PMC cowboy load misfires

[R.Neumann]

Now I have had in the past some cartridges that didn't fire when you pulled the trigger but this one kinda scared me.

I was at the range last week to drop some lead downrange and test out my lead addition to my 45/70 synthetic model. I had some factory remington 300 gr and some pmc 300 gr cowboy loads. Same POI in my gun with less recoil for the pmc.

I loaded a pmc round and boom/slap soon followed. Loaded the second and heard an ominous click. I kept the rifle in my shoulder for 30 seconds to see if it was a hangfire and then ejected it to inspect. Nice deep dent but no boom so I set it aside and loaded a 3rd round and was rewarded with the boom/slap again. 4th round went click and I was starting to get worried about my hammer not falling hard enough when about 8 seconds later it went BOOM!

I am not normally a cussing man but this time I couldn't help it as I was pulling the rifle away from my shoulder as it fired. 3 inches of travel and a sudden stop at the shoulder kinda makes ya wince.

I boxed up the pmc and brought it back to the store with a story about what happened and the owner agreed to pull the lot from his shelves until he could sort it out with PMC

I fired about 20 rounds of remington after that with 0 issues so I am pretty sure it isn't my rifle

[Mac11700]

That's a good store manager :agree:

I have had that happen on several different brands as well...but only 2 times on my reloads...and yep...did the same thing as you did...talk about free recoil :eek:

Mac

[McLernon]

I've had misfires too with my .223 reloads of several varieties. When I took off the hammer extension the problem went away. However I still get 'dropped shots' ( low POI out of group) owing to, I believe, poor ignition. WWB 'drops' are not so obvious if they occur at all.

The example given I think indicates that primers don't just misfire or go boom. The ignition may be delayed OR it may be weak enough to cause a marked drop in velocity resulting in a 'dropped shot'. The source of the problem may be a glancing hammer strike on the transfer bar. That's my theory anyway. The solution: a stronger hammer spring.

Any comments would be appreciated as I am planning to swap out my hammer and latch springs sometime in the near future.

McL

[quickdtoo]

A stronger hammer spring would invite a broken transfer bar, IMO, since they break all by themselves too often. Pulling the trigger to the rear completely at the break will prevent light pin strikes which will cause inconsistent ignition. It's real easy to release the trigger at the break, it takes focus and follow thru to make sure the trigger goes to the rear completely. I get my best groups when I really concentrate on getting the trigger all the way back in a complete stroke. :wink:

Tim

If you feel any need to have any spare Handi parts, it would be the transfer bar and firing pin, I have em!!