Scary!!

[mattslaptop247]

Never had a missfire in the last 4 years, but it happened today for the first time, twice! one after the other! I think it might just have been the cartridges, was out with the old folding 410, fired but nothing happened, eeekkk. Anyway left it pointed towards mother earth for 30 seconds or so and then gingerley opened her up, took out the cartridge and slung it in the river. The lone and behold it happened again! Is never happened before, and it hasnt happened with any of the shots since.

 

Anne else had this happen? Whats the propper procedure to follow? Besides bricking your pants lol :blink:

[alexm]

I usually leave it a minute or so keeping the barrels pointing in a safe direction before opening the gun. Then I'll re-load the cartridge and try firing it a second time into a safe backstop. Often, if it's an overly hard primer it will work the second time and then you won't be stuck with the potential safety issue of an unfired cartridge. If it doesn't go off the second time then wait a minute or so again before opening the gun.

 

If you are going to play it really safe then you can now stick the cartridge nose down into the ground somewhere discreet for at least 10 minutes before collecting it. Obviously this isn't always possible though.

 

Look at the primer to try and diagnose the problem. If the strike is malformed (non uniform dent) then the problem could be the tip of your firing pin. If the dent looks very shallow then your gun could be striking too weak OR the primers in the cartridges could be too hard.

 

As for disposing of the cartridge, it's not really good practice to lob them in a river. Apart from the fact that it could be found (and they can stay waterproof for a surprisingly long time) it is littering and doesn't look very good on shooters if landowners or the public see shotgun cartridges washed up on the side of the river!

 

The best thing to do is leave it for at least 10 minutes then, for shotgun cartridges, turn the cartridge on it's side and cut it in half through the wadding. You can then pull it apart and pour out the powder. For rifle rounds, if you don't have a kinetic puller or similar to remove the bullet) get a pair of pliers, grip the bullet and snap it sideways. It will split out of the case allowing you to pour out the powder and make it safe.

[Ferret Master]

Alex's advice is sound and you won't get a much better procedure to follow than that.

 

The only thing I would like to add is that some cartridges don't have the primer seated properly and as a result when the gun is closed they bend and deform enough so that they will not fire. I have found CCI Claybusters to be particularly bad for this.

 

FM

[Evilv]

It's very disconcerting when it happens.

 

When removing the cartridge from the gun after a couple of minutes, it is a good idea to keep your head and other body parts away from the breach. In the extraordinary event that the thing went off with the breach open, the case would come back out of there with extreme violence. Point the open breach in such a case away from you and others.

 

 

 

Just in case anybody is as syupid as I was at the age of twenty five, I once had a reloaded .303 cartridge that went wrong as I pushed the bullet in and the neck folded a bit. It was obviously useless so I pulled the bullet and emptied the powder. Now I had a capped case and didn't want to put it in the bin.

 

Being VERY STUPID, I decided to set off the primer before disposal. I am now ashamed to say that I put the case in a vice and put a punch and hammer to the primer...........

 

 

Yes - I know it was VERY DANGEROUS. I found out the hard way, though not as hard a way as I might have had. The primer left the case with great violence and injured me in the hand . It ripped a lump out of my thumb and left me with a considerable bruise. I think I was lucky. If I had arranged things differently I could have shot myself in the eye.

 

 

Maybe dealers should insist on an intelligence test before they supply reloading equipment. this would have saved me an injury because obviously, I wouldn't have been supplied with the stuff to hurt myself. Reloading is more dangerous than some people think.

Edited August 13, 2008 by Evilv

[Big_Sam]

It must be the weather... I had a missfire on saturday. Left the barrels shut for 30 seconds then carefully opened away from me. Checked it to find that the primer was only lightly dented. Fired it again and it was fine. Gun to blame.

[Devilishdave]

I had a batch of .22Rf years back that had a number of hang fires. That was a real worey fortunately they were used as target ammo so no wounded animals!! Still managed to get a few bulls after the hang fire which was mildly ammusing.

 

Dave

[bob300w]

It's very disconcerting when it happens.

 

When removing the cartridge from the gun after a couple of minutes, it is a good idea to keep your head and other body parts away from the breach. In the extraordinary event that the thing went off with the breach open, the case would come back out of there with extreme violence. Point the open breach in such a case away from you and others.

 

 

 

Just in case anybody is as syupid as I was at the age of twenty five, I once had a reloaded .303 cartridge that went wrong as I pushed the bullet in and the neck folded a bit. It was obviously useless so I pulled the bullet and emptied the powder. Now I had a capped case and didn't want to put it in the bin.

