Pistol Cases & Primers, What’s the Difference?

[Richardf8]

How important is case for reloading pistol bullets? Take for instance W-W, Winchester, Speer, S&W, and Federal etc.? I was always under the assumption the all cases meet a minimum requirement.


What about the primers, Winchester, Federal, CCI, etc.? I understand the different between magnum and standard primers

 

[DR505]

Some cases seem to be more consistent (roundness, length, weight, etc.) than others. I prefer Starline cases myself. You may find different brand cases of the same cartridge hold slightly different amounts of powder (you can check using water). Some cases seem a bit more brittle than others and you may get fewer reloads out of them.

As for primers, some are known to be a bit easier to ignite (such as Federal) while others may be harder to ignite (CCI). This can make a difference when one does an action job like swapping springs...the hammer/firing pin may not strike as hard as the stock action and may ignite some, but not other, primers. I had this issue in a used Model 13-4 I purchased. It had a lighter main spring and gave me about 50% ignition. Swapped back to factory spring and 100% ignition.

 

[Speedo2]

Here's a link to some case info:

Some (probably useless) Brass Facts

My conclusion: unless you're Rob Latham of Jerry Micklich, segregating case head stamps probably doesn't matter. Of course, at their level of proficiency they probably aren't shooting reloads. -S2

 

[BillBro]

Some cases have more internal capacity, some less. Some cases have better brass, some not so much. Some cases you can reload many, many times, some not so much, though straightwall pistol brass is a bit more forgiving. Some cases just seem to resize better than others, the primer pockets may stay tighter longer than others.
Perhaps it comes down to personal preference. Personally, believe it or not, I really like S&B cases especially for my 6.8spc and their 45acp brass is fantastic too.

 

[Miracle Man]

How important is case for reloading pistol bullets? Take for instance W-W, Winchester, Speer, S&W, and Federal etc.? I was always under the assumption the all cases meet a minimum requirement.


What about the primers, Winchester, Federal, CCI, etc.? I understand the different between magnum and standard primers

There are so many variables that go into reloading that it makes it hard to make sweeping statements that always hold true.

I've been eyes deep into rifle reloading for accuracy and every tiny element is considered. Brand of brass, weight of brass meaning weighing every case, neck turning, weighing every bullet and throwing out any that don't measure up, just on and on.

For general shooting/plinking with medium and below velocity stuff for pistols I never even bother to look at who made the brass. Let alone weigh it or any other bother. And have used most if not all the brands of primers at one time or another. And haven't really had any problems with any.

Now for magnum rounds and stuff I'm looking to get as good of accuracy as I can get (hunting) rounds I'll usually use starline brass and CCI primers.

But as long as you're loading within reloading manual and manufacturer limits I wouldn't get to deep into bothering much about what brass/primers and so on. For general pistol use.

 

[bluetopper]

All of what Jerry Miculek shoots is reloads.

 

[leadhead2]

Yes, and he cast his own bullets too. I saw a video of him
casting his own. He seemed to have a lot of fun with it.

 

[Nevada Ed]

It is like a "Ford or Chey" thing.

Today, just be glad that you can get the cases and primers, to load ammo.

If you have enough money.

 

[stansdds]

It is unsafe to assume that all cases and primers are the same. There can be a surprising amount of difference in case internal volume from one brand to another. Primers also vary from brand to brand in terms of cup hardness/thickness and their brisance (explosive power).

 

[BE Mike]

For most of us mortals cases are cases and primers are primers. Over the years, as a general rule, I've found that R-P cases seem to split quicker than other brands. There are some cases to avoid, like steel cases, "Amerc" and military crimped primers (unless you want to spend the time to remove the crimp ring. Military brass is thicker, in general and some match brass, like that from .38 SPL factory match wadcutters are thinner.

 

[scooter123]

There is an amazing amount of persistence for Legends in reloading. Such as CCI having "hard" primers. I have taken the time to experiment and tune my revolvers for reliable double action function with most of the primers available. CCI Magnum primers tend to be a bit "hard" but the standard CCI primers work as well as Federals standard primers. BTW, never tested the Federal Magnums because I loathe the packaging for Federal primers, those sideways trays are a huge PITA.

