Two weeks ago, I had a blown primer from PPU Rangermaster M193. The primer lodged itself in the bolt catch slot, which locked the catch and prevented the bolt release from working. The carbine was out of service until the bold catch retainer(apologize if the nomenclature is wrong) could be removed and the primer removed. Barrel is a Criterion Core, chambered in 223 Wylde. It happens.
Uh oh. I’ll be real curious to see if it happens again. I got my upper back from criterion a week or so ago and haven’t had a chance to get it out yet. Also have a second barrel that’ll get built into a different upper this week hopefully.Originally Posted by Inkwell 41
I haven’t been paying as much attention over the past year or two but when the Cores came out, I saw lots of really good things. Hopefully the issues isn’t systemic to the barrels now that I finally have some.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
I wouldn’t be too concerned. I’ve got between 1650 and 1680 rounds thru this carbine since putting it together in December 2022, running mainly M193 equivalent loads, and testing some Frontier FR-310 5.56. This incident occurred at an indoor range (where I purchased the ammo and had previously bought other boxes of it) so probably not related to high external air temperatures. I asked the RSO on duty if he’d heard any other reports of primers letting loose and he had not. Of course that doesn’t cover the other six days of the week that the range is open and the dozens of other shooters that bought the same ammo. It was the lowest priced 5.56 they had on hand and they had 40 cases of it at the time, so a LOT of people were shooting it. I’m inclined to believe that this was isolated.
Anyone else remember the story from Ken Elmore's armorer's course?
A cop on surveillance tried his safety. Safey had to be forced. His Mk18 went full auto and set the car on fire. Primer pinned under the internals was to blame.
pat
Some years back I blew a primer in a 6.8 SPC. The little critter made its way up into the charging handle and became wedged between the bolt key and the inside of the handle. This locked the gun up tight. The bolt was about at the mid point so the upper and lower could not be separated. I had to pull the buffer tube off to get the rifle apart.
Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk
Ugggh… That doesn’t sound like fun at all.
What makes Hornady suck, and how big a problem is it?
Hornady brass is soft and doesn't last very long in my experience (compared to Lapua brass). I wouldn't say it's noticeably worse than Federal--it's just not high quality brass that I would invest in if I had the choice. As well, case capacity is typically a bit more in Hornady (than in Lapua) so that means thinner case walls.
Paging @JCL
“There is no growth in the comfort zone.”--Jocko Willink
"You can never have too many knives." --Joe Ambercrombie
Nothing really to add, except for the thin wall/case capacity issue will require a new load workup. If memory serves that amounted to an additional 1.5 gr. for a 45 gr.-ish .308 load. I started my reloading journey with hulls from Federal GMM. I think that it gets an undeservedly bad rap. There's better out there, especially with regard to consistency of case capacity but properly prepared it's perfectly serviceable.
"The older I get, the more I think that just staying home and drinking the good stuff by yourself is way underrated as a healthy practice." - Totem Polar
"An entire worldview devoted to being offside." - feudist
Reply With Quote