 

Being VERY STUPID, I decided to set off the primer before disposal. I am now ashamed to say that I put the case in a vice and put a punch and hammer to the primer...........

 

 

Yes - I know it was VERY DANGEROUS. I found out the hard way, though not as hard a way as I might have had. The primer left the case with great violence and injured me in the hand . It ripped a lump out of my thumb and left me with a considerable bruise. I think I was lucky. If I had arranged things differently I could have shot myself in the eye.

 

 

Maybe dealers should insist on an intelligence test before they supply reloading equipment. this would have saved me an injury because obviously, I wouldn't have been supplied with the stuff to hurt myself. Reloading is more dangerous than some people think.

I would argue that reloading is not dangerous in the slightest, providing that you use common sense. Being VERY STUPID (your words not mine) you risked losing one or both eyes.

You hit with a nail, an item that is designed to fire when struck with a nail-like object and you were surprised that it went off in your face? Jesus H Christ man, that is way beyond the realms of VERY STUPID. Personally, I would not even sell you a box of matches, not born in Suffolk were you?

 

I have been reloading for rifle, pistol and shotgun, for around 50 years and not had a "brown trouser moment" yet.

I was having a conversation with a laboratory technician in the research department at an explosives factory along these lines several years back, he said "If petrol had been invented today, it would be banned from public use, it's the most dangerous thing that anybody will handle in their lifetime".

P.S. Read my signature.

[ferretman]

it happend to me but i found out the fiering pins was not hitting my hb pigeons hard enought but claybusters it would fire so thay must be a bit softer. it cost me 80 for 2 new fireing pins ,job sorted.

[bob300w]

it happend to me but i found out the fiering pins was not hitting my hb pigeons hard enought but claybusters it would fire so thay must be a bit softer. it cost me 80 for 2 new fireing pins ,job sorted.

If you mean 80p you got a bargain, if you mean 80 quid, you were robbed blind, in fact this is bordering on a mugging. Find another gunshop.

[Evilv]

I would argue that reloading is not dangerous in the slightest, providing that you use common sense. Being VERY STUPID (your words not mine) you risked losing one or both eyes.

You hit with a nail, an item that is designed to fire when struck with a nail-like object and you were surprised that it went off in your face? Jesus H Christ man, that is way beyond the realms of VERY STUPID. Personally, I would not even sell you a box of matches, not born in Suffolk were you?

 

I have been reloading for rifle, pistol and shotgun, for around 50 years and not had a "brown trouser moment" yet.

I was having a conversation with a laboratory technician in the research department at an explosives factory along these lines several years back, he said "If petrol had been invented today, it would be banned from public use, it's the most dangerous thing that anybody will handle in their lifetime".

P.S. Read my signature.

 

I entirely accept your well deserved rebuke Bob.

 

It was beyond stupid. I was young and ignorant of how much energy was contained in a rifle primer. I suppose I had the view that it was like a cap or something. Looking back on it - and at the time nursing my injured digits, it was an incredibly stupid and wanton thing to have done.

 

I learned a lesson, but not as hard a one as I might have had. Perhaps I had been drinking a little after dinner - it is so long ago, I can't remember. thirty two years is quite a while.

 

[bob300w]

I would argue that reloading is not dangerous in the slightest, providing that you use common sense. Being VERY STUPID (your words not mine) you risked losing one or both eyes.

You hit with a nail, an item that is designed to fire when struck with a nail-like object and you were surprised that it went off in your face? Jesus H Christ man, that is way beyond the realms of VERY STUPID. Personally, I would not even sell you a box of matches, not born in Suffolk were you?

 

I have been reloading for rifle, pistol and shotgun, for around 50 years and not had a "brown trouser moment" yet.

I was having a conversation with a laboratory technician in the research department at an explosives factory along these lines several years back, he said "If petrol had been invented today, it would be banned from public use, it's the most dangerous thing that anybody will handle in their lifetime".

P.S. Read my signature.

 

I entirely accept your well deserved rebuke Bob.

 

It was beyond stupid. I was young and ignorant of how much energy was contained in a rifle primer. I suppose I had the view that it was like a cap or something. Looking back on it - and at the time nursing my injured digits, it was an incredibly stupid and wanton thing to have done.

 

I learned a lesson, but not as hard a one as I might have had. Perhaps I had been drinking a little after dinner - it is so long ago, I can't remember. thirty two years is quite a while.

 

We have all done stupid things as kids, most of my childhood was spent playing with wartime explosives that we found everywhere in the 1950's, but 25 is a bit old to be doing such stunts, and a bit young to lose your eyesight.

