Evolution of primers and reloading

Status
Not open for further replies.
Berdan primed cases are reloadable, but it is not as simple as Boxer primed cases and not generally done in the US. Berdan primers are not easily found in the US and i understand there are more different sizes than the standard Boxer primers.

At one time CCI made some aluminum cased ammunition (they may still) that was primed with a primer not the same size as the standard small or large primers. The idea was to prevent the case from being reloaded. I suppose there was concern over the safety of reloading the aluminum.

Remington made an electronically fired cartridge a few years ago. Not sure if the cartridges are still available, but it did not set the world on fire.

i suppose there have been other cartridges made with non-standard primers but don't remember any off hand. At least in recent times, it would probably be the death of a cartridge as the reloading community would not support it.
 
why would one design such a primer?
Click to expand...

so that you have to buy loaded ammo.
I would think that the companies that make primers would make more money on ammunition vs reloading supplies.
 
Do some primers prohibit reloading and if so, why would one design such a primer?
Click to expand...

I have always wondered if there was an advantage from one primer type to another. The European Armies used Berdan while we went Boxer.

From a military standpoint, reloading is not a consideration. Given that most nations of the world restrict firearm ownership by civilians, I doubt reloading is more than a blip in the most restrictive countries and berdan primers would just make it that more difficult for citizens to reload.
 
The Berdan primer was invented in the U.S., while the Boxer primer was invented in Europe. It was strange that Europe and Asia adopted the Berdan primer, while the U.S. adopted the Boxer primer, but that's how it worked out.

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
The Berdan primer is a "one piece" design while the Boxer is "two pieced".

From a manufacturing standpoint it's far simpler to make a Berdan primer as it consists merely of a cup and the primer compound. The machinery to manufacturer a Boxer primer is more complicated.

In a sense it's a trade off as the berdan primed case has to have an anvil included in it's design and the boxer primer brings along it's own anvil.

They both work however we, as reloaders, benefit from the choice to go with a single flash hole and a boxer primer by our military.
 
Not sure if Berdan primers use paper cups but Boxer primers sure do:

attachment.php


attachment.php
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top