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What primers do you use for small rifle and why?

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13 March 2020, 22:45
kennedy
What primers do you use for small rifle and why?
I'm just curious to know. Like with large rifles I use war and cci 250's. Just my preference. I dont have a favorite yet in small rifle. Thanks.
13 March 2020, 23:23
tsturm
quote:
Originally posted by kennedy:
I'm just curious to know. Like with large rifles I use war and cci 250's. Just my preference. I dont have a favorite yet in small rifle. Thanks.


Rem 6 & 1/2 are my absolute go to bet yer ass favorite. Because I have lots of them. tu2 dancing


14 March 2020, 00:22
Pegleg
An awful lot of benchrest shooters use the Federal 205M's..They work for me.


The only easy day is yesterday!
14 March 2020, 01:12
jeffeosso
whatever is to hand, which is usually federal or winchester- in absolute terms, i have proven to myself that the 205m is the most accurate within my shooting skills


#dumptrump

opinions vary band of bubbas and STC hunting Club

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What is an AR round? Case Drawings 416-458-470AR and 500AR.
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14 March 2020, 01:26
p dog shooter
What ever I can buy the cheapest.
14 March 2020, 01:30
ZekeShikar
205M Fed for me but I've used them all with no real issues. Even Wolf(sp) seem to work fine. I have 10K of them on hand just in case I need them.
Yes, I'm a reloading component hoarder!

Zeke
14 March 2020, 02:14
Pegleg
My experience with small rifle primers began many years ago when I started benchrest shooting. First, we had a difficult time finding and using the old brass (if memory serves me right it was balloon head brass)as there was not much of it around. The primer pockets would grow so a lot of us would start out with Remington primers because they mic-ed the smallest then we would go to Winchester or CCI primers as they were the next size and end up with the Federal primers as they mic-ed the largest. We did determine that the CCI had the hardest cups, for whatever that meant.
When Lapua 220 Russian brass came out our problems were over. Great brass!


The only easy day is yesterday!
14 March 2020, 02:56
Steve E.
Winchester has been fine for me for the last 40 or so years. That's was to only thing the tiny shop had in stock so I have stuck with Winchester all these years. I use CCI SR in my 6.5 Grendel but I use mostly Winchester in everything else.

Steve......


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14 March 2020, 08:24
df06
Rem 7.5 because I bought enough to last a long time.


NRA Patron member
14 March 2020, 09:22
kennedy
Now the 205 m, could that be used in A semi auto?
14 March 2020, 10:03
georgeld
When I buy, it's ONLY CCI.
That's what I started using
when I first got into doing it.
Other reason: Don't like ugly
brass when I can have pretty
silver one's. Never had a problem
with CCI's yet.
Stopped by Powder Valley back in
2011 and bought 25,000 SmR's. They
missed a bigger sale by being out
of the other sizes. I'd planned on
the same amount of LR, and LRMags
LP, and SmP caps too. As it was
I still left 'em $900 with all the
powder I bought. I really should have
ordered the rest of the primers and
paid for them shipped when they came in.
Hindsight bit my ass again. Oh well!

Now the prices have gone up 40% or so.
I got the powder for about $85/8lbs.
Price it now!

George


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George L. Dwight
14 March 2020, 19:47
nopride2
I've got only one rifle that uses small rifle primers, a 223 bolt gun. The loading manual called for standard or magnum depending on the powder used. Since I worked up loads from low to high I decided to keep it simple a use one primer, magnum (CCI 450).

Dave
14 March 2020, 22:20
hogfarmer
I use CCI primers because that was what I started using 50+ years ago. No particular reason other than they've always worked for me so I've had no reason to change.


"For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind..."
Hosea 8:7
14 March 2020, 22:52
Atkinson
Federal and I used to use CCI, no complaints with either.


Ray Atkinson
Atkinson Hunting Adventures
10 Ward Lane,
Filer, Idaho, 83328
208-731-4120

rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com
15 March 2020, 01:02
kennedy
I just bought a 1000 Winchester small rifle primers at the local store. That's all they had. I just looked and I have a 100 of federal small rifle no 205, it doesn't have the 205m.
15 March 2020, 01:43
ted thorn
I just looked
I have just over 10,000 CCI 400
So that's what I've been using


________________________________________________
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15 March 2020, 01:59
lee440
When I started reloading .223 many years ago, I started using Rem 7-1/2 because they were copper color and allowed me to instantly know that the military brass they were in had the primer pocket swaged when it came time to reload them. I'm not sure, but I think they quit copper plating them a while back.


