cci then winchester
I haven't had to buy primers in a while as I stocked up on them. I usually use CCI or Winchester - never used any other brand. The main reason was that that was what the LGS had on their shelves. I don't really have a preference - they all make the cartridge go bang. And I use small pistol, large pistol and small rifle.
A friend asked me to load some .44 mags for him and brought me the components. There were 2 boxes of Herter's large pistol and going into PMC brass. I have never seen a primer that was that hard to seat. These components were from 28 years ago, and I had never seen a Herter's primer before. They do seem to shoot well, though.
For most handgun and shotgun whatever is cheapest. For rifle and pistol competition whatever groups the best. For serious accuracy you have to test each lot.
You name a brand and I have probably used them for my revolver loads for my rifles I have used rem or win more than the others but I did use a whole bunch of wolf I got dirt cheap and they worked good surprised me a little but they were a little hotter than the win.
CCI because it was recommended when I first started reloading. Or maybe it was recommended because the dealer made more money from them. But either way, they work, so why change. I do have a few other brands but don't really see any difference with them. And you're right about the Federal packaging. It is way too big for what is needed. Probably won't buy them again.
A long time ago I started using Winchester in cartridges that take LR primers because I used a few ball powders and reasoned that if any brand was better with ball powder it should be Winchester; at the time Olin made both the Winchester primers and the ball powder. Now it probably doesn't matter (if it ever did) since ball powders are more widespread and all primers should now be formulated for use with ball powders. I switched to CCI a couple of years ago when leaking Winchester primers etched a couple of my bolt faces.
For most things I load, whatever I found on sale and stocked up on.
Fed, Win, CCI, Tula, Wolf, S&B
You name it!
- Have a good day and a better tomorrow...
Hmmmm Didn't Winchester have a Fail To Fire issue about 11-12 years ago? Large Pistol? Got a lot of press in Cowboy circles. And then there was the primer splitting issue about 4-5 years ago. I saw a S&W 610 with the firing pin boss eroded from flame cutting. I think Winchester has had more quality issues but there are a lot of folks who shoot nothing but.
Magtech and Tula seem to be "harder" and some revolvers have a trouble lighting them every time. It's not just guns with lightened springs, the trouble I had was with a new Redhawk. Both those factories produce military ammo and it's been speculated they make all primers to mil spec.
CCi used to be considered "hard" but is not now and I've never had a problem. They have the same parent company as Federal considered the softest.
You can find pages of information on powder but nothing on primers. I've heard that Federal Magnums are no hotter than their standard primers but the cup is thicker. I did 2 tests with opposite results. LOL
It would be to have a chart like a powder burn rate but the manufacturers change products and tell no one. This article is interesting. http://www.shootingtimes.com/ammo/am...motaip_200909/
Mal
Mal Paso means Bad Pass, just so you know.
federal magnum primers are the hottest primers you can buy. my choices are federal and winchester primers.
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger - or else it gives you a bad rash.
Venison is free-range, organic, non-GMO and gluten-free
Mostly only used Winchester primers in everything. All i can really get that is reasonably priced and local.
"Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far."
~Theodore Roosevelt~
I've mostly been using S&B LR primers since stocking up on them before O'bama's last term, and am completely satisfied with their performance. A few years ago I also had some odd burn through on some Win LR primers, even with mild cast loads.
CCI for the win. I've been using them since 1973. I never had the need to change.
First, I have never had a FTF that was the fault of the primer.
It always turned out to be an issue with the firearm.
Second, I see some here saying such and such primer is "hotter".
How do you gauge that? Chronographing identical loads with different primers?
Firing primers only in an empty case in the dark and watching the flame size/duration?
What is your method?....dale
"Second, I see some here saying such and such primer is "hotter"."
Brisance is how. Here is the only chart out there. You can find many articles on the topic which are useful, for small, large, handgun, and rifle:
Primer Testing Reference
This testing was done to try and rank primers by power (brisance).
Primer tester1.JPG (43461 bytes) This is the home made tester. The shot is fired against a weight which in turn moves a pointer. The pointer remains at the highest point of the shot.
Primer tester2.JPG (37043 bytes) This shows the pointer after a shot has been fired. In this case, it was a Federal large rifle magnum
NOTE: This data is reference only. This is on a DMS (don't mean squat) scale. It is relative to this set of tests and this tester. Take them with a grain of salt and as a guide only. Most of the tests were of 100 or more primers. A few were of 50 when limited amounts were available.
Ranked in order of power
Large Rifle = LR, Large Rifle Magnum = LRM, Large pistol =LP,
Brand/type Power Average Range Std. Dev
1 Fed Match GM215M 6.12 5.23-6.8 .351
2 Federal 215 LRM 5.69 5.2-6.5 .4437
3 CCI 250 LRM 5.66 4.5-7.4 .4832
4 Winchester WLRM 5.45 5.1-6.0 .2046
5 Remington 9 1/2 LRM 5.09 3.5-6.75 .6641
6 Winchester WLR 4.8 4.1-6.0 .4300
7 Remington 9 1/2 LR 4.75 3.7-6.25 .5679
8 Fed Match GM210M 4.64 4.0-5.6 .3296
9 Federal 210 LR 4.62 3.7-5.5 .3997
10 CCI BR2 4.37 4.0-5.0 .2460
11 CCI 200 LR 4.28 3.8-4.8 .3218
12 KVB 7 LR Russian 4.27 3.8-4.8 .2213
13 Rem 91/2 (30 yrs old) 4.16 3.8-4.8 .3427
Pistol primers
14 Rem LP 4.47 3.2-5.6 .5171
15 KVB 45 LP Russian 3.89 3.3-4.2 .2232
16 CCI 300 LP 3.18 2.7-3.5 .2406
17 Federal 150 LP 3.11 2.6-3.5 .2090
18 Fed Match GM150M 3.05 2.6-3.7 .2299
http://www.castingstuff.com/primer_t..._reference.htm
This is for shotgun primers, but very instructive
http://www.armbrust.acf2.org/primersubs.htm
When I started reloading, Winchester primers were lowest priced at the LGS. So that's what I used. I never had any problems with them, so whenever I buy primers, Winchester is always first choice. I do like CCI, they seem to be slightly larger or maybe a slightly harder metal cup? Because they seat a little more difficult, which can be handy if I have a batch of brass with loose pockets, CCI's will seat with some resistance where Winchesters won't have any resistance.
I did buy some of the cheap S&B two years ago...I haven't tried them.
I also bought all the vintage primers I could find at the gunshows during the primer shortage. So. boy oh boy, do I now have a selection...some are vintage Herters LPP that fast ronnie mentions, mine also seem oversize...much more oversize than I think the CCI are. I imagine some day, I'll have some brass with stretched pockets that I'd normally have to scrap, that I'll be glad to have those Herters primers, to get one more reloading, LOL.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
― The Dalai Lama, Seattle Times, May 2001
i see no difference at all. i am no bench rest shooter mainly pistols on the 7 to 15yard range. can't see any difference mainly use cci for no pertecular reason a dollar difference in price would get me to switch.
Twice in my lifetime I have dumped a brick of primers because of misfiring or not firing to be exact first time was SP last time they were magnum LR both times were from the same manufacturer . I still use their primers but I have trust issues with them and will not order more than a thousand at a time . Both times the primers were purchased by me new - used in properly functioning firearms - in properly loaded ammunition .
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |