SmallCaliberCentral

I have a howa model 1500 .204. I have an issue with the firing pin dimpling the primer a bit too deep. I seems fine for a few rounds and then the pin will hit the primer so hard that a piece of the primer will com off and fall into the magazine and jam the door shut. Anyone have a remedy????

First are you talking about reloaded ammo, with standard primers? If so go to a 7 1/2 Rem or another brand with thicker metal. If this is with standard, store bought ammo. Then either you or a gunsmith should check the firing pin and ever so
little shorten it, til the problem stops.. That would be my take anyway. Bill K

Thank you. It is with reloads. A good friend of mine reloads for me and has tried 2 different primers. Neither has solved the problem but I will run this by him.

I'm shooting a Howa also, in 204 and a Weatherby Vangard in 223, which is made by howa for Weatherby as their economy rifle. With both rifles I do get a tad of cratering at times with reloads. I had the same problem as you are describing with the 223 when working up some loads. What I wasn't paying attention to was it was 85 degrees out side and I was sitting in the sun. I was using H335 powder and WSR primers in a load that was, if memory serves me, about 1.5 grains below max charge. What I am getting to is, this time of year you really need to be aware of temps you are shooting in. Always remember that HEAT causes pressure increases in a loaded cartridge. A different primer may not be needed nor be a cure for the problem.
A fellow shooter friend of mine, mentioned something that I never thought of. His tip is to keep your ammo in an ice chest until ready to shoot. You did not mention the powder you are using or shooting conditions. ie temperature! Hodgdon makes some "extreme" powders, that are not so temp sensitive, which some of I do use. But I don't take any chances, as I take an ice chest with me any time shooting in the HEAT
Let us know a little more information, about what is going on.

timbjerk--My suggestion would be to send the bolt to:

GRE-TAN RIFLES LLC
4005 Hwy. 13
Rifle, CO 81650
Phone: (970) 878-5421

and Have Mr. Greg Tannel bush the bolt for you. My new/used Savage 12VLP in .204 Ruger was allowing primer metal to flow back into the firing pin hole. I had the same problem with a couple of .17 Remington rifles in Remington 700 models and Mr. Tanner fixed those up 100%. The Savage bolt came back and I haven't had any problems with primer flow into the firing pin hole since. I had this done back in April of 2010 and he charged me $64.00 at that time. To me, that was a small price to pay to get the problem fixed. Contact him BEFORE you send the bolt in to see if he works on Howa rifle bolts and to get a current price. I think I had my bolt back in about a week.

I would also encourage you to use primers with a thick cup such as Remington 7½, CCI 450, or CCI BR-4. Also, use powders that are not temperature sensitive and when you find a good load, test it in warm/hot weather to make sure it is safe.

Thanks to all who replied. I will take all of the advise into consideration and post when I figure out exactly what the problem is.

An excessively large hole in the bolt face could be the problem (as mentioned before).

Try removing the bolt from the rifle then allow the firing pin to fall or uncock the firing pin. This can be done by twisting the bolt sleeve. To recock the firing pin draw the firing pin back by pulling the cocking piece back that is held against a piece of hardwood or aluminum and twisting the bolt sleeve the other way to cock position.

Once the firing pin is in a uncocked position the firing pin/bolt face situation can be appraised. Excessive play between the firing pin and hole in the bolt face and excessive firing pin protrusion can be determined.

The fix, done by a qualified gun smith is to "bush" the firing pin hole. In a bolt gun this is usually done by drilling, then tapping the firing pin hole, then fitting a threaded plug into the hole, then drilling the proper size hole in the plug. If the firing pin is too long it can be shortened or in some rifles adjusted in the cocking piece.

Good gunsmiths cheerfully do jobs like this. Hot loads in ancient 98 Mausers can be problems and the bolt faces in these rifles are real hard steel.

Tim you punched holes in my factory loads also.

The powder was either H4895 or Benchmark, in the reloads you shot.

Tim used cci450 mag primers in chucks Howa, no holes punched in primmers