Misfire

Yesterday I had 2 misfires out of 150 cartridges. By misfire I mean trigger pulled, click, nothing, looking at the cartridge I can see where the pin has hit.

Firstly, I’m assuming this is much more likely to be a cartridge fault than a gun issue. I’m using the club cartridges, £7.50 per 25, so they are probably not the best going (but good enough for me).

But more importantly, I realised I had no idea what to do. Should I leave it in the barrel for a bit, or take it out immediately. When I’ve taken it out, should I carry it around with me (we were halfway around the course, just a friendly shoot, not a comp). Are these safe to carry? I carried it with me and gave it to the clubhouse, but afterwards I realised I had no idea what the safe practice was.

Leave it in the barrels for a few seconds.
Take it out afterwards. Not likeley that they go off at a later point in time.
I cut them in half with my pocket knife and pour out the powder on the grass.
The rest goes into the bin.

20 seconds is recommended by the CPSA, gun still in your shoulder, and pointing down range. I had a hangfire a little while ago. Pulled the trigger, gun went click. Cartridge went off around 4-5 seconds later.

Try it in the other barrel first !

What make of gun is it in ?

I’m sure they used to be instructions on what to do printed under one of the flaps of the box by one manufacturer can’t remember who. Sure it was something along the lines of keep the gun shouldered and pointing in a safe direction down range “incase it goes off” for 30 seconds. Then break open and dispose of cartridge safely.

westley said:

Try it in the other barrel first !

What make of gun is it in ?

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I tried them in the other barrel, same result. It’s a new Beretta 686 silver pigeon 1 sporting. Had about 700 cartridges down it.

For me the key is not the time you wait (give it 5 or 10 seconds of course) but ensuring you open the gun with the barrels angled so that the cartridge can (hang)fire and eject rapidly if need be from the gun in safe way. There is a big temptation to open the gun with the primer visible so you can see why it didn't go off. If you do that and it does go off it's straight into your eyes.

Bavarian said:

Leave it in the barrels for a few seconds.
Take it out afterwards. Not likeley that they go off at a later point in time.
I cut them in half with my pocket knife and pour out the powder on the grass.
The rest goes into the bin.

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I don’t usually have a knife with me, so I wondered if it was okay to carry it in my pocket until we got back to the clubhouse.

I’m known to my friends as the worlds most unluckiest person so they will die laughing at the thought of me cutting open a cartridge.

PeeJay said:

I don’t usually have a knife with me, so I wondered if it was okay to carry it in my pocket until we got back to the clubhouse.

I’m known to my friends as the worlds most unluckiest person so they will die laughing at the thought of me cutting open a cartridge.

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I think I’d rather cut it open than have it in my pocket. Especially if I was unlucky.

PeeJay said:

I don’t usually have a knife with me, so I wondered if it was okay to carry it in my pocket until we got back to the clubhouse.

I’m known to my friends as the worlds most unluckiest person so they will die laughing at the thought of me cutting open a cartridge.

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But it is the only way to safely handle a shotgun cartridge with a failed primer. The Powder itself is not dangerous when poured
over the grass. Just a bit of nitrogen fertilizer.
What should the club do with it? But of course don´t do it by yourself, if you would cut your fingers of

PeeJay said:

I tried them in the other barrel, same result. It’s a new Beretta 686 silver pigeon 1 sporting. Had about 700 cartridges down it.

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In that case, IF you have any more, change cartridges to a different make. Some cartridges do not suit certain guns. When you find one that works without issue, stick with it.

Just toss it the empties bin . It presents no risk at all . You could chuck it into a garden fire , you might get a pop when the primer goes and a flare from the powder , it’s not going to spray lead like the movies . You could set fire to a pallet full , they’d burn , but they are not going to explode , that’s why you can buy and carry them in your car and store them in your home .

MartynB said:

Just toss it the empties bin . It presents no risk at all . You could chuck it into a garden fire , you might get a pop when the primer goes and a flare from the powder , it’s not going to spray lead like the movies . You could set fire to a pallet full , they’d burn , but they are not going to explode , that’s why you can buy and carry them in your car and store them in your home .

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and why classified 1.4S.

if you know anybody who reloads give them to them.

FESkent said:

and why classified 1.4S.

if you know anybody who reloads give them to them.

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Good shout I am our local grounds “give them to him he reloads” man. Makes shooting the 10 bore slightly more palatable

I had misfire problems with Fiocchi in a 725. Details are posted elsewhere but a little work on the pins and swapping to Hull cured the problem. Yesterday I ran out of Hull and put some Fiocchi through - misfire. Anyway, the point of this post is to say that primers can do more than 'pop' so be careful. The picture below is a primer cap embedded in my finger yesterday. I took about 25 painful minutes with pliers to get it out!

DaveJH said:

I had misfire problems with Fiocchi in a 725. Details are posted elsewhere but a little work on the pins and swapping to Hull cured the problem. Yesterday I ran out of Hull and put some Fiocchi through - misfire. Anyway, the point of this post is to say that primers can do more than 'pop' so be careful. The picture below is a primer cap embedded in my finger yesterday. I took about 25 painful minutes with pliers to get it out!
View attachment 10869

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I feel your pain. Shows how quickly these things happen. I was fly fishing years ago, tightened the knot with the line in my mouth, pulled quickly and the fly (a big, pretty pink fluffy fly) with a barbed hook went straight through my lip! Ended up at A&E where I think just about every doctor and nurse came down to have a look and a snigger! Won’t do that again

donna said:

I feel your pain. Shows how quickly these things happen. I was fly fishing years ago, tightened the knot with the line in my mouth, pulled quickly and the fly (a big, pretty pink fluffy fly) with a barbed hook went straight through my lip! Ended up at A&E where I think just about every doctor and nurse came down to have a look and a snigger! Won’t do that again

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Yikes! I fish as well so have had my fair share of hooks and baiting needles embedded where they shouldn't be, nothing as bad as your situation though

DaveJH said:

I had misfire problems with Fiocchi in a 725. Details are posted elsewhere but a little work on the pins and swapping to Hull cured the problem. Yesterday I ran out of Hull and put some Fiocchi through - misfire. Anyway, the point of this post is to say that primers can do more than 'pop' so be careful. The picture below is a primer cap embedded in my finger yesterday. I took about 25 painful minutes with pliers to get it out!
View attachment 10869

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How did that happen? Went off after opening the gun?

smokeless powder is a propellant, burns rather than explodes, but the chemical in the primer is a true explosive, with lots of energetic energy. Hence warnings about storing primers on mass and not in their original packaging.

looks painful, hope it heals quickly, and please do tell how it happened so we can all learn from your unfortunate experience.

DaveJH said:

Yikes! I fish as well so have had my fair share of hooks and baiting needles embedded where they shouldn't be, nothing as bad as your situation though

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Worst thing was the hubby absolutely peeing himself laughing and the drive down to A&E - it was a boiling hot day, had to have the windows open and this pink fluffy fly flying about