Where have all the small pistol primers gone?

[Wise_A]

Not wishing to ignite Great Federal Primer Cup Debate again, but briefly--most guns it honestly doesn't matter. You could go your entire life without ever tripping over one.

Some PPC guns with exceptionally light DA pulls need them. Or at least, the talented revolversmiths that build them instruct customers to only use Federal-prime'd ammunition.

Me, I just have a very nice, but well-worn older Smith that misfires frequently in double-action with CCI No 500s, but is perfectly reliable with Federals. Rather than taking it apart and trying to "fix" a superb gun with one little quirk, I just find it's easier to listen to what it's telling me.

So are the CCI's insensitive or hard to ignite? Nope. Do some people, and some guns, really prefer the Federals? You bet.

This is one of those situations in which both sides are right, and the only intolerable position is not respecting one side or the other.

 

[scooter123]

Been using CCI primers for years without any issues and had my triggers tuned to a DA weight of 8.0 lbs. until I started using Remington UMC to get new once fired cases. What I learned then was that Remington primers are a bit harder to ignite and every revolver except my model 620 now has the trigger tuned to 9.0 lbs.

IMO CCI standard pressure primers are nearly as easy to ignite as the Federal, in the CCI lineup it's the Magnum primers that require a tiny bit harder hit.

BTW, that was learned with my 19-3, with Magnum primers the DA failure rate was 100% and with the standard pressure it was only 60%. I'll also note that my model 19-3 was shipped from the factory with a short hammer nose and nearly unfired when I found it at a gun show about 2 or 3 years ago. That problem has now been solved with a new Power Custom hammer nose and it is 100% reliable with anything I shoot. I've also cured my 19-3 from being nearly unfired, in fact it gets shot a lot because a 2 1/2 inch model 19 has to be one of the most enjoyable revolvers ever created to just go out and shoot.

 

[daniel lawecki]

I'll check my reloading / gunroom.

 

[halvenut]

I'm on the central east coast of Florida. I've been using Titegroup with Federal small pistol primers to reload my handguns. The Federal primers have been important at least in my head to reloading my S&W 686+ 3" as it as a light double action trigger. I had a pretty good supply of 'em but now I'm down to my last 100. I went out to get some today and nobody had them in the LGSs or on the web. In the end I found only one local range that had boxes of CCI primers. That was it!

Q1: Where are all the small pistol {Standard} primers?

Q2: Is my light DA trigger going to be a problem with the CCI primers?

Thanks, Dennis

Federal SPP's have been hard to come by around here for some time. I've been using the next softest Winchester SPP's for a while. Last SPP's I was able to pick up are Federal Magnum SPP's and some Winchester. I found them at a decent price so I bought them. I think a lot of times people gobble them up and them take them to a gun show to sell at a mark up. You'll need to stick with the softer primers with a light trigger pull.

 

[Fide686]

I gave up on finding fed primers. I have had no trouble finding thousands of CCI 500. All of my revolvers have full power (either factory or after market) main springs. No issues as long as primers are fully seated.

 

[Houlton]

Here in Eastern Va there are more SP primers available than I have money to buy them. $30 per K in normal.

 

[fredj338]

Sm pistol primers are pretty much every where, Just not Federal. It has been this way pretty much since 2012/13. You find them occasionally locally, less so online, but they are getting out. My local guy had about 50k last month, lasted a week. Next time you find them, i suggest you buy enough for 3-4yrs worth of shooting

 

[fredj338]

I am happy with Winchester and have many on hand. You should never go below 1K on hand in my opinion. I learned my lesson during the first great primer shortage back in the 80's or whenever it was.

My minimum reserve is 5000 or 2-3yrs worth of shooting, whichever is greater. They dont go bad!

 

[hdwhit]

DavidE wrote:
Q1: Where are all the small pistol {Standard} primers?
Q2: Is my light DA trigger going to be a problem with the CCI primers?

