I have been reloading both pistol and rifle ammunition since 1970 and have used about any and all variations of cases, primers, powder as well as bullets. Very seldom have I ever loaded to the maximum load for any caliber. I have found out over the years that seldom is a max load the most accurate. Best accuracy seems to come slightly below the max and that varies dependent upon the cartridge and powder used. Throughout the years I have not noticed a discernible difference in any load in any caliber with only a primer change. Most loads seem to work with just about any good primer. Magnum primers do not make any difference when used in non magnum loads however when loading magnum loads magnum primers are necessary to ensure proper ignition of the larger powder charges used. As for brands, I use Federal, CCI, Winchester and Remington interchangeably with only very slight variations in group placement or size. As to primer reliability, the only primers I have ever had issues with were CCI Large Rifle many years ago when 5 rounds out of 20 loaded failed to fire, even when attempting to fire them with a second firing pin hit. Hearing a click when one pulls the trigger on a nice Buck is disheartening at best. I swore off CCI primers for many years because of it. I have never experienced any blowouts or misfires with Winchester or Federal primers, An occasional misfire with Remington small pistol but nothing really of consequence other than an alibi when shooting over the National Match Course.
