Firing pin fails to dent primer 300PRC?

[Troutslayer2]

After a failed hunt yesterday I wanted to shoot my rifle. I got a click, let the round sit in the chamber a while then extracted that round. It was ever so lightly dented by my firing pin. I put in another round and it fired. It was in the mid 20s all day but gun was kept free of snow and debris. I don't want to throw any high end action builders under the bus here but had that failure to fire been on an elk I probably would have lost my nerves. Is this an issue with my firing pin being too short? All my spent brass looks good with a nice dent in them. Could the cold weather alone do this? Is this my first 300PRC "click" that I heard about but never thought it would happen to me or is that a different problem?

In a part of the state where elk encounters are hard won I am not sure if I'm comfortable carrying this rifle until I figure out what the problem is.

 

[Reemty J]

Could be moisture with cold, take your bolt apart and clean it out. Could be grease and some cold. If you take the bolt apart you can clean firing pin channel, oil the spring and eliminate any problem in there, yours is an easy fix!

 

[Chesterrose79]

Hand loads or factory ammunition? Sometimes if they're hand loads and you bump the shoulder back too far the case slides forward a bit when firing pin strikes.

 

[BillNye]

Could be excessive headspace allowing the round to slide forward as the pin fell

 

[Ckleeves]

More then likely need to strip the bolt and degrease it like others have said. That's not a "clicker", that's a separate brass sizing issue.

 

[laker]

Tubs speed lock firing pin?

 

[The Oregonian]

Have you fired this ammo in this gun before, and if so, how did it perform then? Is this a cold weather, this time only failure to fire or has this happened before?

Assuming all that checks out fine, a good cleaning of the bolt internals should do the trick.

 

[Troutslayer2]

Never happened before in this same lot of brass. Headspace is .0015" measured off the shoulder. Primer looks and feels like all the rest in this batch. Guess I need to take the bolt apart and degrease it.

 

[Beluebow]

Are your primers seated to touch or crush?

How much firing pin fall does the action have?

 

[Troutslayer2]

Are your primers seated to touch or crush?

How much firing pin fall does the action have?

I seat them till they bottom out with light back pressure. They are not flush but recessed a little bit.

 

[laker]

I seat them till they bottom out with light back pressure. They are not flush but recessed a little bit.

Does your bolt have a tubs speed lock firing pin. Had that issue with two different ones

 

[K.E.C.]

Never happened before in this same lot of brass. Headspace is .0015" measured off the shoulder. Primer looks and feels like all the rest in this batch. Guess I need to take the bolt apart and degrease it.

Yes, strip the bolt, clean everything with brake cleaner. Do not relubricate, get some anti freeze, soak everything, blow everything off with a air, reassemble, go hunting with no worries.