Fiocchi primers

[dubber123]

A local shop has Fiocchi sp primers in stock. They are sold in an odd 1,500 pack, but it works out to about $28/1,000. Does anyone have any feedback on these? I have never heard any complaints on their factory ammo, but thought I'd ask. Thanks.

[Ben]

I wouldn't have a problem in risking a purchase for some at that price.
With that said, I've never heard of anyone who is using Fiocchi primers right now

[Slow Elk 45/70]

I have used their shotgun primers without any problems, seem to be a quality product as is their shotgun shell line....can't say about Rifle/pistol , but I would be supprised if they wern't of the same quality....IMHO

[sgabel1]

I was wondering about these primers also. When I questioned the knowledgeable ammo dealer selling them he claimed they were the largest international ammo manufacturer. I picked up a couple 150 pks at $2.80 a piece. I tried them developing some 357 loads with Hornady XTP 158 gr and some RP nickle plated brass and they seemed fine. I pushed the load within .2 grs of max from a lyman book and unique powder. Everything looked good. I hand prime and load mostly 45 ACP with federal large primers. The resistance during priming did not seem much different. Was sort of concerned with them being manufactured in Italy!

[primersp]

sometimes i found an box at shop less expensive than the others brands ,never a problem with them

[454PB]

I've been using them in large pistol. I bought these back around the time the Klintons were making noises about forcing a shelf life on primers. They came in a 2500 pack (ten containers of 250 primers). I'm completely happy with them.

[dubber123]

Sounds good. I'll have to pick some up. I normall prefer Federals, but they are in short supply, and he has a good supply of the Fiocchis. Thanks.

[doubs43]

I wouldn't hesitate a second and would buy Fiocchi primers at $28 a thousand quickly. I've used their rimfire and centerfire cartridges and their primers too. It's all been quality.

Made in Italy? Most often mentioned after Shiloh and C. Sharps for quality are the Pedersoli and Uberti rifles. My 1874 Pedersoli Sharps is one accurate rifle and it was made in Italy. So are Beretta (excepting those made in the US) and Benelli and Ferrari. I don't think anyone finds fault with their quality.

[felix]

As a side note, neither here or there, is that Enos Ferrari (owner) does/did not drive a Ferrari, but a Fiat model much like a Caddy and is/was not exported from Italy. ... felix

[MT Gianni]

I bought 2000 in 1994? during the previous primer scare and they shot well. SP I didn't change loads from Winchester or CCI.

[Dannix]

Any idea on primer cup hardness? And anyone know what primer compound they are using? I'm tempted to grab some small pistol, but I'm going to hold off on large rifle under their niche is determined.

FYI I came across a very good primer on primers here (no info on Fiocchi though):
http://www.sksboards.com/smf/index.php?topic=56422.0

[Dannix]

I have never heard any complaints on their factory ammo, but thought I'd ask.

I had had one factory Fiocchi .32ACP dud out of the few hundred I've shot recently. I ordered them during the summer, so maybe they sat in a hot truck for a while? I wished I had analyzed the situation more so at the time. Doesn't inspire confidence as this is what I carry in my bug.

I had one friend a few months ago have to pull the trigger 3 or 4 times to touch off a stubborn .38 or .357. I wish I had made a note of the brand, but iirc he was shooting both Magtech and Fiocchi.


Found this too...though take with a grain of salt of course:

I bought four boxes of this ammo in April 2008. The primers were defective. Out of over 50 rounds fired, I found 16 spent cases with burned through primers. This defect caused pieces of the primer wall to blow into the striker channel on my Sigma, causing light strikes. I sent my pistol back to Smith & Wesson and they told me about the defective primers, after the gunsmith "Art" found "primer circles" little cup shaped pieces of primer wall, in the striker channel. After talking with Art I went through the spent cases that I had collected for reloading and found the burned through ones. I returned the rest of the ammo, and the spent cases, to Fiocchi, so that they can figure out what they did wrong.
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/54534-5.html

[Houndog]

Dannix,
There are 3 main causes of primer blanking (what you quoted in your post).

The first is a severely over pressure load, and in the case of FACTORY ammo that's the least likely.

The second is the firing pin hole in the slide being too large for the firing pin.

The third is an extremely weak firing pin spring. This is one of the most common mods to lighten the trigger pull in a Sigma and the most suspect reason in my mind for the failures listed in your quote. Folks will do this mod and wonder why their Sigma suddenly starts to have misfires and primer blanking, blaming it on the ammo when it's the weakened firing pin spring causing their troubles.

I've used Fiocchi primers in a benchrest rifle at pressures FAR higher than what we consider as normal with NO problems and wouldn't hesitate to do so again.

[Dannix]

The third is an extremely weak firing pin spring. This is one of the most common mods to lighten the trigger pull in a Sigma and the most suspect reason in my mind for the failures listed in your quote.
That's interesting. Thanks for posting. Why would a weaker pin strike make a difference (other than perhaps soft to the point of not being able to touch off the primer)? Does a harder pin strike disperse the primer cup more so, increasing the friction between the primer cup and the primer pocket, and this is considered in the dimension specs of the primer pocket and primer cup? Not really questioning you, more just interested in the why behind your statement.

[Houndog]

The weak firing pin spring doesn't afford as much support to the firing pin at the peak of the pressure curve when a round is fired. Because the already thinned metal of the primer cup around the firing pin indention has less support it is more suceptible to being blown out. Think of this as a punch and die in a punch press. If the punch comes down on a piece of metal in the press and there's no hole in the die plate, the metal will just get thinned, but if there's a hole in the die plate, the disc will blank and the slug will be pushed into the hole in the die plate. In our firearms, the pressure created by firing a round works like the punch in the press and the firing pin hole in the breach face is like the hole in the die plate. When the firing pin is in it's forward position the hole is filled, but when it's not fully forward or is easily pushed beck, our hole is open and that little piece of metal is blanked out of the face of the primer.