5.56 primers in Rem .223?

[jhansman]

Back during the Great Primer Famine, I counted myself lucky to get a brick of CCI 5.56 primers that came in a plain, white box. The guy who sold them to me swore they were safe in a .223 round, and if I used them, it would be in my Saiga .223. Any opinions on safety here? TIA.

 

[TrickyDick]

I personally wouldn't lose any sleep over it. Although, I've never used them. Hopefully someone who has will chime in.

 

[armoredman]

It's just a harder primer cup. As long as your firing pin has enough oomph to ignite it, should be just fine.

 

[ants]

Hi, jhansman.

Not sure what you actually bought. The CCI product number for military type small rifle primers is CCI #41. Is that what you have?
Of course, those are made for 5.56x45 military type ammunition, so they are safe for any 5.56x45 or 223 Rem ammo. Combat or plinking, safe for all uses.
Go here http://www.cci-ammunition.com/products/primers/primers.aspx?id=30 to read more from the manufacturer.

Most of us who don't take our ammo into combat don't need a CCI #41 but there's nothing wrong with using them anyway.
In fact, many of us handloaders like to think we are combat ready, so we use them anyway. Nothing wrong with that.

If you search the Internet, you'll find 50 or 60 gazillion different opinions. Or maybe a bazillion gazillion more opinions!
But if you call CCI the manufacturer, you will find that they are perfectly safe for any 5.56x45 or 223 Rem ammo.

Be happy. Even if most handloaders don't know why they are made for the application, you'll be happy none the less.

Shoot them and be happy.

 

[FROGO207]

^^^^ Agree with the above. Also the reason the primer cups are thicker is to prevent slamfires with semiauto firearms that have floating firing pins. I like to think of them as small rifle magnum primers.

 

[Dudedog]

If they are CCI #41 they should be fine as long as you work up the load. #41 have a harder cup and were designed for rifles with floating firing pins. AR15 etc. to help prevent possible slam fires.
I prefer Harder primers for loads for my AR, lots of people use regular SR but I figure the harder cup on SRMs or #41s is cheap insurance.

 

[VinnAY]

Only if I was loading a max charge of a .223 recipe (with a ".223" SRP) would I be wary and then I'd back it down 10% and work up.

 

[Reloadron]

I assume you have CCI #41 small rifle primers with a white box and and "For 5.56mm Ammunition" written on the box. CCI manufactures both a #41 Small Rifle and a #34 Large rifle. Both are a Magnum Primer Charge and both use an Anvil of a slightly different angle than the CCI Large and Small rifle magnum primers in addition to the thicker primer cup. So what you have is a slightly less sensitive primer by design of a magnum charge type. They will work just fine.

Ron

 

[Walkalong]

a brick of CCI 5.56 primers that came in a plain, white box.

If the box is labeled CCI Number 41 Primers, they are safe for any pressure tested 5.56 or .223 load.

 

[jhansman]

Thanks to all. Yes, they are #41, and would only be used in my AK (hopefully, NOT in combat) so I will count them as suitable for that rifle. Just wanted to be sure.
However, after reading the replies here, I went in search of info about the firing pin on the Siaga .223 and found posts with contradicting info on the type of firing pin it uses. Once (and only once, years ago) it doubled on me, and never since. A little unnerving, I will say. From what I read on Saiga-12, it does use a spring-loaded pin. So, the more you know, the safer you are, right?

 

[Slamfire]

I looked at my chronograph data and found I never chronographed any CCI #41's though I have shot thousands in competition. I used to shoot the nickel plated WSR, then around 1999, Winchester changed to a brass finish WSR. I called them up and they told me they had made the primer more sensitive to "combat off center firing pin hits". What they also did, was make the cup thinner and the brass finish WSR pierced at loads that never bothered the old nickle plated WSR. After the brass finish WSR ate up a handfull of AR15 firing pins, I never used another. I have used the CCI #41's with the WSR data, and they shoot great and don't pierce. (unless the load is very hot!)

For military actions with free floating firing pins, even ones with spring loaded firing pins, you want to use the less sensitive military primers. This is to prevent slamfires, your "double" may have been a slamfire. I have heard Federal offers their military small rifle primer, which is supposed to have a thicker cup, but I have never seen any for sale. Military semi automatic actions tend to have heavy firing pins and robust ignition systems, so, igniting a mil spec primer is not a problem. Can't speak for commercial guns, based on what I have seen, some commercial guns have very weak ignition systems. Hummer70 wrote this commentary about the lack of expertise in the commercial gun industry. At some point, outsourcing by firearms companies has lead to a loss of corporate memory about the important characteristics of firearms.

IT DON’T GO BANG-FIRES, HANGFIRES, MISFIRES AND SHORT ORDER COOKS

http://gunhub.com/ammunition/42928-don-t-go-bang-fires-hangfires-misfires-short-order.html


One rifle that surprised me was the Kimber M82G rimfire. I had misfires with 22 lr ammunition, changed out to a new mainspring and all is fine, but a bud of mine, his Kimber misfires even though a new mainspring and work by the gunsmith.

Unlike American companies striving for the lowest cost, most ignorant individuals to put on staff, the Soviet Union had only the best of the best designing their firearms. So their firearms have robust ignition systems and probably need the less sensitive mil spec primers to avoid the occasional slamfire.

 

[jhansman]

Unlike American companies striving for the lowest cost, most ignorant individuals to put on staff, the Soviet Union had only the best of the best designing their firearms. So their firearms have robust ignition systems and probably need the less sensitive mil spec primers to avoid the occasional slamfire.

I remember reading somewhere that in his design, Kalashnikov focused on where the weapon would most likely be used, under what conditions, both weather and likely combat zones; beauty in simplicity, and still one of the best semiauto rifles on the market. As it turns out, the pin in my Saiga is spring loaded, so I reckon any primer should be fine. Robust indeed!

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Thanks to all. Yes, they are #41, and would only be used in my AK (hopefully, NOT in combat) so I will count them as suitable for that rifle. Just wanted to be sure.
However, after reading the replies here, I went in search of info about the firing pin on the Siaga .223 and found posts with contradicting info on the type of firing pin it uses. Once (and only once, years ago) it doubled on me, and never since. A little unnerving, I will say. From what I read on Saiga-12, it does use a spring-loaded pin. So, the more you know, the safer you are, right?

Just because the CCI #41 primers were designed to be used in rifles with a floating firing pin doesn't mean they can only be used in that application. Like said above, they are a magnum class primer so they can be used in any cartridge where you want to use a magnum class primer. (or even in a standard primer use if stuck) They will not cause a nuclear explosion and are not magic.

 

[jhansman]

They will not cause a nuclear explosion and are not magic.

Gee, thanks for that bit of info. I was sure they would and are.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I was hoping you would think that was funny lol...