Nearly 50% misfire rate? Is ammo that bad, or is it my gun?

[speeed001]

Hello all,

I've had a Remington 700 (.243 Win) since I was a kid. Prolly less than 150 rounds through it, ever. Never had a misfire until today when I had SIX out of eleven Remington Core-Lokt rounds misfire.

Today I started by shooting 10 rounds of Fusion, all 10 fired and got all but one within 1" of bullseye at 100 yards. My groups were 1" (3 rounds), 1.75" (3 rounds), and 1.25" (4 rounds) respectively.

Then I shot eleven rounds of the Remington Core-Lokt that I ordered online from Academy and just got today. Was $16.99 for a box of 20, and .243 is usually over a dollar a round so I thought I'd found a bargain. Sure enough...

Six rounds landed on paper but only within a 4.5" group. FIVE failed to fire at all. Firing pin dented the primer, but no bang.

I'm quick to blame the ammo - I even just posted a YouTube video showing the crappy results (https://youtu.be/wRBBwHcuUqA) - but I'm wondering if there's anything else that would explain the inconsistency? The poor grouping I'm chalking up to inconsistent factory loading... but is it possible that my firing pin is striking too weakly and the Fusion ammo just happens to be more forgiving? Or did I get a bad batch?

Advice appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Clay Pigeon]

i would do a detailed strip and clean to it, including taking the bolt apart and clean and degrease it. Maybe just as simple as a firing pin clogged up with old hard oil and grease.

 

[OutdoorDad]

i would do a detailed strip and clean to it, including taking the bolt apart and clean and degrease it. Maybe just as simple as a firing pin clogged up with old hard oil and grease.

Good advice. I had a similar circumstance. Firing pin was slowing down just enough to fail on hard primers. It softer primer rounds would fire no problem.

 

[halfmileharry]

Ammo. I'd call Remington and give them the lot #.
Those primers looked to be hit hard enough. Fire some different ammo through it and I'm bettin BOOM.

 

[2in1evtime]

measure and compare the brass between the federal and remington, bet you find the remington is smaller at the neck and shoulder. as to the corelok ammo i found the 30 06 to be very inconsistent in groupings out of several different rifles i won't purchase corelok any more myself. but never had any not fire when struck.

 

[possumpacker]

new a guy had same problem with rem corelok 30-06 i think. hes a member here. every thing else worked fine.

 

[1911ly]

Ammo or not, it's worth the time to take the bolt apart and clean it thoroughly. Then I would give the failed ammo another try for the heck of it. As mentioned up thread, I'd compare the primer strikes to see if they look light.

 

[Bennettjh]

If memory serves me right, I've heard/read somewhere of folks having trouble with that core-lokt ammo. I don't recall caliber though.

 

[gmcttr]

...but is it possible that my firing pin is striking too weakly and the Fusion ammo just happens to be more forgiving? ....

If the rifle has not be fired for several years, there is a good chance that you're getting light strikes from dried grease/gummed up oil. I have had that happen before. Disassemble the bolt, clean and lube.

 

[oldpink]

Just echoing that cleaning and lubing the bolt and firing pin is a good first variable to eliminate.
I'll just add that Federal primers have traditionally been the softest of the US manufacturers, so it's possible that accounts for why the Federal Fusion ammo worked 100% for you.
If cleaning and lubing makes no difference, it's definitely time to do Remington and yourself a favor by calling them, with the lot number in hand.

 

[Bsj425]

Like the others I vote good deep clean and retest. If the same call Remington

 

[foszoe]

I am lazy. I'd call Remington first to see if there is a known issue with that lot.

 

[speeed001]

Good input - thanks!

Thanks all! I'll try a good cleaning of the bolt assembly. Never gotten that deep into a rifle before, but doesn't look too difficult. Dunno when I'll get to it though, so hopefully I can do that and get back to the range and report back soon.

 

[1911ly]

Thanks all! I'll try a good cleaning of the bolt assembly. Never gotten that deep into a rifle before, but doesn't look too difficult. Dunno when I'll get to it though, so hopefully I can do that and get back to the range and report back soon.

It's not that difficult. If you have issues just yell. I am in South Bend too. I can help you do it. NP.



This method works well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVacK49mjDc

 

[speeed001]

It's not that difficult. If you have issues just yell. I am in South Bend too. I can help you do it. NP.
This method works well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVacK49mjDc

Thanks for the offer and tips! Got into it last night, and yeah, there was some grease to be cleaned off the spring and pin. I scrubbed it down with Hoppes and a toothbrush and then swabbed it with regular gun oil, hope that's the right approach for a bolt. Also got inside the bolt with a bore mop. I do feel like there should be a little more punch to the firing pin now, especially on a cold day like before when I had the misfires.

Won't be able to get back to the range for a week or two, though. Will report back.

 

[1911ly]

Thanks for the offer and tips! Got into it last night, and yeah, there was some grease to be cleaned off the spring and pin. I scrubbed it down with Hoppes and a toothbrush and then swabbed it with regular gun oil, hope that's the right approach for a bolt. Also got inside the bolt with a bore mop. I do feel like there should be a little more punch to the firing pin now, especially on a cold day like before when I had the misfires.

Won't be able to get back to the range for a week or two, though. Will report back.

The pin itself should be dry. Oil will collect carbon and crud in time. It's not going to cause a issue in the short term. In the future You might want to clean it off at some time.

Let us know if it helps. The primer strikes were hard to see clearly but they didn't look struck very hard to me. But I can't say that 100% certain.

 

[ChrisK1977]

I have had bad luck with coelokts in my .308's. had a TC that didn't like them and my Howa. They are good if you want to see if you flinch. I don't know if it's hard primers or what. But I got to many misfires and couldn't trust them.