I was wondering if anyone could tell me if their is a difference federal std. & federal match primers & what it is. Has anyone had a primer make their load better or worse. I have used rem. 7 1/2 & fed. match & am not seeing a noticable difference. I am not compairing mag. to std.

The match primers are normally just made with the same basic recipe, and a lot more quality control.

The primer paste or "compound" is spread onto sheets in layers as even as possible, and the primer cups are pressed and filled.

CCI does it this way, according to a recent article I read in one of the gun rags: The CCI regular production primer "spreaders" (spreaders are people) compete with each other to see who can make the best regular line primers. Then, on one weekend a month, the best "spreaders" earn the opportunity to come in and earn double wages making the BR (benchrest) line. According to CCI, the BR primer cups are a bit harder than the regular line cups, but he wouldn't say why.

You will often see that a primer change will alter the accuracy of a load, but this doesn't mean that your rifle "doesn't like Remington primers."

All this means is that the burn characteristic of the different primer has changed the bullet's exit time to a less friendly portion of the barrel's harmonic whip. In a nutshell, you can make just about any primer work well if you tune the load to accomodate it.

So if you get a smokin' deal on a batch of primers you don't normally use, don't fear--they can be made to work well for you.

One caveat: If you're into accuracy, the most inconsistent primers on the market seem to be the Winchester WLR's. These are undeniably the hottest burning standard primers, and this may be a clue as to why their consistency is spotty. You will need a rifle capable of 1/2 MOA or better to notice the WLR inaccuracy factor, so they are quite adequate for general hunting.

Take care,

Dan Newberry
green 788

There is very little difference, if you are not shooting serious benchrest competition you most likely won't see any difference. but it you are looking at every 1/10" you can squeeze out of your rifle than they can make a little difference. If you are shooting a factory rifle I wouldn't worry about the difference because you won't see any. Good Luck!

Boss Moss---

Match primers are made with new punch and form dies for better consistancy of the cup and anvil. Once the dies have made a certain number they're moved to the regular line to take the place of dies there that are no longer useable.

IF you're shooting BR and want the most consistantcy, use the higher priced primers.

If your groups are bigger than the very low .2s you'll never see the difference, IMO.