Original System Aydt - finally fired it this weekend!

[cotis]

I have been helping a friend get his Original System Aydt rifle up and running again. He inherited from his father, it hasn't been shot in 70 years. I did a chamber cast and verified it is 8.15x46R. I bought 3 boxes of new RWS brass, 0.316 cast stop ring bullets, and IMR-4227 powder. I also found two weeks ago a box of loaded RWS ammo with a 151 grain bullet. I started with the loaded ammo and shot around 8 rounds. 100% firing, easy to extract, velocity around 1500fps. I then used some CCI 200 rifle primers, 12 grains of IMR-4227 powder, full lenght sized the brass, and lubed and pressed in the 165 grain bullet. 1st one fired no problems, ~1150fps. The next 4 did not fire, light primer strikes. I pulled the bullets, dumped the powder, and swapped the primers for CCI 300 pistol primers. Same powder load. I had better reliability, but still not 100%. The ones that didn't go off, if I spun the case a little and fired again the 2nd primer strike would make them go off. It seems I have an issue with either a light primer strike, weakened spring, short firing pin, something. Any ideas? Thanks

[mike ford]

Cotis,
Were the hand loads in the fired or the new cases? Sometimes, in swinging block and Martini rifles a too thick rim keeps the block from closing all the way, causing the firing pin to strike off center. Also, the original loading of the 8.15x46R included the 6.45mm Berdan M71 primer. This primer was a "soft" primer, compared to modern .210" primers. If the firing pin strikes were all centered, you might try a few rounds with the primers seated all the way to the bottom of the primer pocket( even if below "flush"), so the firing pin doesn't have to expend energy seating it. If all that fails and you can't find softer than CCI primers, then you might look at making a longer firing pin and then a stronger spring. All this is without knowing your particular rifle. Mine( not an Aydt) and some others have a small screw that limits the mainspring, so that when the hammer is at rest, it doesn't hold the firing pin so that it protrudes from the breech block. If this spring is there and out of adjustment, this may be your problem.
Mike

[sharps4590]

I had the same problem with my Original Haenel/Aydt and I believe others have as well. Remington large pistol primers cured the problem completely for me. I believe they're supposed to be softer than CCI's but don't know that for a fact.

[cotis]

Mike, handloads were in the new RWS cases. They are factory 8.15x46R brass so I wouldn't think the rim thickness would be an issue. I also tried seating primers deeper (below flush), it helped some but still had a few misfires.

Sharps, I will try Remington primers.

[mike ford]

cotis,
Re rim thickness: It was just a thought, I have noticed differences from time to time with cases from different eras. I have some very old cases that seem to be different than post war. For my own shooting I actually use reformed 30-30 cases and have to rework the rims anyway so I can't give specifics of factory rims. BTY it was 30-30 rims that gave the problems in the rifles I mentioned. In some rifles I had to thin rims, and others, not. The best is Remington primers if they work. Pistol primers are not as tall(thick) as rifle primers, so you might still need to seat Remington primers below flush.
Mike

[DreyseM65]

My "System Jung" would not fire with rifle primers, but once I switched to CCI pistol primers, I no longer have a problem. As I continue to buy these rifles, one of the first things I do at home is to load casings with primers and test them out.

These old rifles are very fussy. The last one I bought at the recent Baltimore MACA was a pre-1890 Martini action rifle which was relined at some point to 8.15x46R. Of the 350+ pieces of brass (about half are factory RWS) it would only chamber 38 of them, with none of them being the RWS brass. Thickness of the rim appears to be the problem, and I will work on that shortly. All my brass is sorted between an Aydt, Jung, and another Martini, and most of the non-factory brass will not fit in more than one rifle.

[mike ford]

Willi,
That is pretty much my experience also. It seem each rifle is "a law unto itself".
Mike