That jam might have saved your hand.

I had a similar experience with a 1910 GHE 16ga 20 years ago while shooting clays, although I believe it was a bad reload (using a friend's--never again). The recoil and sound were greater than normal so I knew something was wrong, and the gun would not open past the primer. Nothing hit me, fortunately, but a piece of the top left cheek wood blew out and sailed past my face, and I had some mild powder residue on my right cheek. I called it quits for the day. I sent it to Turnbull who made it all right, and he sent the fired shell back with it. Obviously the primer was pierced, but the only other anomaly was that the unfolded edge of the plastic shell--a remington--was very feathered as if torn by the wad entering the forcing cone. I measured the empty shell and a few other 16s of various manufacture, and found that the Remingtons tended to be about 1/16" longer than most others. Doesn't seem like this would have caused the large overpressure that occurred, though.

The only other pierced primer issue I have ever had was my 10 gauge lifter shooting new RST Bismuth loads in the red Cheddite hulls. Even after rounding off the cone shaped firing pins, the primers would still pierce more than three times out of four. No damage, no excessive recoil, just a pierced primer and some black soot around the primer and into the firing pin hole. Not what you want to see. When I changed to some of the old RST Bismuth 10 ga loads, using brown Federal hulls, the piercing problem was gone completely. I called RST about it and the lady on the phone said they couldn't get Federal hulls anymore and had had several reports about thin primers on the Cheddites. Apparently they buy primed hulls from the source.

My personal takeaway from all this is: 1. Don't use anybody elses reloads, 2. The pierced primer problem is usually with the shells, not the gun, 3. There is no gas escape mechanism on Parker shotguns other than through the firing pin holes and out the back. Too late at this point (about 80 years or so, 25 for the repro's) to do anything about it, so we all assume the risk of bad shells, including bad factory shells.

Thanks for the post. Glad to know its not just me.

There is a natural inclination to be frugal. In one's selection of loaded cartridges as well as reloading components. I too fall prey to this. I once bought thousands of import primers because they were cheap. Like Cheddites. UGH!

Believe me, they are CHEAP. I've never had as many pierced primers as with those imports. AND I was using them in light 3/4 oz. loads.

I've long-since switched to Federals, and over many thousands of rounds, have NEVER experienced a pierced primer or failure to fire.

Moral: Buy reliable American components, put your mind at ease, and skip one Happy Meal a week to cover the added cost.

IT's funny how we have different luck with the same reloading components, I shoot nothing but cheddites and I have never pierced a primmer over thousands shots or a pierced primmer with any I have used but shoot light loads too.
scott

Nope. Not if they are giving away Hillary pantsuit dolls.

Have loaded about 40 thousand Cheddite primers and pierced them only in a Remington hammer gun that had a new firing pin made for it. When compared to the old pin it was 5 thou long, a few strokes of a file and all was well.Different guns different results.

I had this problem from primer/shell I never expected. Shortly after I bought my lightened 16 gauge on a O frame , I ordered a flat of RST shells. After the 3rd piercing out of 6 shells fired, I junked them and never bought anymore. Since I had previously reloaded all brass cases (RMC cases)with 209 primers, I concluded that the shells were at fault and not the gun. I attempted to discuss this with RST at the next Parker annual meeting. They were not interested in my problem.

Bill I have shot thousands of RST's and never had a problem. Perhaps your firing pins are a little long. The Win 209 primer might be a little tougher/heavier than the cheddite primer as well.

I have only ever had pierced primer problems with one Parker hammer gun. I filed, rounded and polished the noses of the plungers and never had the problem again. Yes, they were RST cheddites.





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I have noticed pierced primers on new RST's quite a few times, they use Cheddite primers. I asked Morris about this and he said either the firing pins were too long or the end needed dressing. I tend to disagree because it doesn't happen to other US primers in the same guns.