[abq87120]

I have loaded only small pistol primers so far. Is there any difference in them between the brands? I (think I) need a primer with some punch for some glacially slow powder I bought for loading 357 Sigs.

Dan in ABQ

[mboe794]

I have only tried Remington and Winchester small pistol primers. I have used both for 9mm and .40 S&W loads. I found nothing worth noting between the two brands when tested at the chronograph. I'm no expert on the subject but I would expect similar results with CCI or Federal or any other SPP.

[Kyle M.]

I've used CCI and winchester and never noticed a difference in the two. I prefer the CCI's as their a little cheaper from my lgs, 25.99/1,000 for cci non magnum, 26.99/1,000 cci magnum, 28.99/1,000 winchester non magnum, 29.99/1,000 winchester magnum.

[oldreloader]

I use CCI, Win, and Tula and I can't tell the difference.

[StretchNM]

PRICE: I can;t afford to buy primers locally, so I order them by bulk, along with powders, online. I think the cheapest are Wolf and Tula, but my preference is for CCI and Winchester. When there was such a shortage in the last few years, I stocked up on Wolf.

FUNCTION: I cannot tell the difference, even in careful load development, between CCI and Wolf and WLR and Fed. However, for 44 Magnum, I use the WLP primers exclusively, and even then, only because they double as a magnum primer.

[oneounceload]

The Remington BR primers seemed to give me better accuracy than others in certain guns; in shotguns, some are more potent which can be a boon in cold weather but result in higher pressures in warm weather

[ArchAngelCD]

I have loaded only small pistol primers so far. Is there any difference in them between the brands? I (think I) need a primer with some punch for some glacially slow powder I bought for loading 357 Sigs.

Dan in ABQ
You didn't say which powder you're using. It's possible you don't need a brand change but you might need to use a magnum primer instead of a standard primer.

Also, what makes you think you have a primer problem? What are the symptoms?

[beeenbag]

Yes I have been able to tell a difference.

I had a S&W revolver that had a particularly light primer strike. CCI primers would not go off 2 or 3 rounds per cylinder. I noticed afterwards that every single Federal primer would go off. I have still never had a federal primer not go off. So even though this is kinda gun related it still shows you that CCI primers are harder than Federal.

[Arkansas Paul]

I've used CCI, Winchester, Remington, and Federal and I've not noticed a difference at all.
It's pretty common knowledge that Federal primers are a little softer than the rest, so if you have a gun like beenbag that is prone to light strikes, you would benefit from them.

[Arkansas Paul]

Sorry. Must have double tapped the "post" button.

[MutinousDoug]

I have no experience with Wolf or Tula primers. Bearing that in mind:

Are there differences in small pistol primer brands? YES

Are you likely to notice those on a target (assuming your gun is within spec and you are using appropriate powders/loads)? NO

[Hondo 60]

If you fired a big enough sample of each, ya, you probably could report a difference.
But in my experience, the difference isn't enough for me to notice.
(or I'm not consistent enough to notice)

With that in mind, the past 2 years (on my annual buying spree) I bought Tula from Powder Valley.
This year they're $19.60/1k.
Locally the least expensive are $35/1k.

Even if I only bought 2k, I'd still be cheaper paying the hazmat fee.

[ColtPythonElite]

Tulas work well for me. I've bought thousands with zero troubles or any difference in load performance.

[1SOW]

Fed SPPs are the only US primers that use nitroglycerin in the formula (like double base powders do). The quantity is relatively minute. They are softer and more volatile than the others. (check the MSDS sheets online for primer contents).

[EddieNFL]

Yes. No. Sometimes. More noticeable in bottle-necked cases.

[Jaxondog]

Alcan and CCI are my favorite's I use the most. Alcan's are finally running low so Winchester will probably take their place or Remington.

[dragon813gt]

Chemically they are different. But I've seen no difference on paper between the brands.


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[abq87120]

Actually, I don't actually have a problem with the 357 sig load. I am using a compressed load of 13g of AA #9. It has a slow burn but shoots as predicted. I am fighting set back problems with this necked case and am trying to emplement advice from others on this forum.

To add to this, I was poking around on youtube regarding reloading and saw a vid on primers. It described magnum primers as being hotter to get a better ignition of the slower mag powders. I was wondering if anyone had any info regarding a hotter standard SP primer for this slow powder.

There doesn't seem to be any difference between the brands if the chrony results mentioned above are taken into account.

I am such a noob that I am reluctant to experiment with a small pistol mag primer until I have a little more time on the bench.

Thanks for all the responses,
Dan in ABQ

[RandyP]

I have used several brands and for the past couple years have been using my stock up supply of Wolf SP and LP. No difference I can detect.

