Opinion needed on primers

P

pyscodog

Active member
I mainly use Fed Bench rest primers and have for years. I read on Pred. Masters and few use the BR type primer. Is it a waste of money? I have LRP and mag primers, just never use them.
pyscodog
 
here is what i do,after i work up a load for my particular rifle that is the most accurate,(finding the Right powder and charge, bullet depth and type) then i try different primers to see if they make the load more accurate. if i find a primer that shoots more accurate then the others thats the ones i use.
 
I have jumped between three different primers, standard cci, cci br2, and federal 210. These are all large rifle primers. What I found is that with my particular rifle federal 210 shoots very well.
 
I haven't found primer brand to be a big enough detriment to accuracy to worry about it. I shoot better than MOA, which is way better than I need to for practical purposes.
 
I did small rifle primer testing last month on these brands since I have them all on hand:
CCI400
CCI450
Win SRP
Fiocchi SRP
Rem. SRP
Magtech SRP

The load was identical to include brass, bullet, W748 powder, trim to lenght, COL.
Gun Savage FP10 .223
The result was all groups were sub MOA @ 100 yds.
There was nothing one brand did better than the other in my testing.
 
I pretty much stick with Fed BR primers since I have several thousand on hand. I do hate the large box though.. My other primer of choice is a remington 7-1/2
 
I have tried a small test with my 6X45mm with two types of primers but could see no difference in speed or accuracy but both were BR type primers FWIW.
 
Over the last 50 years I used lots of different primers.

About 20 years ago I settled on regular Win primers and have never looked back. They are hot enough for any load or temperature and very consistant.

One less thing to worry about.

Jack
 
Unless, you're in competition, buy the tone of your question I'd say you're probably not, I use whatever primer I have developed for a load. In hunting, I haven't seen any problem with primers. Certain primers are hotter than others and work with certain types of powders better. If reciepe calls for Magnum then use Magnum other than that I think Jacks answer is good. I don't think BR primers for another $10 is worth it.
 
I don't shoot formal competition, but it gets pretty heated among friends at the club. We all search for the "Holy Grail/ One Hole Group", so accuracy does matter. I just always wonder when loading if the BR primers are all they are cracked up to be. I buy in quanity, so I have lots of them. Just wondered if they make a big difference in accuracy.
 
Psychodog,
They do IF you do all the other little things to take out the variables. But that is only developed through trial and error during load testing. And even then, it'll depend on the weapon AND the shooter. I have spent hours with a BR rifle working on the perfect load and put together some impressive/ consistent groups in the low .300 range. Then just last week I was testing a load for my .223 Savage Model 12 Varmint Rifle and put up a three shot group (@100 yds) that measured .218. That was using Lapua Brass that had the necks turned, Vihta Vhori N133 and CC1 Small Rifle Primers. Guess it was "My Day" but I couldn't match that using my 6mmBR Rifle right after using Federal Match Small PRimers. Go figure! Gotta believe the stars all lined up for that specific load on that specific day at those specific conditions.
 
Most of my shooting involves ARs, with a couple of bolt rifles thrown in...I've found that using the Magnum type primers give me just a little better groups with ARs, whether in .223 or .204..Not so much difference with the bolt actions..

Most of my loads involve lighter weight bullets with reasonably fast burning ball powders...

I ran out of my CCI 450 primers and picked up some Wolf Magnum primers and have been very happy with them..
 
Originally Posted By: Jack RobertsOver the last 50 years I used lots of different primers.

About 20 years ago I settled on regular Win primers and have never looked back. They are hot enough for any load or temperature and very consistent.

One less thing to worry about.

Jack

Exactly what I have done.
 
In the small 223 size cases, 6ppc, and 6 BR, I use the thick cup primers such as a Rem 7 1/2, CCI-BR4, or the CCI 450(hotter). I have yet to try the Wolf magnum.

In large rifle, I use all brands and makes.
 
I was at a Scheels in Sioux Falls a while back and talking to the guy in the gun department about primers. This guy seemed to very knowledgeable on Fed primers. I was looking for 205m's but he told me that the 205's and the 205M's were pretty much the same thing-maybe the 205m's going through an extra quality control check. I can't remember his whole story but he said the BR shooters around there no longer us the M's but only use the plain 205's. I've been using 205's ever since and never looked back. I kind of think that any primer company that markets a primer as "Match or Benchrest" for a dollar premium are simply trying to pad their profit margin. I also try to shoot the smallest groups possible and do all the case preparations but haven't seen any bit of difference between Federal Match primers and their standard ones. But keep in mind that I'm shooting accurate sporting rifles and not bench rest guns.
Dave
 
Originally Posted By: ackleymanIn the small 223 size cases, 6ppc, and 6 BR, I use the thick cup primers such as a Rem 7 1/2, CCI-BR4, or the CCI 450(hotter). I have yet to try the Wolf magnum.

In large rifle, I use all brands and makes.

+1
 
If you think all SR primer are pretty much the same then try some CCI-41's. Bought a brick of these last summer just to see. I loaded some of these, some CCI-450's and the WOLF SRM in my .204 everything else being the same. The CCI-41 rd ran 60 fps faster over my Oehler.

Ole
 
I run Rem 6 1/2's in my 22 hornet. Had been using all 7 1/2's in my 222, and some friends 204 rugers - but now I've found a great combination in my 222 that calls for CCI 400s.
In my 243 win I had been using Rem 9 1/2 LR's but with Varget I found the CCI BR-2's do MUCH better... way more consistent. So I think it does pay to play around w/these.
 
Originally Posted By: sbrandenI run Rem 6 1/2's in my 22 hornet.

Not trying to jump on your post, just sharing what I learned last year the hard way.

Do not use Remington 6 1/2 in anything larger than the hornet! They will not handle 223 or anything similar. You will have pierced primers and eroded firing pins! I know by sad experience. Read on the box and Remington tells you the same thing.

As far as the others, Wolf magnum, CCI 450, CCI 41 are good for AR15s. CCI 400, older silver Winchesters and a few others are okay. My predator pursuit with 4895 and the old Winchesters will shoot much better than me. Maybe I will try some others some day.
 
primers *can* make a huge difference, but don't always. The only ones I've had problems with were remington, but a different bullet/powder/case could have been a different story. Since I already had good groups with other primers, no point in making huge changes.

i general use federal 210 gold match for large rifle & winchester small rifle, as well as winchester large & small pistol primers for everything
 


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