Large magnum rifle primers - brand preference?

[TnKen]

I prefer CCI in large magnum and Winchester in standard LR. I ran out of CCI and now have Winchester for both, but haven't really loaded enough with them to draw and conclusions yet.

 

[jpr9954]

I ended up ordering 400 of the CCI 250 and 100 of the White River Energetics. The latter is to try out. If they don't fit correctly or have other issues, I'm out $10.

 

[dlmac]

I also prefer Federal 215 Large RIfle Magnum primers but have in recent years loaded, shot hundreds of rounds in practice, and even hunted In Africa with those Remington LR Magnum primers. They both load and function as designed.


As @grand veneur provided, Remington may not be the strongest or "hottest" primers, but they worked for me to ignite H4350 and H4895 powders. Loads with slower buring powders might be more consistant with hotter / stronger primers.

Also consider if one is hunting in sub-zero environments, a hotter primer may be much better. Maybe becasue this is just me thinking after only one cup of coffee...

PS: Whatever you are loading, use a chronograph and log in every shot you fire. Track the consistancy of the different loads. The spread of velocity is a good indicator. WIth all else and I mean ALL else the same, which primers produce the lowest difference in velocity?

In the Military you could not function without at least 3-5 cups of Coffee, hot cold or otherwise.

 

[dlmac]

Like many I use what I have available. I used up the last of my Lake City stuff from the 60s a few years back. Since them I have use Remington, CCI, Federal, Wolf and Fiocchi. I've had no problems with any of them. The Wolf primers seemed like they might be dirtier? Have heard that Cheddite was one of the hottest, but only used them in shotshells.

 

[HWL]

Nowadays, I prefer whatever I can get!

You made my day....

HWL

 

[Alchemist]

My local Sportsman's Warehouse has three different brands of large magnum rifle primers available. From everything I've seen, they seem to be hard to find.

They have Remington 9 1/2 M, CCI No. 250, and White River Energetics which is a newer brand. I didn't realize the White River Energetics were on the market yet. I spoke with them in 2023 at the SHOT Show and they were still building a plant in Arkansas.

I will eventually be loading for .375 H&H, .358 Norma Mag, 9.3x62, and .308 Norma Magnum.

I am in South AFrica and always used CCI 250 primers for my Magnum guns. Due to a short amount in stock I bought White River Energentics Magnmum LR Primers

I prepared 100 bullets 300 Win Mag, 50 .458 Lott and 50.375 H&H using Norma brasson all three calibers, Nosler AB ( 300 WM ), Barnes TSX ( 375 H&H ) and Rhino Solid Shank on the 458 Lott.

Non of the bullets chamber to the position where you can close the bolt.
I checked bulllet dimensions, deformation on brass.
Then pulled some 300 WM bullets leaving the primer in but seating it as deep as I could, and try to chamber without the bullet - nothing
I then neck sized the brass primer pin remover removed from the die - primer still in - No bolt lock possible
I full sized the brass - Primer still in as I did not want to waste the primers - No bolt closure possible
I checked each dimension of the brass agains spec and all where the same.

My last tought was to remove the primer and check if the brass chamber properly. -It went in and close with no problem. On both my SAKO and Tikka
Next step then was to put CCI 250 primer is the brass. All chamber smoothly.

The CCI primer measured 3.38mm in depth while the WRE primer 3.47mm in depth. I am not sute what it is but I had the problem with 4 rifles with belted cartridges.

The problem is that when you use belted cartridges as above, there is no time for an oops, it does not fit. 300 WM , 375H&H and 458 Lott - everything needs to work.

Anyone else seen the problem ? I can not find an email address for them to contact them directly. I would strongly suggest you check you ammo for proper chambering if you used these primer on belted cartridges.

