What are common causes of Primer malfunctions. I had 4 of the last 50 shells I reloaded fail to fire. The firing pin dented the primer but they did not ignite. One was on a Whitetail buck!! Luckily my first shot had killed him and I was just trying to follow up.
I use a Lee hand tool now and am careful not to touch the primers. The rifle is a Ruger MK II 7mm mag SS. I had a problem years ago trying to put primers in using the press it self. I thought getting a handtool would ensure this miss fire thing would end.

The most common cause of primer failure is exposure to damp atmoshperes or moisture.I have however had a few cci primers fail to ignite in the past but this has not been a problem since I switched to federal primers.Another cause could be that there is no problem with the primers but rather a weak firing pin spring in the gun.

The Lee auto-prime works great, just be sure not to "Crush" the primer. If you look at the primers, do they have a circle mark in them? Thats because you squeezed them in there just a little to hard. Had this problem before, but when i started to be more gentle with the auto-prime, never had a miss-fire since.

thanks, I think I will switch from CCI to federal primers. I know I was crushing a few primers with the press itself , but thought that the Lee tool would be hard to do that with.

Are you sure you are crushing your primers and not simply seating them correctly?

You want the primer to seat slightly below flush with the case, if using a hand priming tool, you should feel the andvil crush slightly as it seats- you want the anvil to crush a little so that when the firing pin hits the primer, it dosn't have to waste any of its energy prshing the primer forward to seat the anvil before igniting the primer.

Does your hand primer seating device have a pin in it for pushing the primer in? I use a RCBS priming tool, and there is a rounded end and a flat end to the primer seater- You mush use the flat end- the ends look fairly similar if you don't pay attention, not sure if lee's device is similar.

I would store your primers in a dryer spot- maybe one of those surplus ammo cans with a good tight seal on it along with some dessicant pouches.

Maybe since I crushed primers with the press before I bought a hand tool I am now not seating them with enough pressure? The primer needs to be slighty recessed then?

Another thing that happens is ,if you get some brass with deep primer pockets .When you seat the primer to the same debth as the rest there is a little room between the primer and the bottom of the pocket ,when the firing pin hits the primer the anvil dosn't contact the bottom of the pocket, the primer pellet (the part that egnites) smashes .Resolt no boom. This hapened to me ,I thought it was the CCI primers but after a call to CCI I checked the debth of the primer pockets and found some were 3-4 thou. deeper .Just enough for #####.

DU
NRA Life
Pheasants Forever

Make sure the firing pin spring is clean and free of any grease and dirt buildup. Had a similar problem with my BSA years ago.It's amazing how dust and dirt can find its way into such places.

DON'T USE FEDERAL PRIMERS IN ANY HAND TOOL!!!!!!!!!!! If you check the literature that comes with the tool they will tell you this themselves. Thats why Federal primers come in such a huge package compared to C.C.I, Winchester or Remington. A few years ago, they had a whoops, and the lawyers made them package them like this. The problem is the primers are too soft, and very explosive. The tool can detonate the primer your seating, and start the hole tray off! Just check the instructions and read it for yourself. I have told this to several people, and they don't belive me. Just don't want you to get hurt.

Another problem that can affect primers is gun oil. I/ve heard that this can be a bigger problem than moisture. I try to keep my primers away from either moisture and oils. Watch where you spray that Aerosal can.

Russ