I took my Omega out this morning to try to work up a load to hunt with this coming deer season. I started by snaping 3 primers and swabing with a dry patch. I then loaded 80 grains of GOEX pinnicale FFFG powder and a 250 gr. Shockwave. I then inserted a winchester 209 primer, and pulled the trigger. I got a pop sound then nothing. I held my position for about 20 secound in case it fired late and nothing. removed the primer and put a secound one in. This primer was from a different pack. pulled the trigger and pop, then nothing. waited about 20 secounds then soaked the gun with a garden hose. removed the breach plug and soaked it again.

The powder was from last season. It was stored in a tackle box that I keep all my BP supplies in. It was capped and sealed but it was capped with a pouring cap. The tackle box was stored in my garage/walk out basement. It does not get wet down there.

The primers were kept in the same tackle box. They were also from last season. When I snapped the first three They did not sound as sharp as I remember them being last season. When I swabbed the barrel after the first three there was no black residue on the patch.

Is there a shelf life on the powder/primmers? I'm leaning toward the primers being the problem but I was also wondering if I should havecleaned the gun before I started. The gun was cleaned before I put it up for the season but the gun was stored barrel up and the Caseys sheath might have collected in the plug.

Any ideas you guys have would be helpful.

Thanks
Shane

To check the breech plug, hold the gun(action opened) up to a light/sky and see if there's any light coming through. If there is, your flash hole is clear for firing. If not, get to cleaning.If it is clean start by getting new primers. They're[primers] veryvulnerableto slight moisture in their paper and plastic containers, andbeing stored ina container that doesn't breathe could have been the cause of the problem here.Perhaps you didn't clean the flash hole before stowing it and insufficient flash is getting to the powder. Next, you stored your powder with a funnel cap instead of the factory cap, which is likely to have allowed some moisture in. To see if your powder is burnable, take a very small amount(a smallpenny sized pile)outside on a non-flammable surface and see if a match lights it up. Next time you get primers and powder store them on a shelf where moisture doesn't have a chance of collecting unlike in a plastic container. It's okay to store your other accessories in the same tackle box, though. Hope this helps.

Unless the humidity percentage stays at 70% or less -- plus that area keeps a basic same temperature 24/7, then you may havecontaminated powder and tainted 209 primers. I would start all over - fresh this year!

Another possibility is oil retention in the plug. The easiest way to correct that is be either storing the ML muzzle-up (or) keeping the plug out until you retrieve the ML for range or hunting work.

One last possibility is the firing pin on the door of the Omega action -- the little thingeee that gets struck by the hammer. Well.... that must be kept clean & oiled. Press both sides in when cleaning & oiling. There's also a low percentage-chance that it is KAPUT... uh broke!

Let us know how you make out!

One last mention......
For those without a dehumidifier & keep your powder & primers like this thread-starter did, put your powder and primers in the middle of a bag of charcoal briquets that you use for cooking outdoors. Make sure it's a non-charcoal bag so it won't get tampered with or tossed on a fire. Also keep it away from children & mark the bag with it's contents.

Keep the primers and powder surrounded by the charcoal - then fold the top of the bag with a nice straight line & put three clothespins on it to keep it sealed. That charcoal drives away moisture real well. I use it exposed during winter months at my summer home trailer. I spreadfour large cookie sheets in the trailer - each filled with exposed charcoal briquets.... ie... bedroom, kitchen, bathroomand TV-seating room.

Keep Your Powder Dry Folks
. . . . . . . Joe [/i]

if those first caps you popped sounded a little different, it may have been that you didnt have a clear fire channel. this could have been caused by some leftover residue from the last cleaning, or some heavy breach plug grease that somehow made its way into the fire channel. sometimes when you have cleaned the breechplug, and it looks like the fire channel is perfect clear, after you have let it sit for a couple of months some brown gunk builds up and blocks the channel.

i do one of two things when i'm snapping caps prior to loading: 1. push a patch down the barrel using ramrod & jag and leave it (and the ramrod) in the barrel when i snap the first cap or 2. point at a blade of grass when i snap the first cap. the patch will come out with a black circle if the fire channel is clear, and similarly the blade of grass will move.

if you want to know for sure, and i have done this, you can quickly pull the breech plug while you're at the range. then you can easily see whether daylight is passing through the fire channel. you might be surprised how easy it is to get an obstructed fire channel. that has been the cause of a majority of the misfires i have experienced (aside from dry-balling, DOHP[:'(]) 209's are pretty strong, and i have yet to experience a misfire with one. but it can still happen.

if that's not the problem, it would have to be the primers or the powder. i dont have any experience with APP powder, but i have read that it tends to attract moisture. was the powder clumped together in the can? i would suspect the powder before i'd suspect the primers (if the primers worked fine the last time you used them and they havent gotten wet). but i wouldnt be quick to throw either away at this point

I'm not an expert but powder does attract water- even in a closed bottle. Last season's powder may have absorbed enough moisture to degrade.

Buy a nipple pic.Mostly used for nipples using the #11 caps but I use a pic everytime I clean breech plug in my inlines.I have 2 pics,keep one in my belly pac and one in my smoke pole bag.One of those nice to have items that could save a hunt.

BUT - could be what already been said - your caps/and or powder.

Well I'm done cleaning the gun and I think it was the breach plug. I can't see any day light through the hole. When I clean my gun at the end of a shooting session I use this dental floss that my daughter uses for her braces. It has an end that is very stiff for about 3 inches and then a thick spongey end. I always pass this through the hole with my cleaning solution. I must not have dryed it good enough because I can't get anything to pass through. Not even air. So I'm off to get another breach plug.

Thanks for all your help
Shane

Please email me or PM me because I want your discarded plug. I will even send you a dollar or two for shipping. There's nothing wrong with your old one- once you clean it properly. Use sewing needles to clear the flash hole... solvent-soaked stiff white, wiry pipe cleaners for cleaning out the primer hole -- followed by a thrust of hot tap water thru both sides -- then dry thoroughly. I usually take my compressor air to blow it dry real fast. You can also shake it dry for a minute or two or use a self-drying spray cleaner like Brake-Cleaner or Gummout.


Keep Your Powder Dry Folks
. . . . . . . Joe [/i]

smoke - there is no way you shouldn't be able to clean that breech plug hole by any method mentioned in this thread.Whatever you do - get some kid of pic or at least a samll drill bit that you can freely run thru the hole before/after cleaning the plug.

I wasn't planning on throwing it away. I've got it soaking in simple green right now. I've been meaning to pick up an extra breach plug anyway. This is just an excuse to get another one.

Thanks
Shane