Primers, much Difference?

[callingthewild]

Hello, I'm loading some Coyote rounds for my 25-06
Hodgson H4831SC Powder
Sierra 75gr.HP

Looking to hear about Primers.


CTW gun)

 

[wisdeerkiller]

you can play with different ones and see if one is better for accuracy but best advise is to stick with the same one once you get 1.

don't mix and match.

I use Winchester primers.

 

[BountyHunter]

Primers are just like any other component. They can make a huge difference.

A little research will show certain primers "tend" to do well with certain cartridges and powder combinations, but not always.

Some are much hotter, softer, harder etc than others and can increase pressure by up to 7000 PSI as actually measured with strain guages.

So when changing primers, drop back down and work up.

BTW, that is how you end up with bricks of 1000 primers on your shelf from every mftr.

Good luck

 

[SidecarFlip]

...and they vary in cup height as well. Nominal diameter is pretty constant across brands in intended use but height varies a bit. Good rule of thumb is use the recommended (in this case by Sierra) for their projectiles. They have well paid ballisticians on staff that do nothing but build and analyize different loads.

I really didn't realize the difference in cup height until I started modifying black powder rifles. Especially 209 primers are all over the place cup height wise between manufacturers and even between lots.

I stay away from the off brands of primers (I realize that primers are hard to come by right) now so you need to use some preplanning and order what you require and wait patiently.

 

[callingthewild]

Thanks everyone, always good to hear from the group, @ sidecarflip, that's a pertinent piece of information that of the bullet manufactures recommendation.
I'll be sure to take notice of that,


CTW gun)

 

[Sully2]

I use mainly CCI primers and fall back on WW primers if need be

 

[g0rd0]

I also use use cci with winchester as a back up. When I use imr 7828, h1000, rl22 I use mag primers. For imr 3031 imr 4064 and imr 4227 std primers. I also buy my primers by the 1000

 

[flashhole]

The difference in primers will show up most noticible with small powder capacity cartridges like the 22 Hornet or 221 Fireball.

I have been experimenting/loading for my 25-06 since 1998 when I bought it new. The -06 case is a large powder capacity case for the small bore (25 cal) and your primary concern should be getting good ignition of the large powder column from your primer, especially in cold temperatures. The most influential variable in the equation is the powder itself, not the primer. H4831SC is in the Extreme family of powders and is very insensitive to temperature variations (good choice). Primers can vary significantly in brisciance (hottness) when full scale comparisons are made (small, large and magnum primers) but large rifle primers are not too different one manufacturer to the other. I ended up migrating to magnum primers for the 25-06 and use the same primer for my 7mm Rem Mag as I do the 25-06.

Use what you have on hand.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Well, again, I go right by the book. In the case of 223's, they load with Hornady pills and the Hornady book specifies CCI so thats what it is. I have a pile of SR primers BTW.

Everything else gets Sierra and Sierra specifies Federal so it's Federal. Got a bunch in all flavors but can always use more.

The blackpowder rifle is a CVA Accura V2 tricked (by me and not cabbaged up btw). Thats the one where I learned first hand about primer tolerances. I settled on CCI 209 shotgun shell primers and I bought a thousand so I'm in the same lot and dimensions all the time. I don't ever anticipate sending close to a thousand saboted pills down the tube in my lifetime.

On an inline like the CVA, it's quite possible to slam fire the rifle if you shim the firing pin retainer (which I did to negate blowback from the breechplug recess). You actually set the retainer so it 'wipes' the face of the primer when you close the action. The wiped area seals the primer against the retainer, but the fit is so close, just changing primer brands or lots can cause the primer to ignite when you don't want it to, like you load the tube, drop in a primer, close the action and blow your foot off. Not a good thing.

 

[RT2506]

Primers do make a difference. In my Custom Rem 700 Shilen barrel 25-06 I could not get it to shoot like I wanted it to with either of my favorite deer hunting loads until I started switching primers. CCI 250s did the trick. Went from shooting 1/2" groups down to bug holes. The load that my rifle loves is 117 gr Sierra Pro Hunter, Rem. case, CCI 250, 49 grs IMR or AA 4350, 3000 fps.

I have had great accuracy with all the primer makes with different loads in different calibers. Bought a bunch of Wolf primers and they do really well. That is once I learned how to seat them. You really have to apply more pressure to make sure they are seated fully and compress the anvil. If you don't you will have misfire issues.

The CCI BR primers are usually the first ones that I try. I have had best overall accuracy with them.