Ive never used Remington small pistol primers mainly because theyre honestly not as common as say cci or federal but I was in a local(ish) store the other day and low and behold they had an endcap with about 30 boxes of primers with the Remington among them. They had Federal too but that was it, Remington and Federal. I noticed though that the had Remington 1 1/2 and 5 1/2 primers. I figured the 5 1/2 had to be mag primers even though neither said magnum anywhere so I jumped on googley to look and read that the only difference is that the 5 1/2 have a thicker cup material for higher pressure cartridges. Is this true?

I bought some anyway because I needed them, and a box of cci 41 rifle primers which are all I use so I was really happy to find those there.

My last purchase was with the big boxed, Federal primers.

Did you notice how "Small" in size the Remington package of 100 primers was
compared to the HUGE Federal container !!

Hope they do well for you & enjoy your shooting time.

Yes, I dont understand why Federal has to use those huge boxes and trays. I remember buying 5 boxes of Federal GM155M primers ( for $25a box) and when they shiwed ip the box they were shipped in was so big I thought he must have sent too many.
Plus, I almost always hand prime and the federals are impossible to dump in the tray without spilling a few.

I would probably buy anything I saw on a shelf just to avoid shipping and hazmat charges. Haven't seen a primer for sale anywhere except the internet for years. Stoped going to gun shows because I knew I wouldn't pay their prices. Yes, the Federal boxes are annoying, but again, if I could pick it up with my hands I would buy it.

I've used a lot of Remington SPP over the years - the most recent batch of 1 1/2s that I've been using (certainly at least 10 years since I bought it) seem to be softer than usual and sometimes give a vaguely troubling appearance after firing (odd enough that I've worried about pressures before figuring out it was just these primers). They've worked fine, but they're weird enough that I'm not using this batch of the Remington 1 1/2s for any serious-business loads (but then I never did - I always use Winchester or CCI for those).

See what I mean?


Yes, those are 1 1/2s

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I expect Federal saves a bunch on having all their primers go in the same size boxes. I've found alternative uses for the PP trays. If you've got a man cave and want manly coasters, they're perfect. With a wee bit of epoxy fill to level the floor out they're great as a place to put small parts while working on anything with small parts.

Maybe Remington is recycling spent primers
and they just did not pound out that one funny looking primer, enough?

That ammo box with two different looking primer strikes........
were they the same type loads?

Reality being what it is, the possibility of a bad batch here or there among the billions produced, though small, is a given.

Having said that . . . . Having been a reloader for 45 years I have used most every brand available to me at one time or another from the big American manufacturers to obscure European offerings. The ONLY brand I ever had trouble with (to date) was a couple of cases of Remington primers I purchased in the late 80's. Bought from a major supplier at the time, I don't know if they had been improperly stored, severely mishandled, or just produced at a bad day at the factory , but I had enough problems from selecting random sleeves of primers from the 10,000 purchased (after the first few tried were erratic in ignition) that I wound up having to dump the whole load.

Needless to say, that soured me on Remington primers. Lots of folks I have known over the years used nothing else and swore by them, never having a similar experience. So I admit it had to be bad luck and an aberration . . . but . . . human nature being what it is, once burned . . . ..

So I stuck with Winchester and Federals for the bulk of my loading since, though did have a stock of some Magtech's from a previous primer drought and have yet to try but bought a small selection of the new offering out of Venezuela recently.

I figure it's like the Ford versus Chevy debate - you gravitate what you've gotten good service from in the past, especially if when you strayed to the other side out of curiosity/peer pressure, good deals or whatever and got stuck with a lemon. You just tend to stick with what has worked for you.

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Your Google search was correct.

I've used the Remington 1 1/2 SP for 32 S&Ws, and 38 Special target loads for PPC competitions. It's always been my go-to primer for the standard revolver rounds above. One advantage to the 1 1/2 SP is that they will ignite in finicky match revolvers that operate with a minimum mainspring weight for double action shooting due to their thin cup. While shooting on the PD's pistol team, I'd buy them by the brick, and I don't recall any issues with them.

The 5 1/2s are great for +P 38s, the 357, and the 9mm Parabellum.

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Keep your powder dry.

Buy Remington 5 1/2 only.

So how much did a few boxes of primers set you back?

No. And the funny looking primer has been shot, by me. That's what I mean by weird.

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In my 2 years of experience reloading I've used CCI, Remington and Federal and I can honestly say I can't tell the difference.

I have some Remington 1.5s small pistol I purchased around the last shortage or the one before. I get a lot of pierced primers with low pressure loads hence I still have them since they are my last resort small pistol primers

Erich has pierced primers in those small pistol 45 acp. Not a good thing as it will erode firing pin and breach face

I've used a couple of thousand in the past and would not hesitate to buy more. I really do like the compact packaging.

