"Bad" Primers?
- Thread starter GypsmJim
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I have nothing bad to say about any of the primers I have bought and used during the "drought." I have used the Argentinian S/A primers and Fiocchi primers. I have previously bought and used S&B primers. All went BANG when they were supposed to. I mostly used Winchester before then, as well as CCI and Remington as available.
Never run into a "bad" primer, so far. American, Argentinian, Russian; they all seem to work for me. Some may be more appropriate for certain applications, but I have no complaints about any.
I have used Remington, CCI, CCI OEM, Winchester, Federal, S&B, Wolf, and TulAmmo (Wolf.)
The only time I've experience fail to fire that I'm absolutely certain is not the fault of the firearm has been with Wolf. And just for the sake of clarity, I'm talking about Wolf primers from early 2000's and my failure has been 3 or 4 occasions out of approximately 10,000+ primers.
I have not yet tried any of the new foreign primers we've seen in the last 3-4 years (I hope to!) and I also don't think S&B component primers are available (new) anymore after a massive and tragic explosion at the plant several years ago.
The only time I've experience fail to fire that I'm absolutely certain is not the fault of the firearm has been with Wolf. And just for the sake of clarity, I'm talking about Wolf primers from early 2000's and my failure has been 3 or 4 occasions out of approximately 10,000+ primers.
I have not yet tried any of the new foreign primers we've seen in the last 3-4 years (I hope to!) and I also don't think S&B component primers are available (new) anymore after a massive and tragic explosion at the plant several years ago.
I bought 2K Aguila this past July, and they all go bang, but I'm having issues with piercing , never had issues with Fed. CCI or Winchester using the same reloader and guns
Model19man
SWCA Member
I bought 1K of the Aquilla SPP's last year. I reloaded 100 rounds using them. About 10 failed to go off when I pulled the trigger. So they all (900 of them) went in the trash. Never had this problem before. Don't want it ever again.
rockquarry
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Since 1965, I've used far more CCI than anything else in all sizes, but I've also used most all American made primers at one time or another without complaint. Never tried any of the foreign primers, though they may be fine.
I've used primers from most or all of the American brands and half a dozen foreign brands with generally excellent results. The only issue I've had is the Fiocchi LRP kept hanging up in the primer feed of my Dillon progressive.
I have not used CCI primers in over 20 years. I got a thousand SPP that were very hard to seat and haven't used them since. I prefer Winchester, but have used Fiocchi, Remington, and Federal. Federal has a reputation of being the easiest to ignite and is preferred by those folks that tune their guns for competition. I bought a few thousand Ginex a few years ago and it seemed to me they were a little harder to ignite, as several needed a couple of hits to go.
If you have been happy with CCI, you can use just about anything! At least American made.
If you have been happy with CCI, you can use just about anything! At least American made.
What firearm did they fail in?
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I have used 95% Winchester primers for forty years. I think I just got my first bad ones.
I had a box of 100 with 40 misfires. After pulling them all and inspecting them the only possible conclusions are they were either bad or I somehow randomly contaminated them. I don't see how that's possible. This box dates to 2012 so can't blame post-COVID issues.
I find the Argentine ones difficult to seat, but that might depend somewhat on what equipment you use. I had a bunch of misfires with them but it turned out I wasn't seating them deep enough. They were very tight and it was hard to feel. I'd use them again if that was all I could get. Or they were cheap.
The bad primers looked like they tried to fire, but had an odd sort of greenish tint. But they were burnt a little but not like normal. The powder was dry and lit fine on the ground.
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Those look like they have trench foot. Gross.
gwpercle
Member
I have been reloading for over 50 years and tried every brand that I could get my hands on ... all of the big name Americian makers are fine .
Winchester , Federal , Remington , Magtech and a brand called Sellier & Bellot ... all have been used and all are fine .
I even scored a supply of Alcan large and small primers from yester-year old stock ... and 30 year old Alcan primers are working just fine .
I don't know about the primers coming from other , third world , countries ... I've heard about some called "Cheddite" or something to that name ... but have never bought or tried any .
Hope this helps , good luck in the primer hunt ,
Gary
Winchester , Federal , Remington , Magtech and a brand called Sellier & Bellot ... all have been used and all are fine .
I even scored a supply of Alcan large and small primers from yester-year old stock ... and 30 year old Alcan primers are working just fine .
I don't know about the primers coming from other , third world , countries ... I've heard about some called "Cheddite" or something to that name ... but have never bought or tried any .
Hope this helps , good luck in the primer hunt ,
Gary
To me they all go bang. What you may notice is the effort required to seat them. I still use the old Lee round tray priming tool so you really get a good feel. I guess least favorite is the Ginex so I use them in my Dillon SDB where it doesn't really matter. That said, now that I have been able to buy some other brands (Win, CCI, Fed) I have put them on the shelf and will save them for the next primer shortage, it's just a matter of when.
Boudiepitbull
Member
I'm working my way through a brick of 5000 Ginex Small Pistol Primers with .380, 9mm, and .357 plinking rounds. My only complaint with them is they don't seat consistently in certain head stamps, most notably in Sellier & Bellot brass. No big deal, once I realized I just sorted them during case prep and took them out of the rotation. My OCD loves that kind of sorting task. No failures to fire, just a few primers either crumpled or sitting proud.
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Rpg
Member
I started reloading with a Lee Loader and 20 ga shotgun shells in about 1964 with Alcan wads and primers. Since then, I’ve used all the American branded primers but haven’t run into many of the foreign brands.
I’ve not avoided primers outside the CCI, Remington, Winchester, Alcan domestic family such as S&B, I just haven’t used them.
I’ve not avoided primers outside the CCI, Remington, Winchester, Alcan domestic family such as S&B, I just haven’t used them.
Model19man
SWCA Member
My Model 19 S&W and a Colt New Navy in 41 LC. My colt New Navy is pristine:
My Model 19 is too.
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Just had WSPM defective primers. Another guy WSP just lately. Took 50 years for me.
In 2013, many WLR problems. Their customer service will repair bolt faces & exchange primers or send a check for replacement cost of new primers.
Other brand have problems , over the years.
Personally, Win WSPN, Rem 9 1/2 for me. I will still buy WLP for 45acp & 44 mag.
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...3-large-rifle-primer-defect-history.4807/full
In 2013, many WLR problems. Their customer service will repair bolt faces & exchange primers or send a check for replacement cost of new primers.
Other brand have problems , over the years.
Personally, Win WSPN, Rem 9 1/2 for me. I will still buy WLP for 45acp & 44 mag.
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...3-large-rifle-primer-defect-history.4807/full
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