[Stomper]

I've had 4 misfires in my .45 this winter out of about 1K-1100 rnds. One was a WIN factory load, the other 3 were my reloads using all WIN components. All have occurred when temps are near or below freezing but not below zero. There are light dents in the primers.
After the first 3 the mainspring was replaced and that made a pretty good difference in the hammer's "snap" but then another one happened today.
To complicate things, the firing pin is a good bit off center, I think this is contributing since it can miss the anvil and the most sensitive part of the primer. Anyone else shoot in cold weather and have problems?
I've checked out the lube situation, I've been keeping lube away from the firing pin hole, etc.

 

[Emil In Wyoming]

Wow, I think it would be your firing pin as I also shoot in Rocky Mtn weather and have had no misfires this winter. I tend to use CCI primers but I can's see a difference in brands being sensitive to weather. Check your firing pin, I don't know how to center it though...

 

[Joe Ford]

Check your Lube some lubricants gum up at low temps. If you are getting light primer dents it's not the ammo's fault.

 

[Stomper]

I didn't think it would be the ammo, guns are used all the time in cold weather. I'm going to check the lube situation, when it came back to me from getting the new mainspring it was oozing oil so that might be part of it. I learned about having even light oil around the pin early on. I had to give the primer a second whack shooting at an elk one time with a Model 70. After that I lube before and after but not during hunting season.

I was really hoping someone would say "oh yeah, I had that problem with "brand X" primers and switched to "brand Z" and it was fine.
But really this is what I expected. Thanks for confirmation. Any other cold weather experiences?

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Stomper on 2002-03-04 11:12 ]</font>

 

[Tack]

It's not the primer my friend. I have shot over 150,000 Winchester primers in 6 calibers with no problems.

The "Off Center" firing pin strike is something that needs to be addressed. You're right, the sensitive area is down the middle. The outside diameter of the primer cup is less sensitive.

Good luck.

 

[Birch]

Tack... I've had a ton of problems with Winchester LPPs in my Glock. At first I thought I wasn't seating the primer deep enough. I know that's not the case now. BUT... the problems have mainly been in my Glock 29, not in my Kimber.

With that in mind, I never had problems with CCI primers in my Glock.

 

[Stomper]

Maybe I'll try some CCI's, they're the only others available around here. I'm more inclined to work on the firing pin first, my dad's .45 leaves quite a crater in the primer and has yet to have any problems with my loads. And I have about 1500 win primers right now that I'd like to use up. An intermittant problem like this is kind of hard to track down.