primer goes off but is all

[skeeter@ccia.com]

Ok so after 2 shots taken, the gun sat for the rest of the week loaded till season ended....upon cleaning the load at the end of the day, the primer fired but is all that happened. I know pirodex was added so is in there...question is:....when loading pellets one side has a taper...does it make a difference as to what end goes in first?.... I figure maybe the hole is plugged somehow but wouldn't a cap fire with enough force to ignite it? This is the breakdown HR 50cal that uses the plastic cap holders. I guess I should remove the plug and empty it that way.....thanks

[petey]

Yup, it sure does.

Pyrodex pellets go down the barrel the same way they are in the container. If you actually inspect the pellet you'll notice that the bottom of the pellet is "blacker" than the rest of the grey pellet. That's the ignition end. I never tried switching them around to see if they would ignite or not..I assume so in most cases, but why chance it? When I make my quick loads up I used the little red wire yarn provided, never touch the pellets and make sure the black part is always on the ignition end of things. Like there's not enough things that could go wrong as it is!! I just try to rule out the obvious things right off the bat.

[kt]

petey has it right as usual. the black tapered end is actual black powder which ignites at a lower temp than the rest of the pellet. i wouldnt chance it either. there is suprising force in a 209 primer, if you ever just fire one off pointed at the ground it moves the leaves on the ground. i find it hard to imagine you have the breech plug that gunked, but one thing i have noticed is if you swab with something like borebutter on a patch it will plug up, but i have never ever had a 209 go offf without igniting the charge, and on that thought, should your charge not go bang, after some times i think the bullet should be pushed on once or twice as some say the force of a 209 can push the bullet on its own.
kt

[skeeter@ccia.com]

seating the charge again is a good idea....thanks.....never know huh?

[Rimshot]

Skeeter,
Another possibility for your charge not firing is that it could have drawn moisture and caused the pellets not to go off.
Just a thought.
I never take my gun inside after I have loaded it when it is cool outside.