Blanking Primers? 

By "blank" I thought you meant a light strike. I normally hear them called pierced primers. Great video & content. Thanks for your channel.

Another great tip video. I would be interested in seeing more "pressure signs" videos too. Curious also if a carbon ring might contribute to a blown primer.

Had this issue with a 6ARC gas gun with no other signs of pressure problems. It occurred randomly and I initially assumed it was just a firing pin issue. Luckily it didn't lead to any long term overstress but after a major bolt lockup I backed everything off. We need more videos on pressure signs like this.

I had this issue on a new AR build, using factory ammo, in 6.5 CM. It baffled me, since the ammo was factory and the velocity was within the expected range. I never thought about it potentially being a fitting pin issue, but my first instinct was to switch out the bolt for a "high pressure" option.

Until today I had never heard the term "blanked primer". I will from now one make sure I watch for this.

I had the same problem with a AR10 in 6.5 Creedmoor, well below max pressure. I solved swapping from CCI BR4 to Federal AR (i use small primers also in the gas gun) Thanks for the video!

Good vid, I too always called these "Pierced" when I opened the vid I thought you would be explaining light hits that don't ignite the primer. I've had a couple Rem bolts bushed to fix this, one a 700 in 6.5X47L and a 40X in 6PPC. going to a small pin completely fixed the issue, and yes, I keep a spare firing pin in my gear box for matches!

The one point made about needing to attend to the bolt after it happens is a very valid one, consider what just happened within that system. Calling it blanking is a new one on me, but, Keith is an engineer in the Seattle area, and I for one, am used to seeing warped nonclamenture from engineers out of that area, dealt with it for many years. These days, swapping primers isn't as easy as it used to be, proper primer usage for purpose is essential.

I've had this happen with an oversized firing pin hole and thin cupped CCI 400 primers.

This happened to me in my ar15 a few weeks ago with 2 boxes of hornady frontier 55g 556. I noticed the rifle was pretty snappy especially since I had just installed new buffer system to reduce my over gassed setup. Picked up all my brass every one had holes in them changed ammunition everything was normal. Got home to clean and had almost 30 brass pimples fall out of my bcg.

I got a brand new Savage Axis II Precision in .223 Rem last year that was cratering and blanking primers right off the bat with loads that were far below maximum. The firing pin hole, as best as I can measure it with calipers, is .072" and the firing pin measures .068" at the tip. For starters that leaves a .005" difference in diameters that translates to .0025" gap all the way around the firing pin. I have to use CCI 41 primers on all my loads in this rifle when I planned on using match primers for precision loads. The rifle has been a real Jonah and attests to the serious decline in quality that Savage has undergone. Did I mention that it came with a large pit in the barrel near the muzzle and when I sent it back to Savage for replacement, they sent me a new barrel with a hundred small pits up and down the entire bore? So I guess you can add that to the list of possible reasons for blanking primers, it's a Savage.

Never heard it called that. Just always called it a punched primer usually caused by a too long firing pin. I've seen them like this from high pressure also but never put 2 and 2 together and thought about the brass inside the bolt from flow back. Eyeopener to say the least, thank you. Also explains a couple of things in the far back.

For those that are confused, just google blanking operations. It's a manufacturing term sometimes used to describe pierced primers.

I do love that my Rem 700 manuals indicate the use of a 25¢ piece for bolt disassembly.

Always very underrated videos! Thanks again Keith

My factory hornady 7mm prc primers experience occasional blowouts. The rifle manufacturer said they ‘fixed’ the issue, which recurs. More precisely, the primers completely separate bottom of the brass cartridge.

Thanks for this video. I had this problem some weeks ago. Luckely I used a chronograph and the speeds were 200 over what I expected and I got the puff of smoke. At home I checked the rifle and no apperent problems. Reloaded 10 rounds exactly the same (of what I thought I had) speeds were as expected and no problems anymore. I'm 99% certain I made a mistake throwing the powder. I'm not such a competive shooter that I need those last 10 fps. So to remain having fun I stay away from anything on the edge.

Jack Cleary a Hall of fame shooter who now works for Capstone dealing with Lapua brass Berger bullets an others referred me to his gun smith who is 50 weeks out had said the exact things you stated. I'm way under pressure so trying to find a gun smith. Not knowing what happened 3 times while shooting it made a round Grove around my firing pin hole. If your firing pin drops down like alot do the hole can get warn out plus your firing pin will not be rounded but the bottom edge flat slightly an making it sharp. As you said a bushing all the way back with a smaller diameter is needed. Watch for this guy's that like to take pressures up as well. Another great well informative video. Thank you.

Trying to get one more load out of a piece of brass can also lead to a tiny pinhole between the primer cup, and the primer pocket leading to a torch effect on the bolt face that leaves a nasty divot

I would like to emphasize that in addition to inspecting the bolt/firing pin assembly for FOD, inspecting the firing pin tip for erosion damage is very important too. In my experience, once the escaping gas erodes the firing pin tip, if not addressed, it will continue to "blank" primers even if there are no other issues.

I broke a firing pin and messed up a bolt face years ago, it was way too hot. Great video

Thanks for looking out for us!

Thanks for your honesty and wisdom.

Great video. Having this issue with a Savage currently. 6.5 creedmore. Only with the small primer brass but using CCI 400. No other pressure sign and velocity right inline with expectation. Going to try harder primers.

Hi Keith, I've been reloading for forty years and have never experienced a blanked primer until two days "after" watching this video and I'm not kidding! 😅 I was testing some loads in my bolt gun and using my Labradar to record velocity data. I fired one of the rounds and smoke flowed from the receiver and out of the magazine well. Instantly I thought of your video and the timing of me watching it. I saved the primer, disassembling it to see if I could see anything under the scope and could not. The cup thickness averaged .016 which is inline with the others. No clue why.

