223 Primers

buddyb

My reloading manual calls for small magnum rifle primers for 223 so that is what I have always used.But why magnum primers?

cletus85

some manuals suggest magnum primers when using Ball type powder. As much as some will probably disagree with this, I use magnum match primers in all of my hunting loads to ensure ignition in very cold weather. This practice has never failed me in the field. I still demand sub MOA groups out of my hunting rifles and have never failed to get it with proper load techniques.

richbug

I had some issues with a light charge of ball powder when loading for 223. The primer pushed the bullet into the lands, but didn't ignite the powder, had to get a rod and tap the bullet out every time that happened. I think it was wc846, with a CCI400. I was probably 20% below max. I switched to CCI450's and the problem went away.

.

nononsense

buddyb,

This is a reprint of an internet Q&A letter. I think that the answer is basically correct for top accuracy as needed for targets. But I disagree when it comes to hunting rifles with ball powders and cold weather. Under these circumstances, Magnum primers can fulfill a necessary function. I highlighted the term BRISANCE because it is the term used in the description of the overall activity of primers as taken from the field of advanced explosives.

From: bartb@hpfcla.fc.hp.com (Bart Bobbitt)
Subject: Re: Accuracy via microprocessor control ?
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Fort Collins Site

Randy Howard (jrh@mustang.us.dell.com) wrote:

: I'm curious what you mean by "mild"?

By mild, I mean primers that produce just enough heat to properly ignite
the powder. As primer brisance (heat/energy) gets higher, it also gets
less repeatable from primer to primer. Competitive shooters have found
that the milder primers give both better velocity uniformity and accuracy.
But they aren't after every last fps of speed nor ft/lb of muzzle energy;
just putting all fired shots in as small a group as possible.

: A lot of reloading articles I have
: read seem to indicate that it's better to use magnum primers in all
: rifle cartridges (starting with a lower powder charge than normal and
: working up of course) because they will result in more consistent ignition.

This is true with most ball powders, the type most folks tend to use in
rifles because they meter very uniform charge weights from measures. But
when accuracy is the objective, extruded powders are used and so are mild
primers such as Federal 205M, RWS small rifle, Rem. 7-1/2 BR small rifle
primers. The mildest large rifle primers are Remington 9-1/2 standards and
RWS5341s and they are also the most uniform of large rifle primers. Some
lots of Federal 210Ms are very uniform and others are not; these are not very
mild primers.

But then virtually all folks writing reloading articles for magazines have
no real knowledge of what they are talking about in the first place. When
you consider that most of 'em don't have what it takes to shoot 1/10th MOA
groups at 100 yards nor 6-in. groups at 1000 yards, how in the heck can one
consider their information worthwhile regarding accuracy. They put
enthusiasm and egos in print; not reality. But they get paid for it in
spite of not having any skill or knowledge in putting together a valid set
of tests to produce statistically significant results, then publish those
results in an unbiased manner to boot.

: It sounds like you feel the opposite is true.

So do hundreds of others who have observed the results of lots of primer
makes and types being used by the hundreds of thousands of rounds fired.

BB