 

[Jonathan Kashouty]

All of those brands are good primers. As a handloader I have experienced the best accuracy with CCI and Federal in my .375 H&H and WLRM in my .300 Jarrett.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Go ahead and knock out the unfired primers when resizing. You can reuse them no problem. I do it all the time. If the primers are flush with the rim, I can't see how they could be the problem. But sounds like that must be the case. Strange!

 

[Alchemist]

Go ahead and knock out the unfired primers when resizing. You can reuse them no problem. I do it all the time. Sounds like a sizing issue. If the primers are flush with the rim, I can't see how they could be the problem. Are you trimming your brass? Are you talking about new brass? I learned the hard way that new brass is not always proper length. I incorrectly set my dies up using RWS brass that was too short. Caused different issues than what you're experiencing. But if you set your dies up using brass that is too long, that could cause cartridges that won't lock into chamber.

Hi Thanks for the suggestions.Brass is trimmed and even checked against SAAMI specifications. It just appears that the 0.1 mm is just to much. I started hand loading at 19 and am 62 now. I can undertsand an error creeping in, but once I started looking for the problem, everything was done with a lot of attention and accuracy.

I used a Lee Auto Prime, then an RCBS and finally the tool in the RCBS press to squeeze them in as deep as I could. I think the only way would be to get a primer pocket sizer and deepen the pocket. The primer pockets of the Norma Brass depth is pretty consistant and about the same depth as the size of the CCI primer.

I think the lesson is just not to assume it will work, but to check.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Hi Thanks for the suggestions.Brass is trimmed and even checked against SAAMI specifications. It just appears that the 0.1 mm is just to much. I started hand loading at 19 and am 62 now. I can undertsand an error creeping in, but once I started looking for the problem, everything was done with a lot of attention and accuracy.

I used a Lee Auto Prime, then an RCBS and finally the tool in the RCBS press to squeeze them in as deep as I could. I think the only way would be to get a primer pocket sizer and deepen the pocket. The primer pockets of the Norma Brass depth is pretty consistant and about the same depth as the size of the CCI primer.

I think the lesson is just not to assume it will work, but to check.

Yes, I reread your post and saw that you had verified proper length then edited my post. It is odd that a particular lot of primers has so much depth. I'm not sure I would be comfortable making the primer pockets deeper unless someone else has done it. Honestly, I've never checked for primer pocket depth so have no idea how much if any extra depth is acceptable. And I've never encountered primers that wouldn't properly seat (except military 30-06 brass with narrower primer pocket). This is weird. Have you contacted the manufacturer? Might just be a bad lot they are willing to replace.

 

[Alchemist]

I have already removed them and will just replace with CCI. All the calibers I used was belted. I think it might have something to do with the extra length of the primer and the belt. The cartridge seats and asit needs just that extra bit to lock. Typically ( What I thought at first ) is if the bullet is just not seated deep enough and pressing on the lands.

 

[fourfive8]

I use a primer pocket uniformer on all new brass. Then clean the pocket for each reloading. The primer needs to be seated with the anvil lightly pressed against the bottom of the pocket and the primer a couple thous. below the base of the case.

I use CCI 34s for all my large rifle magnum cartridges.

 

[Alchemist]

I use a primer pocket uniformer on all new brass. Then clean the pocket for each reloading. The primer needs to be seated with the anvil lightly pressed against the bottom of the pocket and the primer a couple thous. below the base of the case.

I use CCI 34s for all my large rifle magnum cartridges.

I pulled all bullets, recovered the powder, deprimed the WRE primers, and replaced them with CCI 250 as usual.
They all cycle and lock perfectly now.

 

[fourfive8]

I pulled all bullets, recovered the powder, deprimed the WRE primers, and replaced them with CCI 250 as usual.
They all cycle and lock perfectly now.

Good.
Lots of things affect good primer performance. Correct fit between primer and case is a major one. Introduced headspace and case fit to chamber is another. Improper fit with primers riding proud in the pocket can cause all kinds of issues not the least of which is slam fires in auto loaders. Across the board, I found the CCI 34 to be the most consistent so it is the only primer I use for large rifle magnum cartridges. The CCI 34 is a magnum primer.