Wow! Great video! You now scared the crap outta me! I think im getting crater primers, will look into it a lill more cautiously, thankyou!

Excellent info, I can confirm this, because it happened to me on my 7mm Rem mag, Reduced the load and all was well.

Great topic,I'm going to look at the primers really close from my powder test the other day.

Thank You Very much for this video.I just looked at my last powder test and max load has a blanked primer.26.5gr Benchmark with a 400 cci primer.

Keith - I think you could also mention other reasons that cause higher pressure, and thus blank primers. To my mind they include - seating bullets to ‘jam’ into the lands - seating bullets too deeply in the case - compressed loads - and also I’d say carbon rings/excess fouling that raises pressures. I’ve also experienced blanking when not seating the primer deep enough in the primer pocket. When not deep enough, the primer pocket has an air pocket between the flash hole and primer which can fill with pressure and back the primer out just a short way, into the firing pin hole. Also, if the primer isn’t seated deep enough in the pocket, the firing pin may actually pierce the primer on ignition. Seating the primer deeper in the pocket gives more clearance for the firing pin, preventing it from piercing the primer.

Rem700, 22-250, 1:14”: I constantly had this sign on factory ammunition. I had a lot of troubles with primers pearcing during my own load development (for 55 gn).

Thanks for the video. Be Safe

I had pressure issues yesterday on a load I've shot before. No signs on the LRM primers but very sticky bolt. Could be too hot of loads as they were right at Hornady's max, but my first guess was carbon ring?

Thanks for the information!!

l've had blanking primers caused by oversized firing pin holes in mauser 98 actions chambered in dasher that was fixed with using cci small rifle primers a very informative video, thankyou

Years ago, with some military brass. The flash holes were off center. This too blanked a few primers.

You are absolutely correct .

Excellent explanation .... thanks Kieth.... gotta measure my firing pin diameters // .062 vs .075

Awesome, thanks for that!

A blown case head is worse. Only blank primers I ever had was loading pistol primers in 223. I noticed it when the rifle missed fired . Bolt was full of cookie cut primer metal. On large firing pin hole, I'd prefer a custom firing pin over bushing a bolt or replace the bolt with correct firing pin hole diameter. I also found pressure spikes with 760/H414 and old H450 ball powders when loaded to the max in 243 Winchester. Would get bolt lock ups and leaky flatten primers occasionally.

I just had this 10/10 rounds fired from an M1A with factory Federal Ammunition. Didn’t notice until I was collecting my brass.

With small rifle primers, if you have not had the firing pin hole bushed, you need to. All the junk gets into the bolt and the trigger. The tip of the pin may be damaged.

I had this occur with too much oil on the bolt spring, cleaned/dried the spring, and no more issues.

Awesome video

Can you please make videos on these two subjects: 1) does annealing help with accuracy and 2) do you know for sure velocity nodes exist? Or you are not sure and you only do the ladder test (with statistically insignificant sample sizes) in case they do.

Hi Keith - love the content. I have the same issue with a 17 Rem (same parent case) using factory Norma ammunition in a Sako rifle. Random primer blanking. Is there any way this can be caused by excessive rifle headspace? The firing pin looks fine, and they are factory loads in a decent rifle. Random primer severe deformation and blanking in some. Your advice re it potentially being the rifle itself would be appreciated.

Very good

For me it was a weak primer. It happened when I changed from CCI BR4 to 400...

I always thought this was called piercing or broaching. Is this something different?

If one is running 556 pressures in 223 brass why not just use 556 brass. Could still have this problem I'm assuming, but would make a difference on safety side if things?

Isto está acontecendo com o meu AR9.

Had to remove a piece of primer from my bolt recently.

When did the terminology change from "Broaching" a primer to "Blanking"? This issue has been called Broaching for many decades.

Could a Carbon ring cause high pressure?

Why do we need additional terms with the same meaning? If we just use the term "pierced", we wouldn't then have to explain what "blanked" means. That aside, I like your videos and you clearly are good at what you do.

anyone have this problem with cci200?

I can’t think of anything that would break the concentration of any competitive shooter than having to stop in the middle of a relay and work on the gun. To much emphasis is placed on velocity and not enough on reliability.

Those looked like Winchester or S&B. I'd switch to cci and likely be okay.

Can headspace play a role in blanked primers?

....we call them "punching primers", yes - "pierced" aswell...."blanked" must be the younger generations name,....the firing pin remains through the firing pin hole when fired......naturally, as we all know, & when the round is over pressured, the primer blows back hard enough, from the pressure in the case, that has bled through the flash hole, to get a hole punched in it by the firing pin & the rest of the primer can even flatten out on the bolt face in the primer pocket, but remains in the pocket & a very mynute amount of brass shrapnel may go into the firing-pin hole, if any, it's the firing pin that causes the hole, atleast that's been my experiences I happened to witness at ranges & matches, other than 1 or 2, at the most, punched large pistol primers used in .308 loads out of about a couple thousand loaded with those primers, due to the lighter weight/thinner cup walls,....aaahhhh, & then you mentioned the gruesome remington with one of its many problems......lol.....that explains it all.....lol

Where I come from, we call that a pierced primer.

Dont use N140 with heavy 308 bullets and you won't get pierced primers

Why can't the FTR shooters, find a safer " node", in their load development that puts it in a safer place.?

Maybeso weak primer . I never had one.

I the word 'pierced' vulgar? A 'Blank Primer, come on call it what it is, a pierced primer. You sound awful silly calling it a 'blank'..

Second comment?