dbarnhart
Member
How long has it been since Winchester packaged primers in white boxes like these?
How Old Are These Primers?
- Thread starter dbarnhart
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jcwit
member
Right, those aren't old at all. I've got Winchester Primers with wood dividers and no zip code, they date back to the 1940's.
T Bran
Member
Im still using some 209 shotshell primers in a box that looks like the Federal box in the background. I agree 80s or 90s load and shoot they are not old but I dont think im old either.
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sugarmaker
Member
Recent enough to use - 1970's boxes used the 8 1/2-120 etc.. instead of WLR, WSR, etc... so those aren't that old.
dbarnhart
Member
Thank you. A local guy is getting out of reloading and selling them on Backpage. Unfortunately, his price is just $1.69 less that I can buy fresh new WSR primers from my favorite local gun shop.
snuffy
Member
Here's a few that are 30+ years old. They work like new. The old plain brown wrapper primers were old when I got them from the DCM back in the early 70's. The 120M designation was for Match, not magnum. If you shot a DCM,(Department of Civilian Marksmanship), course, you could get primers, powder and match bullets to reload ammo. Also match loaded ammo if you didn't
reload.
If they've been stored right, room temp and kept dry, they'll be just fine.
reload.
If they've been stored right, room temp and kept dry, they'll be just fine.
The change over from White Box nickle plated primers to the brass finish was right at 1999.
That is when I called Winchester and was told that they had made their primers more sensitive to "combat off center firing pin strikes".
The new brass finish Winchester small rifle primers turned out to be so thin skinned and pierced so much, they ate up a handfull of AR15 firing pins. That will be the last I will every buy WSR. I still have a couple of thousand of the old nickle plated WSR, they don't pierce like the new ones. Those primers were some of the best AR15 primers around.
Brass finish Winchesters still work well in my pistols, I do not recommend using them in Garands and M1a's or Carbines as those rifles will slamfire with sensitive primers.
That is when I called Winchester and was told that they had made their primers more sensitive to "combat off center firing pin strikes".
The new brass finish Winchester small rifle primers turned out to be so thin skinned and pierced so much, they ate up a handfull of AR15 firing pins. That will be the last I will every buy WSR. I still have a couple of thousand of the old nickle plated WSR, they don't pierce like the new ones. Those primers were some of the best AR15 primers around.
Brass finish Winchesters still work well in my pistols, I do not recommend using them in Garands and M1a's or Carbines as those rifles will slamfire with sensitive primers.
ArchAngelCD
Member.
The older Silver Winchester primers are reported to be "harder" than the newer ones. I have a bunch of older Win and CCI primers I'm using right now. They all seem to be exactly like the newer primers and all have ignited correctly.
dbarnhart
Member
I've been using the new WSR primers in the blue box. I've probably shot 2000 of them this year. No problems.
FROGO207
Member
Snuffy how'd you manage to keep them around for so long?? I have some great old boxes but had to use the primers up as fast as I got them way back then.
These days I have a bit more $$ and can buy a bunch ahead so I never run out. Helped a LOT in the past 2-3 years for sure. One day I will get those pictures of all my old cans and boxes up on the net if I can ever figure out how to do it :banghead:
These days I have a bit more $$ and can buy a bunch ahead so I never run out. Helped a LOT in the past 2-3 years for sure. One day I will get those pictures of all my old cans and boxes up on the net if I can ever figure out how to do it :banghead:snuffy
Member
Heh heh, those aren't empty.
The 1k box of 7M-111F has 500 primers in it. The 120M winchester, two boxes are full the other has about 25 in it.Can't say exactly why I never used them, they were all good for the job they did, just got others and used them. I just got a new Ruger super blackhawk in .44 mag, so I'll have to use some of those 7m mag primers for some heavy loads of 296 and lil gun.
amlevin
Member
I just finished using a tray of primers from this vintage. Kept the box for "nostalgia". Still has the price tag, $0.97 on it. A far cry from today's prices.
d'Artagnan
Member
Post the lot numbers and I'll try to break the date out. The Winchester primer white boxes changed to purple boxes at the same time Winchester stopped nickel plating their primers. Some say that was 1999.
snuffy
Member
Those are a LOT older than '99. I know for a fact they're no newer than '75. The designations Winchester uses have changed over the years several times since I started loading in '64. Anyway it's SP134 above E106830 Lot# for the 7M-111F.
GP100man
Member
Not old enuff not to use em !!!
I was given some that were not stored properly in containers just like em & the boxes had gotten damp enuff so all the cardboard paper was stuck together , all 5 bricks !!!!!
I got a pan & started tearing/cutting em open ,then gave em a few days to dry good with a stir now&then.
Some even had a bit of corrosion on the anvil ????
Loaded everyone of em in plinkin ammo & not the first misfire !!!
Primers are tuffer than we think they are !!
I`ll say mid/late 80s -early90s on the age of those in the pic.
I was given some that were not stored properly in containers just like em & the boxes had gotten damp enuff so all the cardboard paper was stuck together , all 5 bricks !!!!!
I got a pan & started tearing/cutting em open ,then gave em a few days to dry good with a stir now&then.
Some even had a bit of corrosion on the anvil ????
Loaded everyone of em in plinkin ammo & not the first misfire !!!
Primers are tuffer than we think they are !!
I`ll say mid/late 80s -early90s on the age of those in the pic.
243winxb
Member
Old Primers
These primers were given to me, shot them in May of 2010. No problems. Very hard to "kill" a primer.
These primers were given to me, shot them in May of 2010. No problems. Very hard to "kill" a primer.
dbarnhart
Member
Ya know, those are almost too purdy to shoot. ;-)
d'Artagnan
Member
My Federal 215 primers in that same style box are lot number AL.75/24/5. That and AL-85/1/8 look suspiciously like dates. Wonder if the numbers 75 and 85 are reversed and represent 1957 and 1958 or if they really are 1975 and 1985. Regarding the previous Winchester lot number SP134 (over) E106830, it is not in a Winchester or Western lot number format I've seen before and I have Winchester primers going back to 1937, and Western back to 1940. But that 106830, too, looks suspiciously like a date, say 30 October 1968.
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