Some powders for magnum loads do recommend Magnum primers. If you are following published data what primer did they use? I don't know what bullet you are using but 13gr is right up there at max range.

[GP100man]

Here`s a link to an intresting fellows work in the shooting industry.

http://www.castingstuff.com/primer_testing_reference.htm

Enjoy

[bds]

Is there really any difference in primers by brand?
Yes.

I have used Winchester and CCI primers primarily until the shortage of 2008 which forced me to try various brand primers I could get including Magtech/PMC/Tula/Wolf and found varying cup size, anvil feet height and cup hardness - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=7794378#post7794378

In regards to load performance to cycle the slide and produce consistent shot groups, I found Magtech/Wolf/Tula primer performance on par with Winchester but PMC primers required .2-.3 gr more powder charge of W231/HP-38 to match the performance of Winchester primer loads.

For my match grade loads, I hand prime the cases and seat the primers to .004" below flush to properly set the anvil against the priming compound - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=568838 With Wolf/Tula primers with slightly larger cups, seating below flush requires more effort, and more difficult to do with once-fired cases and/or S&B/RWS cases with tighter primer pockets. When press priming, especially with Wolf/Tula LP primers, I often end up only seating to flush - if I try to seat these primers deeper (especially in once-fired/tight primer pocket cases), I only flatten the top of the cup instead of seating the primer deeper. IMO, I find CCI/Tula/Wolf primer cups harder than Winchester and PMC primer cups softer than Winchester while Magtech primer about the same as Winchester. The silver lining to Wolf/Tula primer cups being larger is that they can extend the life of cases with loose primer pockets. ;):D

BTW, for Pro 1K SP priming, I found Magtech SP to be the best feeding/seating primer followed by Winchester SP. If you are experiencing difficulty seating Wolf/Tula/PMC SP primers in Pro 1K, it is not the primer feed attachment, but the primer cup - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=7773536#post7773536 and http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=7877744#post7877744

I need a primer with some punch for some glacially slow powder I bought for loading 357 Sigs.
As GP100man's link illustrates, different brand primers use different priming compounds and produce different flash intensity and duration. The rifleman's Journal did extensive primer studies (scroll down to "Primers" on the link) - http://riflemansjournal.blogspot.com/p/articles-index.html

Here are some small rifle primer comparison pictures - http://riflemansjournal.blogspot.com/2009/06/primers-small-rifle-primer-study.html

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_f1TTfqxVUw4/SiPQ7VEN2yI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/LdMz1wSYdmA/s400/(5)+Remington+7.5.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_f1TTfqxVUw4/SiPQwFK9YYI/AAAAAAAAAEI/IpAWMu5VmPE/s400/(4)+Winchester+WSR.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_f1TTfqxVUw4/SiPSlPl9CAI/AAAAAAAAAEY/8sPiZgvDzq4/s400/(3)+CCI+BR4.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_f1TTfqxVUw4/SiPQOuHbWJI/AAAAAAAAAD4/2aFi0-OlbmU/s400/(2)+Russian+SRM.jpg
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_f1TTfqxVUw4/SiPO-iDVVTI/AAAAAAAAADw/vv8PmSRgwPs/s400/(1)+Federal+205M.jpg

[ArchAngelCD]

Actually, I don't actually have a problem with the 357 sig load. I am using a compressed load of 13g of AA #9. It has a slow burn but shoots as predicted. I am fighting set back problems with this necked case and am trying to emplement advice from others on this forum.

To add to this, I was poking around on youtube regarding reloading and saw a vid on primers. It described magnum primers as being hotter to get a better ignition of the slower mag powders. I was wondering if anyone had any info regarding a hotter standard SP primer for this slow powder.

There doesn't seem to be any difference between the brands if the chrony results mentioned above are taken into account.

I am such a noob that I am reluctant to experiment with a small pistol mag primer until I have a little more time on the bench.

Thanks for all the responses,
Dan in ABQ
The reason companies make magnum primers is because standard primers are standard primers and for the most part they are of similar burn intensity. Please don't let the word "magnum" scare you off. A magnum primer will burn a little longer and a little hotter than a standard primer. They are exactly what you are describing, a little hotter than a standard primer. They will not produce a nuclear explosion. All you need to do is drop back your charge and work back up like you would when you change any component in a load recipe.

Now for using AA#9 in the .357 Sig, are you sure that's the best choice? IMO AA#9 is too slow a powder for use in that caliber and AA#7 would be much better suited.

As for improper neck tension, that's probably a die problem and while I understand trying to use a compressed load to stop bullet setback that's not the cure, finding the problem with your neck tension is.