I am new to reloading and am fixing to load some .300 Win Mag with 125 gr Ballistic Tips using IMR 4895. My question is can I use CCI 250 primers in place of Federal 215 primers? The Nosler manual lists the Federal 215 but I cant find any locally and I already have the CCI 250's. Thanks

the short answer is yes.. but , when substuting a diffrent primer you should reduce the load a little and work back up. my load data shows 67.5 grains as a max load..
Dave

Actually I am using RL19...I will reduce a few grains. The start load in the Nosler book is 77.0 grains. Should I start there or reduce to 75 or 76?

I consider the Federal 215M and CCI 250 primers as equivalent though sometimes you'll get better accuracy with one than with the other.

I would not reduce the starting load below that recommended. If the starting load recommended is 77.0 grains I would not start below that. In fact, in the firearms I shoot, I generally start at the low third to the mid range of the recommended loads since I pretty consistently find that the best accuracy occurs 1 or 2 grains below the recommended maximum load (in cartridges with a case size like the 300 Win. Mag.).

I would suggest you use any manual as a guide line and not as a bible. If you are using the recommened primer or another, start a good bit below recommened max. roger