Sorry if I was a bit OTT, but losing an eye like this would have been ridiculous.

[mattslaptop247]

Thanks guys for the advice, lets hope it takes another 4years till it happens to me again!

[Evilv]

I would argue that reloading is not dangerous in the slightest, providing that you use common sense. Being VERY STUPID (your words not mine) you risked losing one or both eyes.

You hit with a nail, an item that is designed to fire when struck with a nail-like object and you were surprised that it went off in your face? Jesus H Christ man, that is way beyond the realms of VERY STUPID. Personally, I would not even sell you a box of matches, not born in Suffolk were you?

 

I have been reloading for rifle, pistol and shotgun, for around 50 years and not had a "brown trouser moment" yet.

I was having a conversation with a laboratory technician in the research department at an explosives factory along these lines several years back, he said "If petrol had been invented today, it would be banned from public use, it's the most dangerous thing that anybody will handle in their lifetime".

P.S. Read my signature.

 

I entirely accept your well deserved rebuke Bob.

 

It was beyond stupid. I was young and ignorant of how much energy was contained in a rifle primer. I suppose I had the view that it was like a cap or something. Looking back on it - and at the time nursing my injured digits, it was an incredibly stupid and wanton thing to have done.

 

I learned a lesson, but not as hard a one as I might have had. Perhaps I had been drinking a little after dinner - it is so long ago, I can't remember. thirty two years is quite a while.

 

We have all done stupid things as kids, most of my childhood was spent playing with wartime explosives that we found everywhere in the 1950's, but 25 is a bit old to be doing such stunts, and a bit young to lose your eyesight.

Sorry if I was a bit OTT, but losing an eye like this would have been ridiculous.

 

You weren't OTT at all. It was a VERY stupid thing to have done.

 

I was lucky that it ended with a sore hand.

 

I bought a chain saw on Ebay last winter. Now there's a thing that could really bite you in the ar se.

 

As for wartime explosives, about eighteen years ago I was brewing a cup of tea with two of my sons on a walk in the country and I noticed some aluminium fins sticking out of the rocks in the bracken beside our little fire. I investigated and discovered a two inch mortar shell. Forgetting the tea, I put out the fire and looked again. It certainly looked like a small finned bomb stuck in the rocks. I marked the spot and went to the nearest police station at Ponteland in Northumberland and returned with a cop in a car. On the way out he told me that the place was a war time training range and that folk were often discovering hand grenades and mortars there. We looked it over and he pulled it out of the ground with a rope I had brought with me. He sent for the bomb disposal people from Caterick and they destroyed it, It was a live mortar and when I went back there were a number of new and severe scratches on the sand stone cliffs. I'm kind of glad my fire was where it was and not a foot to the right really. I suppose the moral of the tale is 'Don't light fires in the bracken on old artillery and other ranges - even if you've no idea that that's what they were.

 

Shaftoe Crags - an old training range for hand grenades and mortars - not that anyone wold know to look at it ->

 

Edited August 13, 2008 by Evilv

[p@cman]

Never had a missfire in the last 4 years, but it happened today for the first time, twice! one after the other! I think it might just have been the cartridges, was out with the old folding 410, fired but nothing happened, eeekkk. Anyway left it pointed towards mother earth for 30 seconds or so and then gingerley opened her up, took out the cartridge and slung it in the river. The lone and behold it happened again! Is never happened before, and it hasnt happened with any of the shots since.

 

Anne else had this happen? Whats the propper procedure to follow? Besides bricking your pants lol

 

Yes, happened to me recently too. Both me and a friend using Eley Fourlong .410 cartridges had misfires in two seperate guns. Firing pin had struck and marked the percussion cap but no bang.

 

Dodgy batch?

[Browning GTS]

Every misfire ive had has always gone bang by fireing it a second time

[MC]

I had a batch of .22Rf years back that had a number of hang fires. That was a real worey fortunately they were used as target ammo so no wounded animals!! Still managed to get a few bulls after the hang fire which was mildly ammusing.

 

Dave

 

 

I seem to be having this problem with a batch of Eley Match at the moment, I have had 3 misfires out of 2 boxes. They didn't go off a second time.

 

I am going to renew the spring and firing pin anyway but I will be sending these rounds back to eley.

[honda chris]

in on box of cci .22rf i have had 2 rounds without any primer just powder.

i just bend the head off empty the powder and burn it off.

in the following 5 boxes i have had 2 more.

 

when i first started shooting i witnessed some pull the head off of a .22rf that had not fired with his teeth :o

 

chris