Small pistol primers. My first primers were CCI 500 small pistol primers. No problems. Next time I went to Academy all they had were Winchester. Much harder to seat. Some seated so deep that my 686 was putting a very small dimple into the primer when fired. 4 or 5 didn't fire first time. They fired 2nd time. Also my Lee hand primer loader was jamming up a lot.

Mike

I was using Winchester large pistol primers and noticed the same thing, switched to CCI and no problem. Using Dillon 550.

All I use is Winchester primers and have never had an issue. They are the best in my opinion. I use a Lee auto prime too.

I would think seating depth problems are more an issue with the cases you are using than the primers.

I guess that is why there are numerous brands though. So people can pick the ones they like best.

CCI, Winchester and Remington over 40 years I had a couple of duds but I haven't had trouble with primers. That's good because I have enough trouble with everything else. It's taken a long time but now I think I can make 9mm ammo that will work in all of my pistols and carbine.

PS: I've stocked up pretty good on small primers so I HOPE I don't have any problems with them.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I've had no real problems with Winchester primers myself. I will say that I have noticed that the unplated primers such as Winchester (and other unplated primers such as CCI 41 too) have more resistance to loading the feed tube than the nickel plated primers such as CCI 500 and CCI 550. I notice it when loading the old 50 count primer tubes for my RCBS Bench priming tool, which have aluminum pickup lips. With the modern primer tubes that do 100 count and have nylon lips I don't notice the difference so much. As for the actual priming, I feel no difference and have no seating differences between them.

Huge problem with Winchester primers for me.....I cannot seem to get enough!! They run 100% in all guns I run them in......

Randy

I use Winchester almost exclusively and have not experienced the problem you relate.

I use winchester exclusively , except when using IMR 4227 . Then I want a " full " magnum primer , not an " in between " LP and LPM like the winchester in my 44's etc . In 357 using the same powder I always use winchester spm primers . I have used winchester for years and will continue to do so . For a couple of years when primers were non existent I was forced to use Tula primers . They worked well also , but as soon as I could find winchester I went back to them .
Some think the accuracy drops if using spm primers w/2400 . I personally have never had that experience .

No disrespect or offense but it seems to be more operator or priming tool error.

How does one seat a primer to deep?? If they went bang than there is no problem with them.

If the primer is not seated deep enough you will get light strikes, that is why the fire the second strike (the first strike seats it a bit more)

Using the hand primer can result in primer seating problems.

Win primers actually seat very well as well or better than CCI
they all go bang.

I doubt that there is an issue with the primers.

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Still Running Against the Wind

Never had a problem with any primer, Winchester, CCI or S&B all seat fine. I use an RCBS bench priming tool.

Ditto. never a primer problem of any kind or brand for a great many years. At present, I use mainly Winchester and CCI.

I had issues with a bunch of Winchester SPs not going bang a few years back. I switched to CCI and Federal and never had another failure. I have since picked up a few Winchester primers when nothing else was available. I haven't had problems with them lately. They are still my last choice in primers. One issue I, personally, have is that I hand feed all my primers into the primer cup on my press. The Winchesters tend to stick to my fingers, unlike other primers. Don't know if it is that they don't bother to plate them, or if the anvils stick up a little further. Anyway, I have a lot more trouble with primers on the floor with Winchesters.

My only problem is finding some. Pistol primers are getting real scarce around these parts. I hope this isn't the start of something.

I have used CCI for 45 years. When I couldn't get any and the LGS said Win were equal I bought several thousand. Won't ever buy them again.

Same issues - sticking in the Lee primer tubes and hard to seat. I didn't have a depth problem though.

I believe its the non plating thing that's the issue.

I used to use CCI primers almost exclusively because it was all I could get. The one exception was Reminton primers for my .25 ACP loads since my RG-25 couldn't hit the CCIss hard enough to set them off.

Now, I use Winchester exclusively since it is all I can get locally.

I have had no problems with either of them. So far (and this dates back to the 1970's), I have never had a primer fail when struck hard enough.

Also, because some of my equipment does date back to the 1970's, I use an old RCBS hand priming tool that allows me to "feel" each primer as it seats. No trays, no primer tubes.

Not a bit of problem with Winchester or CCI. I have & use thousands of both. I prime with three different methods. RCBS hand squeezer primer, Dillon 650, and the Redding single press. Of course, I always inspect my finished product.

Anyway, whenever I see these problems listed with Winchester, I say "Baa". They work just as well as the CCI. My inventory looks to be close to a 50/50 split.

our Dillon 550B doesn't like Winchester primers.... nor did the feed on our old Rockchucker, we figured that they must not be round enough for them... plus several would be partially crushed seating them in civilian brass... but every good one fired without problems & produced accurate loads. But it has been since the early 90's since I bought any... CCI primers work perfectly through our Dillon 550B & RCBS Rockchucker., I've tried no other brands.

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be safe,enjoylife,journey well

What kind of brass are you using, and could that be the issue? I also feel that the plated primers seat easier for me, but I've not had any problems with the Winchesters.

I did a test about a year ago. I loaded the exact same load (9mm), 25 rounds each with Fed, Remington, CCI, &Win primers. I ran all over the chronograph, and there was less than a 1% variation in any of the loads. Accuracy was literally the same. I no longer get concerned about any pistol primers. Now, when it comes to my rifle loads, I want pin point accuracy for 300 - 500 yard Prairie Dog's I use only Fed.210M primers.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Years ago we had a batch of bad Winchester primers. That was back when I was shooting IPSC and also in the gun business. A lot of the local shooters bought their supplies from me and we all had issues. We returned the remainder of the lot to Winchester and they replaced them and then some.


As far as hard seating, I have always had that problem with CCI's but never Win. or Fed.

No problemo for me;used them in Lee,Rcbs and 2 Dillons.
Qc

No problems here either.

All CCI & Winchester primers fired without a hitch today. At least a couple of hundred. Some loaded with a single press, and others on the Dillon 650.
All were inspected prior to use.

No misfires, but the last batch of spp were much harder to seat than Federal, which is what I normally use.

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Common sense isn't so common.

All primer prices are too high, probably will go even higher.

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S&WHF 366

Winchester primers have been my go-to primers for years, sp, lp, 209s (shot shell), etc., not one issue. I've also had good luck with Federal and CCI, but generally just go with the Winchesters.

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NRA Life Member

No problems with Winchester or Remington and I have some still from the 1950's. I have had a FEW of CCI from the 70's that had died out but they were bought from an estate and I have no idea how they were stored.I have CCI's that are older than that that have given no problems but I bought them new and have stored them correctly over the many years that I have had them.


Eddie

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Grumpy Old Man With a Gun