Do match primers in pistol loads even matter.

Doubt it

Would cost a fortune in testing to say if I does or not. I've never seen the need for them.

Tough to call. I'm not consistent enough to notice any differences in my .45 ACP loads. 185swc, 200swc, 230rn - they all get the same load of powder (consistent with published load data) and all end up making similar size groups clustered around similar points of aim.

But perhaps you are consistent enough to notice... be fun to try anyways.

Maybe from a Ransom Rest, but I wouldn't be able to tell any difference...

I'm not good enough to tell the difference. I've heard that Match Pistol Primers are made on the same line as just regular pistol primers are. No inside knowledge though. Perhaps just a marketing approach. Again I just don't know!!!

match primers, i doubt it. but matching primers to the load can bring down es (extreme spread) numbers. group size differences past 25 yards can also be seen. not really worth it, imo.

murf

My understanding is the only difference with match primers is that the priming material is applied by someone with more experience than the non match primer's are. They are supposed to be more consistent, but just like anything, folks with less experience might be just as good at applying the priming compound. Then the next question is, does a possibly more consistent application of the priming compound really matter? I mean how off can they be and still have the anvil go in properly.

I guess to really answer this question, someone would have to analyze thousands of primers from different batches of each type and list out the variation.

No. Not until you're shooting at an elite level. Even at that, the difference if any will be probably more mental than physical. No where near the impact of match grade cases or bullets.

As mentioned in the above post Match Primers do matter. My PPC Winchester and reloads using identical components begin to show their worth at 25 yards. And definitely at 50 yards, using purpose built revolvers and S&W PPC-9 pistols.
At state and national level matches you bet it matters. Every point and every X matters especially at Expert, Master and High Master levels.
Our Sheriff's Pistol Team was sponsored by Winchester and all our ammo was " Winchester Match"! Even specific lots could show a difference in groups especially the 147 grain 9mm! (20 years ago!)

Smiles,

As JJFitch said, distance is the great equalizer. At the 50ft line it really doesn't matter you're only have to hold 1" groups.

Interesting responses, most of them being not good enough to know the difference.

I still have a case of federal match LP & 4,000 SPL primers laying around that I need to burn up, 10 years old.

The real question is:
If you're going to take the time and $$$ to compete out to the 50yd line. Why wouldn't you want to use the best components you could find?

Not in the opinion of the Bullseye Competitor's I have asked. The bullet is more important, followed by the powder. Primers are in the noise level, something that is within the hold of the shooters. The reason for this is that American primers are very good. They are consistent and go bang regularly. If quality control was such that centerfire primers were similarly bad as cheap 22lr, where the priming compound may or may not be distributed in the rim, then you could say primers make a difference.

The ten ring at 50 yards slow fire, and timed and rapid fire targets at 25 yards is 3.36 inches in diameter, good ammunition will hold half that in mechanical rests. I challenge anyone to shoot ten shots offhand, into 3.36 inches at 50 yards. Then try it with one hand. The absurdity of quantifying any inaccuracy due to primer influence, apart from the wild swings, jerks, and flinches a shooter makes, will become readily apparent. If you can keep all your ten shots on the full face target at 50 yards, about two foot by two foot, you will actually be shooting much above average.

the number of posters on the internet, who claim they can do this, exceeds by orders of magnitude, the number of shooters who can






I believe that for pistols, more sensitive primers are better than less sensitive, especially on competition pistols where shooters monkey around with springs.

AJC1 said:

When putting together long range competition ammunition most people will take every last step to get low es and sd numbers. At a 1000 15fps matters. In a pistol with short range trajectory does it even matter?????

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For the average handgun shooter, most ammo is capable of more accuracy than the shooter themselves. Are more experienced primer machine operators capable of producing primers more consistent than lesser experienced operators? Kinda like asking if more experienced handloaders are capable of producing more consistent ammo than newbies. Answer is capable, yes, but in reality, "maybe".

AJC1 said:

In a pistol with short range trajectory does it even matter?????

Click to expand...

If you’re talking about competition and precision, there’s a big difference between bullseye and the run and gun games. I don’t do bullseye but have heard what @Slamfire wrote. For the run and gun, when the timer goes off, the type of primer is not going to make a bit of difference.

Of course they matter and make a difference. They say "match" and are handcrafted by special experienced workers in the primer factory.

It's all about consistency. Of course if you use brass (Norma) with small flash holes then all bets are off!

Rule3 said:

handcrafted by special experienced workers in the primer factory.

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Which factory....

new Primer factory #1,
new Primer factory #2, or
new Primer factory #3.........

I guess it depends on the competition but for games like IDPA/USPSA and steel, the loads I use are not even the most accurate that I know of. Just ones that are accurate enough for the game but cheap enough I don’t mind going through 20,000+ of them a year.

Most all of the brass is mixed headstamp, so paying a premium for special primers would be a waste of money.

But on a more serious note, aren't primers already pretty darn exact ?
For someone with no experience with a Match Primer, what is the difference between the two....?

Soonerpesek said:

But on a more serious note, aren't primers already pretty darn exact ?
For someone with no experience with a Match Primer, what is the difference between the two....?

Click to expand...

This is worth reading, but it is woefully inadequate on primer characteristics.

Mysteries And Misconceptions Of The All-Important Primer
https://www.shootingtimes.com/editorial/ammunition_st_mamotaip_200909/100079

I talked to a bud who went on frequent visits to one Army Ammunition Plant. He claimed primer cake was mixed by hand. I have read that the quantity made at once is like a gallon or so per worker, I envisioned huge distillery sized vessels, but apparently not so. There are cash incentives for the most consistent primer mix, and my bud said the most consistent primer mix "is an artifact". More or less, the products of the process are too variable to predict an outcome.

So what makes a consistent primer mix? Bud said primers are tested in "mules" which measure everything. Sensitivity, flame temperature, flame duration, mass ejected, dwell, energy out put, energy versus time, gas released, etc, etc. Probably a lot more parameters than I can think of. And, I don't know which are the important ones which win the prize. Maybe someone out there does. I also don't know if the primer mixes are tested before they are made into primers, but I think not. Primer cake is dangerous stuff, once it dries out, very unstable. Anyway, based on small sample sizes and some unknown criteria, the lot is judged "match" or not. However, these are one shot devices, so how do you know all the cookies are going to be as good as the one you have eaten? Might be a bitter one in the batch, and you only will find that out after you buy the cookies, and eat them all.

I will say, Russian primers were some of the best rifle primers I ever used. Don't know what the Russians did, but they knew primers.

Soonerpesek said:

But on a more serious note, aren't primers already pretty darn exact ?
For someone with no experience with a Match Primer, what is the difference between the two....?

Click to expand...

What I mentioned about. They are supposedly made by the most experienced primer crafters in the factory (really)
How that matters in a 9mm I have no idea.

If Match primers reduced your SD in your loads, yes provide your shooting at a distance that matters. Up close no chance. But if you shooting an hand gun 100+ yrds, Yes most definitely. As for my shooting skill it will not make any difference what so ever.

Not sure if these are Match or Regular primers, but thought it interesting to see primers being made.

There are people out there who shoot a handgun well enough for them to matter. I'm not one of them.