Primer dimensions

[waksupi]

Here's a chart I found on BSB, I though you may be interested in.

[NVcurmudgeon]

Waksupi, does your source have pistol primer dimensions? My Dillon Square Deal gave me fits with primer feeding. I phoned Dilllon and they told me to quit using CCI. When I asked how he knew that I was told that CCI are larger in diameter than the Dillon recommended Federal or Winchester. Now I use WW in the Dillon machine, but still like CCI for rifle loads.

[Willbird]

That is interesting, especially yhat they apparently run the 450 on the same setup as the 400, the tell there is that the extra cup thickness seems makes the height .004 taller.

Bill

[felix]

Agreed, very interesting stats. The anvil height is the important one, not the sides of the cup. Primers ideally should be seated to consistent anvil pressure, and the cups should not touch the primer pocket bottom. There is some variation of height within the same primer lot. However, most cases are not prepped enough to feel this anvil pressure. For example, only my BR and 22-250 cases are prepped to the hilt because of their BR chambers where it would make a difference anyway. ... felix

[BruceB]

Interesting, indeed.

I've been using mostly CCI large rifle and large pistol primers in my Dillon 550 for well over ten years without ANY serious feeding hitches whatever that I can remember. The small-pistol CCIs also work fine, but my production volume is a good bit less in the small-primer cartridges (.38/.357/9mm) that we use.

A couple years back I went to the Big Reno Show and bought about 7,000 Winchester LR primers from Miwall Corporation's booth, along with about 5,000 LP and SP for the handguns. The LR primers were DEFINITELY well undersize in diameter, seating almost completely without resistance in the rifle brass on hand, including most of our domestic namebrands and a good assortment of foreign ones as well. The Winchester primers measured over half-a-thousandth smaller than the CCI, Federal and earlier Winchester LR primers I had in stock, and this was ample to reduce the seating pressure to literally zero in many cases.....no "feel" at all in the seating process. It was a great testimony to just how good the tolerances are in our cartridge cases, these days! I was sure glad to finally use up the last of them undersize rascals a few months ago. The pistol-type primers were correct and gave me no trouble whatever.

(I also dislike the dull brass finish of the newer W-W primers...the bright nickel of the CCIs is much more attractive to my eye in a shiny casehead....as if THAT means anything!)

[waksupi]

Curmudgeon, pistol primers weren't listed. I'll ask to see if that chart is available.

[Rrusse11]

Waksupi,
Hey! Good information.
Thanks,
R*2

[Willbird]

Felix,

I prep my large rifle primer pockets with a sinclair uniformer, when the primers slide you can feel them hit bottom with an almost audible *click* with un uniformed pockets it is a sort of mushy feel due to the radius that is in the corner, I always assumed, and can verify by measurement tomorrow that the cups do in fact set into the bottom of the pockets.

I did read that 50bmg does not like primers seated to feel but rather to a given depth.

Bill

[watkibe]

I have some primers that I left out and don't remember what they are. Identifying them isn't simple. I measured and weighed known primers and made an Excel chart to help figure it out. The file is attached. Unfortunately, I can only generalize due to variations within tolerances: small primers are about 0.120 high, large primers are about 0.127 high. Magnum primers usually weigh about half a grain more than the same size standard primer. The foil color may be helpful sometimes. However, I found Winchester small rifle in 2 colors, green and yellow. After I did it, I realized that I could have measured the actual diameters too, since there may be some variation there as well.

[Mk42gunner]

That might explain why I thought primers (WLR) were seating awfully hard in LC-64 brass.

Robert