Primer Question

[foxshooter69]

Hi all,

Starting to dip my toe into reloading, now my questions are. Is it best practice to stick with one primer or doesn't it make any difference if I swap and change with regards to what is available when I need them. Do I need to try several primers before I find one that's right for me and my calibers or does this not make any difference, are there ones I should stay away from. .243Win and .30-06Spr.

Thanks

FS

 

[Steff]

Choose a primer and stick with it. This is not to say that a different primer will always "mess up" your load, but it might.

 

[Jagged77]

I would see what suits in terms of availability and price and go with that one option. For me, my go to is CCI 200

 

[finnbear270]

Any component changes should involve a little care.

 

[foxshooter69]

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated

 

[finnbear270]

Any component changes should involve a little care.

You are probably already aware, but in case other less versed might be looking in, an important one is different brass case manufacturer's case volumes can differ quite a bit.

 

[Heym SR20]

Primers can make quite a difference to pressures. A “hotter” primer will ignite more powder initially, and thus you will get a quicker and faster burn. Think lighting a fire with a blow torch compared to a flint and steel.

2 Golden rules or reloading

1) keep everything consistent - same components, measures, weights, pressures etc

2) if you change anything, go back to starting loads and work up again.

And primers are definitely one component I want still sealed when I buy. Very easy to drop them and then pick them all up and put back into their packets all nicely mixed up - don’t ask me how I know.

 

[Cyres]

It will.be more if a case of which primers you can buy.
In the good old days CCI or Remington now it appears only Magtec are readily available. Once you get a good load stick with it and if you change primers it is wise to work up a load again.
D

 

[Tikkat1x]

i started with cci SRP in my 223, then couldnt get any so ended up with magtech, id read there not as good then i read there absolutely fine, and when one of the people saying there good primers is Laurie holland, then i tend to believe it, for safety reasons i worked my loads up again from scratch, only to end up at pretty much the exact same place, shooting the exact same groups, now thats not to say that will happen all the time for everyone, moral of my story, buy magtech and know you will always be able to get them, for me theres a few cci about again but im ok with magtech now and there about £30-£40 per thou cheaper,

 

[Pedro]

Playing with different components is always potentially going to change how a round reacts. For this reason, continuity is your friend. It's probably a good idea to choose a primer that's more likely to be available for that reason (if there is such a beast). However, any differences are unlikely to be noticeable at normal stalking ranges. So, I wouldn't forego any outings just because your usual primers are out of stock. If you are shooting on a range and want to have continuity and accuracy and small margins matter, it'll maybe be different for you though.

One of the most annoying things in the world is if you have built up loads for your rifles and then your go to powder gets cancelled, either by the manufacturer or because it's no longer Reach compliant. But that's another story.