? or the pin itself is shallow or worn. What I mean is that the reload primers seem to be seated just a few thousands deeper than the factory ammo from the brand name folks. It's frustrating, because I'd like to shoot the reloads to save a little money and make some empty brass for further reloading. I also thought that maybe the Ammo company used a harder primer - like a military primer?The light strikes show a detent in the primer, and I can throw them in a bolt gun and they fire right off. Any ideas?