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fgw_in_fla
10-06-2011, 05:24 AM
Does anyone do a rework on their load / criteria if you change primers? After using Winchester primers for a very long time, I recently had 2 within the same box of 1000 burn a hole out the back & make a mess of my bolt face. I saved the old primers however, I decided to try CCI on a friends recomendation. So far I've not seen or felt any difference.... I think.
Any thoughts or input would be appreciated as I've heard a few different schools of thought on the subject. I've also heard different primers can increase case pressure, sometimes to danger levels. When I bought the CCI primers, the guy at Natchez said he used them & liked their performance a lot. (he said he'd been loading for over 25 years). I did notice they fit a little snug compared to Winchester & where a winchester primer would be very loose in a worn pocket, CCI fit better.
Whatcha think?

GaCop
10-06-2011, 07:05 AM
It's a good idea to check yourn loads if you change primers. I have a hard time getting BR4 primers locally so switched to CCI 450s. MY 204 loads that I retested showed a slight degrading of accuracy but nothing real bad. My 223AI didn't seem to care what it was fed.

darkker
10-06-2011, 06:11 PM
The CCI primers are larger diameter than the Winchesters. Quite common to switch to CCI's when your cases are nearing the end of their life, for that very reason.
There are always oddities... That being said, I would bet that it is a powder issue rather than primer.

In my 1,000 yard loadings I did a test between CCI BR2 and WLR. I have long reloaded with WLR.
WLR primers are standard fare in the Black Hills match 308 loads, FYI.
For me there was no Velocity change, pressure change. Simply a lower ES in velocities with the BR2's, and the change WASN'T big, about 15fps.
In my loading history, especially if the loaded ammo sits a long time; the powder tends to age oddly.
Reguardless of temp/humidity, my 748 loads from 10 years ago are still good today(in terms of velocity, pressure). Now that IS NOT the case with my older loads using Hodgdon's stick powders...