My question I believe is a simple one, though I'm not sure either. Whats makes a benchrest/match primer different then a standard primer?

Are they the same just better "controlled"? If you use BR primers, what type do you like? Do you use these primers for hunting loads? Thanks for your help.

BigBullet

The big difference is the price.

Basically BR primers are supposed to have tighter quality control.

Personally, I have never seen any advantage to using them in a hunting firearm, and have never seen anything remarkable with target guns out to 300 yards.

I use Fed Prem Gold Medal Primers for about all my loads with IMR or Reloader Powder. I use CCI Bench Rest Primers with Varget powder in my 308 and 30-06. I will not go back after 15 years with Prem primers.

I reload for 11 different calibers and can honestly say that I simply cannot tell any difference.
Mostly I use Fed. 205M and 210M and Rem. 7 1/2, 9 1/2. I have loads that are identical except for the primer. Sometimes one shoots better, sometimes another. I've been told that certain primers do not do well, with a particular powder, but do not know this for sure. I have read that the only difference between say 205 and 205M is that someone eyeballs the primers. That must be a mind deadening job, dont you think? Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

The other guys are right in that supposedly the benchrest primers are subjected to more quality control than standard primers.

Will they help your groups? Only experimentation can tell. I have two 22-50 Remingtons in the safe right now. One of them clearly shoots its best groups with Fed 210M primers. The other one does best with Winchester standard primers. The differences are clear on paper.

I have a custom made 6mm Remington that tends to give flyers when shooting groups with any of several brands of "standard" primers. A switch to the Fed 210M and the flyers went away.

But, I have a 22-250 Ackley Improved and a 25-06 that pretty much don't show ANY difference when switching primers. So go figure.

In regards to hunting loads, they probably are not much help with the bigger cases. But, once again only experimentation will tell. With IMR 7828 in my 7mm Weatherby Mag I did a bunch of tests and got a 28% reduction in group size when using the Fed 215M vs the standard Fed 215.

You just have to load them up and see.

R F

I use Federal BR magnum primers on all my large cases, including my 450/400 3 inch. I think they are worth the money and tighten my groups.

While fire forming some brass for my 300 Apex Saturday, I had two groups with five rounds each touching each other. I was using IMR 4350, The Federal Magnum BR primers, an inexpensive box of Speer 150 grain spire points, and Winchester 338 brass. Velocities were very consistant with my moderate fire forming load around 2950.

In my 450/400 with RL-15 with Dacron filler and the Federal Magnum BR primers the velocities are quite uniform for my double. I like 'em!
Just my opine.

Rusty
We band of brothers!

I think the difference is they don't fall out like the new WLRs

Bartsche,
I too have had problems with Winchester primers not seating very tight, especially in my 300wsm. I switched to Federal and I have not had a primer fall out since.

I used to think it was the way I was seating them or some other problem that I was causing but since the problem stopped when I changed to Federal it makes me think it might have been the primer.

Many years ago, in one of the old Nosler reloading manuals, they reported an experiment that they did with primers. They shot a batch of standard run primers in a given load and a rifle capable of telling the difference. Then they shot a batch of primers that were selected for uniformity. Presto!, the difference was easily seeable, even by me. Shortly thereafter CCI started making "benchrest" primers by hiring their best crew members and paying them to work at a pace that they felt was conducive to making very uniform primers. That started the whole thing off. The cost differential was charged to the buyer of the primers.

To be honest, I have never seen any conclusive proof that special run primers would outshoot standard primers all the time. At least on special production run primers, used without selection. In addition, many benchrest shooters have liked Winchester primers, a brand that does not produce a premium primer.

In addition, there is a small amount of data that support seating primers by feel(with an educated thumb and a fancy seating tool). There is also an amount of data that suggest that the K&M priming tool, with the dial indicator, can reliably seat primers with a predetermined amount of pre-crush on the pellet. The standard pre-crush being about 0.003" is favored by Federal, Lyman, and others as being one way to improve groups. The K&M tool allows you to compensate for differing anvil heights and primer pocket depths.

I do all or have done all of this for years and here are my observations: If you are shooting down around, say, 0.250" groups, then go ahead and uniform primer pockets, select primers, and seat them very consistently by your favorite method. That may save you a flyer some day and get you some money or a medal or something. If your groups are bigger than that, then do not waste your time. I have a .220 Swift that will shoot between 0.195" and 0.350" pretty much all day long with no case selection, no primer selection, only seating primers by feel with the educated thumb. Berger bullets did the trick. If you insist on paying extra money for primers, you should still sort them on general principles--mostly by anvil straightness and height and load accordingly. Just don't forget to educate your thumb with a good primer seating tool like the Sinclair or the K&M with a dial indicator.

The advances in accuracy over the years have not been in quantum leaps, but by little bitty steps and most of that by paying attention to every last little variable and correcting for it. Spend most of your time shooting and enjoying AND practicing. The practice, with a coach, will get you more than worrying excesively about primers in a everyday rifle.

Geo.

I have an article which reports on a trip to the CCI primer facility. According to this report, the BR primers are designated so by testing, just like high and low speed computer chips (these are all made at once, then separated by testing. The surplus goes in the low speed box. That is why overclocking works.) This article stated that, at the time of writing anyway, they had about a dozen primer machines/lines. The line that gave the best quality that month was designated the BR line, and the operator recieved a bonus. I would suspect this is true, due to the management benefit of the system.

Thanks all for your responses. I thought so concerning the primers, after reloading for the past 17 years, I tried BR primers for the very first time this past week and did not see one bit of difference in my 22-250. So wanted to see what others had to say on the subject.
Thanks,
BigBullet

I have switched to CCI Br primers for just about all cartridges. My reasoning is two fold. The first is the "why not" theory. Since they cost only a tiny bit more and don't hurt anything I have put the other primers aside.

The other reason is that I was using them in an accurate 270 and I switched to another primer, maybe the thousands of WLR's I am stuck with, and then back to the BR's. The groups with the other primers were the only bad shooting that rifle has ever done.

Any report like this is not all that scientific I admit. But it's the best that I can do to try to improve things.

One tray of 215M's had a stain or something in the bottom of some of the little holes. Sure enough I got a misfire from a primer from that lot. Now I am stuck with a carton or more of primers that I am not sure about. Nothing worse than a primer that you don't trust. I am shooting an older lot of 215's right now in the mags. and I am unsure what to do next.

A question for those that say that BR primers are designated as such AFTER testing batches...

My CCI BR primers have a little BR stamped into the face of the primer. Are you saying they do that AFTER the primers are made? I doubt it....