What happened to the primer box

[toallmy]

I picked up a thousand fed small rifle primers a while back and the box is huge , it's near about the size of a 100 pack of Wal-Mart 20 gage shot shell box . A few years ago the little 100 packs were a couple inches now they are 3 inches . I keep forgetting to order primers because it looks like I have a closest full . I swear that federal box is bigger than 2 thousand win 209 primers . But I can see the size on the box better now .:coffeecom

[bdicki]

Safety first.

[DerekP Houston]

Dunno why, but the federal boxes I've seen are always twice as big as the other primers. S&B changed boxes but the internals are the same.

[Travelor]

At one time the Feds were going to require the larger box for "safety" IIRC. Fed changed their plans on the larger boxes and this seem to never have gone further by the Feds.

[toallmy]

I might be able to store them in with my wife's closet with her shoes if the box gets a little bigger , may be she won't notice . OK ill go along with the safety first thing but the trays that you put the primers in to load your ammo are getting smaller . I'm going to have to get a bigger hand primer tray , I keep spilling the ones in the corner unless I just put 50 or so at a time .:wink:

[Ole Joe Clarke]

I just load 50 at a time and don't worry about it.

I did see some "experts" on u tube trying to "pour" the primers into a priming tray. Needless to say the live primers went everywhere. They hadn't figured out the proper method of laying a priming tray over the primer box and then flipping it over.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

[OS OK]

"Ha!…the damn Feds. are always trying to control our business…they never will 'Know their butts from a hole in the ground! Bunch-O-white collared…GOOFTARDS."

[Pipefitter]

Buy a Dillon primer flipper tray, it is large enough to accept the bigger primer packaging.

[dudel]

The old CCI primer boxes were about 2" square when others had the larger trays. Those small ones were easy to dump into the Lee round primer tray.

When CCI went with the larger boxes, I would keep the sleeve on, hold the primer box (and sleeve up against the widest part of the Lee round tray), then push the primer container out of the sleeve. That would get all the primers from the large container into the Lee round tray.

For the Dillon, it's easier. I take the primer container out of the sleeve, put the a large round flipper (Berrys or Dillon) over the primers and flip. Shake to orient, cover the tray, flip and stick.

[bdicki]

Must be why Lee changed the shape of the hand primer.

[Walter Laich]

Buy a Dillon primer flipper tray, it is large enough to accept the bigger primer packaging.

I remember when these trays first came out; were advertized as "all brass." In talking with one of the customer service folks he said they were always some like of pot metal. Oh well, still do the job

[Gillie Dog]

When CCI went with the larger boxes, I would keep the sleeve on, hold the primer box (and sleeve up against the widest part of the Lee round tray), then push the primer container out of the sleeve. That would get all the primers from the large container into the Lee round tray.

^^^^This...

Works every time, no problem with any size primer container.

GD

[lefty o]

the bigger primer package federal cartridge uses, is done 100% for safety reasons.

[jcren]

Government (atf I believe) must approve all packaging on hazmat materials to be shipped. I heard that federals "green" primers are more explosive than most, requiring more space between primers to prevent chainfire, also supposedly why many priming devises didn't recommend federal primers for a while.

[376Steyr]

The old CCI primer boxes were about 2" square when others had the larger trays. Those small ones were easy to dump into the Lee round primer tray.

When CCI went with the larger boxes, I would keep the sleeve on, hold the primer box (and sleeve up against the widest part of the Lee round tray), then push the primer container out of the sleeve. That would get all the primers from the large container into the Lee round tray.

For the Dillon, it's easier. I take the primer container out of the sleeve, put the a large round flipper (Berrys or Dillon) over the primers and flip. Shake to orient, cover the tray, flip and stick.

For Dillion pickup tubes, I take an empty primer container and put it over a full one and then flip. Next I take the flat Dillon flipper lid, put it over the now full container, and flip. Do it carefully enough and you have 95+ primers sitting round side up in nice straight rows, no shaking required.

[EDG]

Maybe 30 years ago a Gibson Discount store closed in my brother's home town.
We bought out most of the reloading components when they were sold off at cut rate prices. I think the primers were $7.88 a thousand. I still have some of those primers and yes they came in a brick nearly the size of a shoe box.

[Mytmousemalibu]

I use an RCBS Primer Tray-2 which works pretty good, Federal trays fit it, its small and cheap.

I need to make a primer tube filler... Growing tired of pecking at them with the tubes...
I hear the Vibraprime and most of the others kinda suck. The $300 Dillon filler is nice but look at the cost. Maybe a, "buy once, cry once", type item.

[ReloaderFred]

The square RCBS primer flipper fits the Federal boxes with room to spare. You just remove the outer sleeve and put the tray on top of the tray full of primers and holding them together, turn the whole thing over.

Federal had a primer explosion in their plant a number of years ago in which an employee was either severely injured or killed. I don't remember which. They have been gun shy about primer packaging ever since, so they came up with the larger container that keeps the primers farther apart to prevent sympathetic detonation in case one goes off. This is what a Federal rep explained to me at one of the SHOT Shows several years ago.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[lefty o]

The square RCBS primer flipper fits the Federal boxes with room to spare. You just remove the outer sleeve and put the tray on top of the tray full of primers and holding them together, turn the whole thing over.

Federal had a primer explosion in their plant a number of years ago in which an employee was either severely injured or killed. I don't remember which. They have been gun shy about primer packaging ever since, so they came up with the larger container that keeps the primers farther apart to prevent sympathetic detonation in case one goes off. This is what a Federal rep explained to me at one of the SHOT Shows several years ago.

Hope this helps.

Fred
well all manufacturers have had on occasion primer explosions, 99% of them you never hear about. the federal primer packaging was changed due to a shipper dropping a box of them and setting off a few thousand. this is what i was told by the big wigs when i was working there.

[376Steyr]

I use an RCBS Primer Tray-2 which works pretty good, Federal trays fit it, its small and cheap.

I need to make a primer tube filler... Growing tired of pecking at them with the tubes...
I hear the Vibraprime and most of the others kinda suck. The $300 Dillon filler is nice but look at the cost. Maybe a, "buy once, cry once", type item.

The Vibra-prime has terrible quality control issues. Those who accidently got a good one love them, and can't understand the disappointment of the people who were shipped junk.

[rwadley]

Government (atf I believe) must approve all packaging on hazmat materials to be shipped. I heard that federals "green" primers are more explosive than most, requiring more space between primers to prevent chainfire, also supposedly why many priming devises didn't recommend federal primers for a while.

Actually, it is the US Department of Transportation that governs shipping HazMat.