DRSS(We Band of Bubba's Div.)
N.R.A (Life)
T.S.R.A (Life)
D.S.C.
15 March 2020, 05:41
buckey
Bought 15,000 Winchester small pistol last summer to load 9mm and tho they work great they go through my RCBS hand primer like crap! CCI and Federal small rifle go through the RCBS just fine.
15 March 2020, 09:11
Saeed
The only time I have noticed any difference in performance from primers is when using standard large rifle in magnum cases.

I have several makes of small rifle primers - RWS, CCI and Federal.

RWS are supposed to be standard, Federal and CCI I have both standard and magnum.

I stopped looking at them as being any different to each other, and use whatever box is open.

Large cases definitive require a large rifle magnum primer.

Firs case I have experienced this with is the 300 RUM.

Practically every round had a hang fire.

For our 700 NE we found even large rifle magnum primers were not enough to ignite the charge.

For these we use a few grains of Bullseye at the bottom of the powder charge to get reliable ignition.


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16 March 2020, 15:29
buckeyeshooter
What ever is on sale when I am shopping except Remingtons. I don't buy green anything but RCBS.
31 March 2020, 23:21
TEANCUM
CCI BR or 205M whenever they are available, which lately seems like never. Then whatever can be found and it's usually CCI or Winchester.
01 April 2020, 19:30
Pa.Frank
i will use only Federal for large rifle, CCI for small rifle, and just about anything for pistol cartridges..

Except, the last batch of Winchester pistol primers I got were very tight and I ended up mangling quite a few when trying to seat them, so I'll avoid them for a while..


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01 April 2020, 19:47
dpcd
Winchester and Federal. And CCI; I have inventory of each of these. No difference in the calibers I shoot.
01 April 2020, 21:34
geoff
I'm sure that most of you have noticed that CCI primers have a slightly larger diameter than Win. and Fed., thus seat tighter.

I also use Rem 7 1/2 small rifle in 357 carbine ammo with 19.3 grains of old Win. 680 powder with 158 gr. bullets. The cup is not only stronger but I believe the longer burn time of the primer flame helps ignite the slower burning powder. I have not chronographed the rounds but it is obvious that you get significantly more velocity from that loading with acceptable pressure. It has been my go to load for culling pigs with a Marlin 1894 lever gun for many years.

Geoff


Shooter
02 April 2020, 09:44
NormanConquest
CCI + Winchester. When the last panic glut hit upon Obama's election, the firearms industry went nuts. Components we're unavailable. Federal soon came up with primers. They were from China with a very large failure rate of ignition. I know because I bought a lot of them + the failure rate was severe. They bought from China with NO quality control. I will never buy another Federal product.


Never mistake motion for action.
03 April 2020, 05:57
buckey
Has anyone have a chart as to what small rifle primers are the hottest and what order their in?
04 April 2020, 00:59
The Dane
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04 April 2020, 08:26
crbutler
quote:
Originally posted by NormanConquest:
CCI + Winchester. When the last panic glut hit upon Obama's election, the firearms industry went nuts. Components we're unavailable. Federal soon came up with primers. They were from China with a very large failure rate of ignition. I know because I bought a lot of them + the failure rate was severe. They bought from China with NO quality control. I will never buy another Federal product.


That's the first time I ever heard that.

During the Obama years, Federal primers, especially match ones were unobtainium here, and I live maybe 80 miles from the factory.

Fortunately I had enough to get through, although I did end up using non match in the 215.

My reason for using Federal was actually from my IPSC shooting. CCI was really hard to find, but Winchester and Remington SR primers would show flame cutting of the breechface on my 9x23 race gun. The Federals didn't. Yes, the load was a badly overpressure one, but until I learned how to choose powders better, I just used the one load that functioned the gun reliably and made Major.

While I have some of all of the brands for load experimentation purposes, the Federal 205 is the one I by in case lots.
04 April 2020, 08:47
30.06king
quote:
buckey
posted 03 April 2020 13:57 Hide Post
Has anyone have a chart as to what small rifle primers are the hottest and what order their in?


Does the below help ? ( second post down )

http://forums.accuratereloadin...701015802#6701015802


Hunting.... it's not everything, it's the only thing.
04 April 2020, 08:52
30.06king
quote:
30.06king
posted 04 April 2020 16:47
quote:

buckey
posted 03 April 2020 13:57
Has anyone have a chart as to what small rifle primers are the hottest and what order their in?


Does the below help ? ( second post down )


Sorry, just re read your post. My posted info is for LR Primers. Don't know if there is correlation to Small Rifle Primers.


Hunting.... it's not everything, it's the only thing.