I use CCI and Winchester , no issues with primers . I want to address the Federals being soft is a known fact . The ATF will use Federal ammo when testing your gun to prove it is a machine gun for that reason. The Lee hand priming tool was redesigned due to issues with Federal primers .
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Best Pistol Primers?
- Thread starter Beerman
- Start date
Federal has been making primers since 1922 if they were unsafe they would have long been out of business. Answer me this, why is the lee tool the ONLY tool that seemed to have a problem with the primers? I have like many other reloaders primed sideways backwards forwards and any which way but loose. I have NEVER had an issue with ANY primer detonating. If someone else has had an issue I am sorry. I just think from my personal experience on rapid fire with ar's and ak's fal's and all in between never had a problem or seen any difference as a matter of fact the federal primers have the same primer dent( when you rack the weapon or drop the bolt carrier down due to floating firing pin) in them as any other that runs through an ar15. They don't go off though until you pull the trigger. As a matter of fact all the small arms contracts are made by Federal(5.56 and 7.62) and the 9mm is made by Winchester (Olin Corp) and Federal. Now why would the army want to field something that was dangerous(create runaways in a pistol)?
On second thought, those Federal Primers are evil an dangerous, and I will gladly remove them from your inventory, if you don't want em'.
On second thought, those Federal Primers are evil an dangerous, and I will gladly remove them from your inventory, if you don't want em'.
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The Lee hand tool was ruined due to the Federal primers. I hate the new model. Purely a piece of crap in my hands.
Lawyers are the biggest reason anything is expensive, ruined, or out of production all together. Liability disclaimers are a fact of life now.
Never bad problems with Tula or Wolf. Only had one bad primer in all my reloading and it was a Winchester.
I use the Federal 100 because they are softer and a fire better with the lighter spring setup for Cowboy Action shooting.
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I've had no issues with TULA / Wolf, and my only issue with CCI / Winchester / Remington is PRICE!
I have used Federal primers for a while and have not had any problems so far.
I've used all the major brands of primers at one time or another, including Wolf (large pistol only.) They all work pretty well.
Federal are the softest cup primers on the market. They are therefore the easiest to ignite. For this reason they are - at least have been in the past - preferred by various types of target shooters as the hammer spring can be lightened and still ignite the primer. The downside is they are the easiest to crush during primer seating. I've not had much problem with them using the Lee Hand Primer device (which I've had since the 1970s or so) but they tend to crush in my Dillon XL 650 if they don't line up perfectly with the primer pocket. Not many, probably not more than two or three per hundred, but it is annoying. I don't recall any particular misfire problem with them.
Remington primers are the next softest. Shooting PPC some years ago, most competitors liked either Federal or Remington for sure ignition with light springs. They don't crush so much with the Dillon press. No particular misfire rate.
CCI, Winchester and Wolf are all three about the same in cup construction and sensitivity. They run fine through my Dillons and normally go bang when struck with normal impact levels of hammer or striker springs.
As long as I'm on the subject, I loaded fifty round lots of .45 ACP hardball ammunition, with the same basic case, bullet and powder (WW 231) and the only difference being primers: Winchester, Remington and Wolf (all large pistol primers, of course.) Accuracy was similar enough to be indistinguishable and the averages of all three lots were within 20 f/s or so. So in my mind, no difference at all.
Most of the primers in my stock are Winchester, but only because that was what I could find most easily. (I used to buy primers exclusively at gun shows.) I have no problem with CCI, Remington or Wolf. Federal is my least favorite, only because they seem to crush the easiest in my application. Once installed, they are just fine. If I had a choice of all of them, I'd go with lowest price.
Federal are the softest cup primers on the market. They are therefore the easiest to ignite. For this reason they are - at least have been in the past - preferred by various types of target shooters as the hammer spring can be lightened and still ignite the primer. The downside is they are the easiest to crush during primer seating. I've not had much problem with them using the Lee Hand Primer device (which I've had since the 1970s or so) but they tend to crush in my Dillon XL 650 if they don't line up perfectly with the primer pocket. Not many, probably not more than two or three per hundred, but it is annoying. I don't recall any particular misfire problem with them.
Remington primers are the next softest. Shooting PPC some years ago, most competitors liked either Federal or Remington for sure ignition with light springs. They don't crush so much with the Dillon press. No particular misfire rate.
CCI, Winchester and Wolf are all three about the same in cup construction and sensitivity. They run fine through my Dillons and normally go bang when struck with normal impact levels of hammer or striker springs.
As long as I'm on the subject, I loaded fifty round lots of .45 ACP hardball ammunition, with the same basic case, bullet and powder (WW 231) and the only difference being primers: Winchester, Remington and Wolf (all large pistol primers, of course.) Accuracy was similar enough to be indistinguishable and the averages of all three lots were within 20 f/s or so. So in my mind, no difference at all.
Most of the primers in my stock are Winchester, but only because that was what I could find most easily. (I used to buy primers exclusively at gun shows.) I have no problem with CCI, Remington or Wolf. Federal is my least favorite, only because they seem to crush the easiest in my application. Once installed, they are just fine. If I had a choice of all of them, I'd go with lowest price.