As for the absolute Hardest primer I've used, that is Remington pre-collapse (last Bankruptcy). This caused me to have to re-tune all of my S&W revolvers from a 8 lbs. DA pull to a 9 lbs. DA pull. Because Remington cases feature a 0.082 diameter flash hole instead of a 0.080 diameter flash hole common to Federal and Speer. Why's that important, the Federal and Speer cases have to be drilled out to 0.082 inches or I'll see too many stainless pins stuck in the flash hole after cleaning. Try sorting for that and you'll understand why I really do like Remington cases and shoot Remington ammo for fresh cases. BTW, I learned from Sandy Hook and have LOTS of 8.99 boxes of 9mm UMC stashed up, enough for the rest of my life. Also have a sizeable stock of 38 special Remington but prices weren't as good as the 9mm and the 38 spl. was never on sale.

Obviously I have a preference for Remington cases and it's because I clean my cases with stainless steel pins. With Rifle cases I take the time to drill out the flash holes because I really like Lake City brass for the 223 and 308. For Shotgun hulls my preference for 12 and 20 is the Remington Gun Clubs. I have some of these hulls that I've been reloading for 4 years to say they have a long service life is an understatement. For the 28 and 410 my goto hull is Cheddite, they are typically good for 8 or more reloads and produce good functional crimps. BTW, 70% of my Skeet practice is with 410, it's cheapest to reload and will force one to become a more precise shot.

 

[Troystat]

If you are testing your pistols from a Ransom rest at 50 yards and the pistols are custom bullseye guns or the like you can get some improvements by segregating your brass and finding out which bullets and brass work best. But if you are shooting offhand at 25 yards and you are not a high master you will not find any difference in accuracy. That being said if I load a bunch of ammo I put them in the boxes by brand when I am done just because I can.

 

[243winxb]

Use the same brand of primer & case for best fit. They set their own tolerances.

Federal primers are the only ones containing Nitroglycerin.

SAAMI standards (USA) make all interchangeable.

Larger pnoto- https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?media/saami-primers.1299/full

 

[GypsmJim]

It is like a "Ford or Chey" thing.

Today, just be glad that you can get the cases and primers, to load ammo.

If you have enough money.

I agree today we may have to take what we can get. But I disagree that's it's a Ford Chevy debate.

After 50+ years of reloading there are some case brands I simply won't buy. The bad ones get case splits early and the primer pockets get sloppy. Starline is the best way to go, though maybe not the only way. Avoid anything that says Remington.

That said, I truly think that a lot of stuff was made better back in the day. I have some .357 cases that are 50 years old and have been reloaded dozens of time and are still good.

As far as primers, ballistically I don't see a difference with my tired old target shooting eyes. However, I will only use nickle plated ones because the non-nickle ones hang up in my priming tools.

 

[Forrest r]

IMHO it depends on what you're trying to do with your reloads and the expectations you have with them.

The 45acp brass is extremely forgiving, same for the 9mm brass. I do sort headstamps and only use cci/blazer/w-w/federal brass.

For blammo ammo with the 38spl/357/44spl/44mag I use any brass I can get my hands on. When I want to try to make a better/more accurate ammo I use the same lot/mfg brass.

The bullet you use and the type/amount of crimp you use will have more affect on accuracy then your mixed brass. It all comes down to the neck tension and how consistent you can get the short start pressure of your reload.

Several years ago I was working up loads for bowling pins. We use 12ga shells instead of bowling pins, same rules just smaller targets. Anyway was using w-w 38spl wc brass and cast bullets. These were the test loads. On the left is a mp 640 series 158hr hp and on the right is a h&g #50 wc.

The revolver I tested the loads in. Testing was done @ 50ft rested with the pistol scoped (7x dot reticle).

What those bullet/load/revolver combo's did.

A couple weeks later I was testing 357mag loads using the same revolver/scope/50ft bench & rest. Didn't matter what I did kept getting groups like these.

I was using the 110gr wc (far left) for those test loads.

Turned out the brass I was using was pretty much done. Tons of split ends on the case mouths. Ended up going thru all my 357 brass and scrapping most of it (1/2 a 5 gallon bucket). Bought 2000 new pieces of brass from starline and life is good again.

I leave all my revolvers/pistols stock so I don't have any issues with primers. I use federal primers for target loads in the 38spl's, 9mm's,44spl's,44mags, 45acp's. For blammo ammo in the 357's and 9mm's I use small rifle primers and any lp primer I can get my hands on for the 44mag & 45acp.