I use 1 1/2s in mild to midrange loads in 9mm.
I'm down to my last 200; wonder if I can find any of the same lot number?

I have gotten 2 batches of suspect primers. Got quite a few no fires with Federal primers in one batch and the others were CCI's. Quite a few pierced primers. Both companies replaced with new lots. I also caught a recall on primers once...they(Winchester) sent me 5000 new lot before I ever fired one. Lot of years ago. I also had 8 cases of Winchester AAs that pierced one or 2 primers per box. Replaced by my local Winchester sales rep...yeah all the companies had them

Federal primers come in such a big box because they are quite a bit more explosive than CCI, Win, or Remington and have thinner cups. This is why both Dillon and Lee forbid the use of Federal primers in their equipment. Lee performed a destructive test of their Autoprime where they intentionally detonated a primer in the tool. Federal was the only brand that sparked a chain detonation of the other primers in the tray. Once they are seated I am sure they are as safe as any brand. But the huge cushioned packaging is a clue.


Remington 1 1/2 have a softer cup than the 5 1/2. This is the primer you want if you have a tuned mainspring. Maybe not the best choice when pushing pressure limits. The 5 1/2 has a thicker cup and roughly equates to their SPM.

They weren't actually pierced, just smooshed far beyond normal.

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How God has blessed us!

It’s looks like black carbon in the firing pin indent in the picture . If it is then you have a pierced primer. May be just the way the picture looks but you usually can’t see the tiny hole in the primer if pierced in a handgun round.

I am looking at the 45 acp in federal cases with spp. Notice you have one fired federal spp case that is normal without carbon.

Yes. They were NOT pierced. Thanks for your thoughts.

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How God has blessed us!

Although I'm not thrilled about the "shoe boxes" they come in, Federal & AE primers are my favorite when they are available. I guess they put them in huge boxes for possible liability and shipping issues.

Although I don't hold Remington loaded ammunition in very high regard (hopefully now that they've been bought by Federal that will change), their primers seem to be just fine and I've used a fair share of them.

Winchester primers work just fine but I hold a grudge against them for no longer nickel plating them. Just cosmetics and they do work fine, but I do like the Nickeled ones better if available at reasonable prices - yea, right (reasonable).

CCI primers work well also but are usually the most expensive. Some say they are "hard".

Bottom line THESE DAYS...... I buy what is available at the best prices. I stick with the 4 USA made brands above and I have never had any issues with any of them.

NOTE: Some people say that they don't use CCI because they are too hard. Well, I personally would never tweak any firearm so that they would be that sensitive to any brand of primers! If any brand did not work reliably, I'd make the primer strike a bit harder until every one worked regardless of brand. In fact, when I do work on handguns for competition, the true test is they must set off 100% of CCI primers with good hits.

I've not used any foreign made primers and thankfully I believe I now have enough primers for the long haul anyway.

Short answer is that is done to prevent mass detonation in shipping. In doing shipping container testing they determined this new packaging style will prevent mass detonation.

All brands of primers are made from "unobtanium" around here for the last two years.

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Vietnam Vet 6/66-12/67

Stopped by my local pawn shop/fishing shop/gun shop yesterday. They had Federal Gold Medal primers at $110 per 1000. Not on a shelf, but inside a locked display case.

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Shoot, I was in a pawnshop the other day and they had primers for, now get this, $229 per 1k!! Really? Never.

I bought a brick of CCI small pistol primers at the last gunshow. He had a Crisco can full of old (wooden separate box) Winchester primers that were actually rusty. He said he would sell cheap, Not to me. At the bottom of the can was a brick of green box CCI. I ask how much, He said $40.00 with no guarantee they will work. Took a chance, offered $35.00 and he took it. I opened the box and the primers looked good.
SWCA 892

Holy highway robbery, Batman!

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

Pawnshop?
I think you meant CONshop.....

Oh believe me, I didnt even give them a second thought. Thats freakin ridiculous.

I doubt anyone here thought you did give it a thought!!!

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SWCA #3437

Just to add about the Remington 1 1/2 - from Midway's website:

Special Note:
These primers are NOT recommended for loading high pressure loads such as 357 Mag, 357 Sig or 40 S&W. Please consult a Reputable Loading Manual for loading data.

I've been reloading a lot longer, but I'd have to agree performance wise. I haven't really had a problem with any brand. CCI's seem to be a little harder to seat. But just a little. I generally buy Winchesters if I have a choice as I have a lot of Winchester .38 brass. But I've shot thousands of all the domestic brands. Small pistol primers are a commodity to me.

Now I've never used Alcan. I'm not that old.