Attention veteran reloaders I have a question!

[greg vess]

I called my little off the beaten trail Gun shop and had them set some small rifle primers aside for me. They had several different kinds but I asked for the CCI ones. When I received them yesterday I didn't pay much attention but today I went and looked and they are CCI number 400s which are the small Magnum rifle primers. What if any differences will I see by using the Magnum primers as opposed to the standard primers? If there is a difference what steps do I need to take in order to get the same results as far as accuracy and performance? I can take him back and switch them out but I'm wondering if it's worth it since it's a pretty good ways away. Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

 

[greg vess]

Oh I forgot to mention the only rounds I'll be using them in are the 223/5.56 ammo and my 6.8 SPC 2 ammo.

 

[BHPSteel]

Magnum primers typically burn hotter and longer having a greater amount of primer material.

Most sources will recommend that you redevelop your load based on the change, since the change could alter your chamber pressures.

BTW, CCI #400 are Small Rifle primers. CCI #450 are Small Rifle Magnum primers

 

[JBWJr]

Good read:

Magnum Primers vs Standard Primers

There are some significant differences in the magnum primers and standard primers for different guns. We're going to talk about what a primer is and why it's a necessary part of reloading. We'll also get into just what the biggest differences between standard primers and magnum primers are, and...

thecastlearms.com

 

[JBWJr]

From the Firing Line billboard forum:

"The use of magnum primers is usually based on the powder used. The thinking being that ball or spherical powders are more difficult to ignite so a magnum primer is frequently called out. This shows up quite a bit in the Speer #12 manual. For example using powders like 748, AA2460, H335, and BL-C(2) they suggest magnum primers. Using powders like IMR4895, IMR3031, IMR4198, N133 and other stick powders a standard small rifle primer is called out. That said, looking at for example the Hornady 9th Edition the same powders Speer suggested a magnum primer for Hornady suggest a standard Winchester Small Rifle primer for.

I recently tried using four different primers, CCI 400 Small Rifle, CCI 450 Small Rifle Magnum, CCI #41 for 5.56 and CCI BR-4 Bench Rest. The CCI 450 and CCI #41 are both magnum primers. Everything else was identical, H335 Powder 26.1gr. Sierra 53gr. BTHP Match bullets and LC 11 brass all trimmed to 1.750" and all shot over the chronograph in 10 shot groups. The difference wasn't all that great and from my 1:12 twist bolt gun the groups were close in size.

My advice is find a powder and primer you like and work up your loads using whatever your load data suggest. The .223 Remington is not a large high volume cartridge and unless you plan to shoot in Antarctica I would not worry about using magnum primers. Just see what works best for your rifle."

 

[greg vess]

Magnum primers typically burn hotter and longer having a greater amount of primer material.

Most sources will recommend that you redevelop your load based on the change, since the change could alter your chamber pressures.

BTW, CCI #400 are Small Rifle primers. CCI #450 are Small Rifle Magnum primers

You are right. My receipt said # 450 small rifle
Magnum primers. I just looked at the box and it says #400 small rifle primers. Sorry for the mix up there. So all is good and the same I have been using all along. It has been a while since I purchased them and was a tad mislead by the receipt. I do appreciate you pointing that out or I would have started tinkering with my loads and my 6.8spcll loads are perfect. Oh well I have been known to make mistakes and I am sure it won't be the last one.

 

[greg vess]

From the Firing Line billboard forum:

"The use of magnum primers is usually based on the powder used. The thinking being that ball or spherical powders are more difficult to ignite so a magnum primer is frequently called out. This shows up quite a bit in the Speer #12 manual. For example using powders like 748, AA2460, H335, and BL-C(2) they suggest magnum primers. Using powders like IMR4895, IMR3031, IMR4198, N133 and other stick powders a standard small rifle primer is called out. That said, looking at for example the Hornady 9th Edition the same powders Speer suggested a magnum primer for Hornady suggest a standard Winchester Small Rifle primer for.

I recently tried using four different primers, CCI 400 Small Rifle, CCI 450 Small Rifle Magnum, CCI #41 for 5.56 and CCI BR-4 Bench Rest. The CCI 450 and CCI #41 are both magnum primers. Everything else was identical, H335 Powder 26.1gr. Sierra 53gr. BTHP Match bullets and LC 11 brass all trimmed to 1.750" and all shot over the chronograph in 10 shot groups. The difference wasn't all that great and from my 1:12 twist bolt gun the groups were close in size.

My advice is find a powder and primer you like and work up your loads using whatever your load data suggest. The .223 Remington is not a large high volume cartridge and unless you plan to shoot in Antarctica I would not worry about using magnum primers. Just see what works best for your rifle."

Like I said in the previous post my 6.8 SPC loads are perfect for the barrels that I have. However my 223 rounds could use a little refinement. So far the best combo I've come up with is 23.5 grs. of Varget under a 69 grain RMR projectile. It's not quite as accurate as I would like but it's sure better than a lot of the other stuff I've tried. I need to try that powder charge on some potentially better projectiles. It could be that the Rocky Mountain reloading pills are just not as accurate as some of the better match projectiles out there.

 

[D_Max]

Like I said in the previous post my 6.8 SPC loads are perfect for the barrels that I have. However my 223 rounds could use a little refinement. So far the best combo I've come up with is 23.5 grs. of Varget under a 69 grain RMR projectile. It's not quite as accurate as I would like but it's sure better than a lot of the other stuff I've tried. I need to try that powder charge on some potentially better projectiles. It could be that the Rocky Mountain reloading pills are just not as accurate as some of the better match projectiles out there.

Get some Smk bullets. Its pretty hard to beat those

 

[BHPSteel]

Don't forget that in future, you have the option of #41 Small military rifle primers. From the specs, they look like they're just a bit harder than standard primers, but sometimes I've seen those when no other alternatives are available.

 

[Frankmako]

i use mag primers for all my pistol/rifle loads. my tests over my chronograph with standard primers vr mag primers does not make much different,,,,, about 5 to 25 fps. so for me,, pistol/rifle reloads i use mag primers. run your own tests to see.