A few years ago I set about to load the most reliable ammo possible for DG. 100% primer function/reliability was at top of the list. One often overlooked part of the formula is best seating and fit. Using a simple, end mill type pocket uniformer goes a long way toward that reliability. Seating the primer with light compression of the anvil helps ensure all the firing pin energy is used to ignite primer and not wasted on attempting to seat a primer not fully bottomed out in the pocket. After uniforming the pocket and fully seating the primer, it should sit at least .002” below base of case and anything between .002” and .005” being perfectly acceptable.

 

[Russ16]

Good.
Lots of things affect good primer performance. Correct fit between primer and case is a major one. Introduced headspace and case fit to chamber is another. Improper fit with primers riding proud in the pocket can cause all kinds of issues not the least of which is slam fires in auto loaders. Across the board, I found the CCI 34 to be the most consistent so it is the only primer I use for large rifle magnum cartridges. The CCI 34 is a magnum primer.

A few years ago I set about to load the most reliable ammo possible for DG. 100% primer function/reliability was at top of the list. One often overlooked part of the formula is best seating and fit. Using a simple, end mill type pocket uniformer goes a long way toward that reliability. Seating the primer with light compression of the anvil helps ensure all the firing pin energy is used to ignite primer and not wasted on attempting to seat a primer not fully bottomed out in the pocket. After uniforming the pocket and fully seating the primer, it should sit at least .002” below base of case and anything between .002” and .005” being perfectly acceptable.

How do you measure how far below the case base it is?

 

[fourfive8]

How do you measure how far below the case base it is?

Most simple digital calipers have a depth gauge on endopposite the dial indicator

Pics of end mill picket uniformer and measuring primer depth below base of case

B

 

[MacJenkins]

How do you measure how far below the case base it is?

I use the Precision Primer Gauge from Bullet Tipping. A lot more accurate than I can ever get with the end of a caliper.

 

[MacJenkins]

My local Sportsman's Warehouse has three different brands of large magnum rifle primers available. From everything I've seen, they seem to be hard to find.

They have Remington 9 1/2 M, CCI No. 250, and White River Energetics which is a newer brand. I didn't realize the White River Energetics were on the market yet. I spoke with them in 2023 at the SHOT Show and they were still building a plant in Arkansas.

I will eventually be loading for .375 H&H, .358 Norma Mag, 9.3x62, and .308 Norma Magnum.

I use 215's. But only because I got a rediculous deal on 5 or 6 sleeves 20ish years ago.

 

[Russ16]

I’ve had trouble with Remington Martin primers being a bit too tall. Getting them to seat below floss is difficult, and they frequently jam in my priming tool. I switched to Winchester and have had no problems.

 

[30.06king]

Sorry, haven't read this entire thread but can offer some use experience on White River primers. Here in NZ we had the same primer shortage nightmare and I had to resort to any alternative when my preferred Federals were unavailable. So far I have used only WR LR primers in mostly Norma brass. Yes, WR cups are deeper than other brands ( well documented by others online experience / comments ) and I need to use a little more muscle, or two priming pushes, in my RCBS Benchtop Priming Tool to seat under case head level. Only a couple wouldn't seat below head level and needed putting aside. So this is with Norma brass. When I experimentally tried some Remington and Sako brass the primers easily seated below head level so that may be a solution for some handloaders.
I can say shooting White Rivers has been great. I'vs now used several hundred and continue to use with confidence. I even did some comparisons against Federal 210 primers in 243W and 30.06 loads ( same brass batch / prep, powder, projectile, COAL, shot through same rifle ) and chronographed velocities and POI are near enough to identical. Never a dud or misfire. I think they are very good primers.
I also bought a few hundred WR Magnum primers but haven't tried any at this stage.