I am running low on primers. A buddy is going to a large gun show that has vendor, who carries primers, at good prices. I load for all manner of cartridges and action styles, including several Garands, black powder cartridge, and the regular gamit of bolt guns. I want to get several hundred bucks worth of primers. What brand would you get in such a bulk purchase. I realize whatever I get may not be the absolute best in every application. Just looking for your "go to" large rifle primer.

Wow ... you're going to get some interesting answers here!

I started buying 15K lots of primers from Powder Valley when I was shooting lots of IPSC practice. They had very good prices on Winchester primers in those days. Most of what I bought was small rifle primers, but because I was paying the shipment already I would mix the orders to cover the other needs.

As a result, I got started with Winchester large rifle primers. I use them for everything except large cases when loading slow powders (like .416 Rigby and .470 NE). Then I use Federal 215's.

back a number of years ago when you couldn't find a primer anywhere let alone buy one, I got fed up and when they finally became available again I bought a lifetime supply. I triple boxed them and wrapped them in plastic and put them in the closet for a rainy day. I suspect many others did the same.

I bought CCI at the time and have no problem with them at all. I'd do it again.

Hi Scota:

Second the CCI lg Rifle primer... mine magnum #250 for all my rifles.

JimP.

In the past I tried to buy everything except bullets from Federal. Today, I still use their primers, but like W-W's too, and buy both by the case. I use big green's primers also, but not in bulk like the others.

In forty years of reloading, I've never run across a "bad" lot of primers of any brand. I've even still got some Herter's from 1968(made in Japan!) that perform as well as any.

Recently, Winchester unplated primers seem to seat with a little less resistance than other brands, but I think it is because they have a few ten-thousandths less diameter due to the absence of plating. They perform just fine.

Likewise, Federals seem to (or did the last time I used them) seat with more resistance, and they are shaped with less radius at the bottom corner, making them work not quite so well in some types of priming tools. But again, their ballistic perfomance is fine.

If you're only going to buy one type of LR primer, my recommendation would be to get "standard" rather than "magnum" primers. You'll typically save a buck per thousand in price, and there are few, if any, circumstances where "magnum" primers provide better performance than "standard" primers.

quote:

I've even still got some Herter's from 1968(made in Japan!)

Funny, Blue and orange box?? I just used some too. Also used the last of my Frankfurt Aresenal #70, the other day. Pastboard boxes with wooden separtors, marked FA-70. Those must have been 60-years old. Loaded some black powder cartridges with them. Shot just fine. That is the thing I have bunches of weird and wild stuff but, am running out of "good" primers. I am thinking of 10K CCI or WInchester large rifle.

quote:

I've even still got some Herter's from 1968(made in Japan!)

I believe if you check they're made by RWS in Germany.

And I'd bet they go bang as well as ever.

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:

quote:

I've even still got some Herter's from 1968(made in Japan!)

I believe if you check they're made by RWS in Germany.

And I'd bet they go bang as well as ever.

Nope, the box is clearly labeled "Made in Japan". These are the only reloading components that I've ever been aware of from Japan.

On the other hand, Herter's marketed brass made both in Finland and Sweden, and powder made by ICI Nobel in Scotland. They had Italian shotguns and English, Yugoslavian, and German rifles.

Winchester WLR.

I had some problems with CCI lighting the powder on my 454 casull. I switched to Win SR and have never gone back. CCI seemed t work fine with everthing else I reload tho
Mike

WLR for standards and Fed 215GMM for Mags. I've found that different brands of primers causes different Accuracy.

Reloader

The Garand will need a "Military" (hard) primer
to avoid slam fires. The firing pin strikes the primer when the bolt goes into battery.
Good luck!

When I quit shooting centerfire benchrest several years ago, I had a bunch of Federal 210M primers left over. They were to primer of choice among the benchrest crowd. I continued using them for hunting rifles, and found accuracy very good. So, I keep buying Federal primers, large rifle, small rifle and small pistol. All Match primers.
Don

Federal 210 for me. Winchester seems loose when seated, I do have som CCI's too though.

quote:

Originally posted by turkeyhunter:
Federal 210 for me. Winchester seems loose when seated, I do have som CCI's too though.

I just switched to Federal 210's because the WLR batch I have seats loose. Apparently when Olin dropped the silver plating they used to use they forgot they needed to increase the size of the primer to compensate for it... yeah, I've got 1000 of those small WLR's.

Federal largest diameter,CCI medium,WLRM the smallest...