[moooose102]

ok, so the more i read, the worse this gets. i read in some magazines that magnum primers should ONLY be used in certain powders, and in another that the author says he uses them in any loads that will be used in cold weather. and another one says something all together differnt. i have always used magnum primers in loading my 300 win mag WHEN i am using IMR4831. I have noticed that some of my reloading books do not state to use magnum primers with this powder. and the load data is very close to the same. so, for my hunting loads, (november in michigan) should i be using magnum primers, or standard primers? i know this will affect the pressures and velocity of the bullets. man i hate second guessing my self. but on the other hand, if i am doing something wrong, i want to correct it also.

[The Bushmaster]

What does your LOAD DATA MANUAL tell you to use. Like Lyman, Speer, Hornady, Lee, etc, etc....

Don't use gun rags to determine what primer to use unless you can back it up with a reputable manual...

[scrat]

if you have been using magnum primers and are happy with your current load then continue to use them. What your reading from the books and magazines is a person personal prefferance. You may have big factory or big book saying dont do it. then some reloader goes out there figures out a good load with magnum primers shoots several thousand of them. it gets into a magazine and confuses everyone. Some people like to find out what you can and can not do. Same time now a days companys in the reloading industry have scailed back on magnum loads and hot loads. maximum loads are usually a lot lower than they were say 30 years ago. Thats because noone wants to be responsible if some one shoots a hot load in an old neglected gun and gets hurt or killed. So you have these big guys saying dont do it. When there is not any publishe data sayin you cant. So it takes guys like you and i to see what we can do. As long as we do it safely. Then we can share it with others. As long as we do it safely.

Take a look at people like steves pages or the reloading pages of md smith. these guys know there stuff. Yet the data they post are different from and lyman, speer, hornady manual.

[snuffy]

Since the question didn't state which caliber, I chose standard. In a standard caliber like 30-06 or .270 it would work fine. For your large charge in a long column, you MIGHT need a mag primer. One out of a 1,000 might have a hangfire/no fire with a standard force primer.

Define cold. How cold? What do you consider cold? Below 0 to me is too cold to be hunting. So I wouldn't be worried about whether my ammo is going to fire, the rifle will be with me in the cabin!:( Or inside a shooting shack with a heater on!:D

[scrat]

he stated 300 wsm

[taliv]

i picked both, cause you can use either, but obviously must adjust the starting load appropriately and work up

[RecoilRob]

In the 300 Winchester Magnum (NOT SM) the Lyman book used Winchester primers....which are the equivalent of every one elses magnum primers. I'd use them too.

When trying to light a big, long column of powder, it doesn't hurt to have the additional heat and flame time of the mag primer....just work the loads up with them. All will be fine.

[NCsmitty]

A standard primer is more than adequate for IMR4831. Both types can be used of course, but you need to start with one or the other and work your loads. However, it's advisable not to swap from one to another randomly without revising the powder charge, as magnum primers have been shown to increase pressures with the same powder charge compared to standard primers.

NCsmitty

[snuffy]

magnum, or standard primer w/ IMR4831

he stated 300 wsm

Yeah AFTER I voted, in the text of his 1st post! And it was 300 wm. If he had stated 300 wm---IMR-4831, then it would have made a difference.

[ArchAngelCD]

I might be remembering incorrectly but I thought I read you should consider using a Magnum primer if the charge is over 60 gr or if you are going to be shooting in extreme temperatures. Of course the author didn't say that number (if that is the correct weight) was set in stone, it was just a guideline.

With the volume of powder needed in a 300 Win Mag I would think a Magnum primer would be needed to insure good ignition and complete burn of that much powder. (but that's also an opinion since I don't reload for the 300 Win Mag)

[33rowdy]

I taught my self the reloading money pit with the 30-06 and 270 WIN and the Speer Manual. I don't have my books with me now but I used H380 in the 270 with the 90 gr bullet and a Mag primer. In my state Ohio and Michigan too; we hunt in cold tempitures. I shoot the range and ground hawgs in the summer. Then hunt in the cold. I surely don't change primers for the climate. One of the four manuals I have states that 32 degrees and lower is when to use a Mag primer. I don't know how cold it will be this fall and winter.

I agree with above. Find what works and stay with it.