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View Full Version : How much differance between differant brands of primers



340six
01-01-2010, 09:28 PM
I have some primers my dad gave me Federal large and small pistal as well as CCI Bought from Cabellas.

I normaly load in large batches 500-1000 and would use up the feds first but are odd amounts of primers so
Say I load the 9mm brass with 135fed and the rest of the 500 with cci....Would they all shoot the same or would the primers rate of ingniting the powder be so differant that cast 124tc's would not shoot the same?
Just thinking out loud here and want opinions.
:coffee:

versifier
01-01-2010, 11:29 PM
The short answer is maybe.

Honestly, with plinking loads for handguns, you're not going to notice much difference. I am sure that you will see a slightly different POI and likely group size also, but every gun is different and some are a lot pickier about their components than others. Will there be enough difference to matter to you? That is the operative question and the only way to find out is to do a little experimenting to find out for yourself. Data from my guns (or anyone else's) is not going to answer your questions except in a very general way. So, generally, there is always a difference, but it can vary so much from one individual gun to another that case by case comparisons are meaningless. What do YOUR guns like and how tolerant are THEY of changes in components?

The only safety considerations are if your loads are on the hot end, reduce your powder charge, test some first, and work back up.

The more accurate the firearm, the more likelier you are to notice a difference on paper, (and if you're into bullseye shooting with a race gun it could make a LOT of difference). The longer the distance you shoot at, the greater the potential difference, too.

I am generally not too particular about my handgun practice cartridges as long as they will group well enough to spot any problems in my technique. On my carry and hunting handguns I am a lot more careful with loads and I want the most accuracy I can squeeze out that doesn't affect function, and then I will test several different kinds of primers just to see what happens, sometimes you get a VERY nice surprise. When that very nice surprise does happen, I will keep specific primers in stock just for that specific load. (I have two rifles at present, no handguns, I will do that for.) But for practice handgun ammo, about 99% of the hg ammo I load, it doesn't make enough difference to me to segregate the loads by make of primer (or case). I will use up whatever I have on hand when cranking out prctice ammo, but I will usually hang on to the last package of left over primers just to check out a decent load with at some point in the future to see if there is a worthwhile difference. Same way (and much more often) with accurate rifles. I want a practice load to go bang and hit the paper in the right general area. I am not a competetive shooter, but I am a hunter. I take great pains with my hunting loads to insure that they are as accurate as I can humanly make them, not as fanatical as a br shooter by ant means, but I want to be sure that if I miss, it is me and not the rifle or pistol that is at fault.

The thing is, every once in a while you run into a gun that is picky enough about components to see the difference between a shotgun pattern and a nice tight group simply by switching the brand or heat of primer. There are often large differences in brissance between different types and make of primers, and those differences can make or break a potential load in a such a gun. Usually however, a pistol or revolver is not unduly affected by switching primers in its usual loads.

kodiak1
01-02-2010, 01:33 AM
340 unless you are doing some long range really high tech shooting load the shell for get the pressure of what primers will shoot better and have some fun.

If you are doing the 1000 yard thing chance are pretty good you have a pet load for your shoots so load the primers into plinking fun time shooting shells and kick back man.

Ken.

runfiverun
01-02-2010, 03:33 AM
since cci is now owned by federal err atk whatever.
i bet there isn't that much difference anymore.
i doubt you'll see enough difference to even worry about.
if you were shooting silhouette at 2-300 yds then you would have already tried the other brand.

MR 8x57 js
01-29-2010, 05:31 PM
CCi & Federal come from the same people, if you want to conduct any testing you will need several differnt brands of primers ie Winchester,Remington, & CCI. Keeping the bullet ,powder & brass the same. Makeing sure your brass is all the same brand, not mixing headstamps. I have found AA#7 to be a good powder in the 9MM