Supply was tight for a while but appears to be easing. Be patient or buy on-line and pay the hazmat fee.

Never had a problem with CCI SPP in anything except my 25 ACP RG-25 which will only ignite with Remington 1&1/2 size SPPs.

 

[Road_Clam]

Tried Fed primers years ago. They go bang just like any other primer. I saw no advantages so not sure what all the Federal fanboy logic is all about for the recreational reloader. CCI SPP's are abundant out my way.

 

[Thomas15]

I have been stock piling all primers for the last 4 or 5 years . I have amassed close to 80,000 .....25,000 being SPP ,25,000 LPP and 15,000 SRP and 15,000 LRP. Most of my purchases have been Winchester, some Federal and about 5000 SPP are CCI magnum primers. Now all I need are bullets for the large rifle(30 cal).

As far as SPP go I have about 17K federals. The current drought is a continuation of the last one, there was a brief shower last summer and I stocked up 20 k but have since used 3K

I have a bunch more CCI and S&B SPP but mostly use federals in my revolvers. I think I'm going to try some Winchesters just in case I run out of federals.

 

[rburg]

So many problems, some solvable and others not so much. Its time everyone learns the joy of hoarding. Not just primers but also powder and bullets. If there is a component you just can't live without, get more. Its not easy, but it can be done. And when the supply drought ends, buy even more. If you're running out, you're shooting too much. Learn from it. I know its tough when you're young and have competing demands. Your wife wants to go to a concert or buy new drapes. Sometimes you just have to say no.

There should be some well recognized rules of reloading. You need to keep inventory. That means count what you have and keep it on a cheat sheet. Take it with you everywhere. Especially gun shows and shops. Don't rely on your memory, its faulty. Buy when you see a deal. Keep buying if the price is cheap enough.

And then if you've got one or two guns that aren't reliable with all components, buy some of the nail polish like stuff. Two guys names, but not Harry and David. It even comes in colors but I only have green. Don't know why but its what I use with my soft primers. If I loaded hot, I'd buy a little bottle of red and paint the primers of those. If you're kind of dumb and can't remember, paint in the last digit of the serial with the same stuff, kind of as a reminder.

 

[kraynky]

We don't get many Federal primers here for some reason. Mostly CCI and Winchester, or if I go to Cabela's I can buy S&B cheaper. LGS price for 1,000 here is $39.99, darn near everywhere. S&B's at Cabela's, $24.99. I find they all work about the same for me. I just seldom see any magnum S&B's.

 

[Nick B]

I mostly shoot Winchester But CCI SPP's are very easy to come by where I live . Everglades Ammo is based in my town and they have a walk in store .
CCI primers are 26 bucks a K there .

 

[fredj338]

So many problems, some solvable and others not so much. Its time everyone learns the joy of hoarding. Not just primers but also powder and bullets. If there is a component you just can't live without, get more. Its not easy, but it can be done. And when the supply drought ends, buy even more. If you're running out, you're shooting too much. Learn from it. I know its tough when you're young and have competing demands. Your wife wants to go to a concert or buy new drapes. Sometimes you just have to say no.

There should be some well recognized rules of reloading. You need to keep inventory. That means count what you have and keep it on a cheat sheet. Take it with you everywhere. Especially gun shows and shops. Don't rely on your memory, its faulty. Buy when you see a deal. Keep buying if the price is cheap enough.

.

Amen. Though IMO, not hoarding but being prepared. I found an inventory app for my phone. Now I do have a list whenever I run across something or someone wants to group buy.

 

[Nick B]

I shoot 1200-1600 rounds a month so my reserve inventory is huge .

 

[Thomas15]

So many problems, some solvable and others not so much. Its time everyone learns the joy of hoarding. Not just primers but also powder and bullets. If there is a component you just can't live without, get more. Its not easy, but it can be done. And when the supply drought ends, buy even more. If you're running out, you're shooting too much. Learn from it. I know its tough when you're young and have competing demands. Your wife wants to go to a concert or buy new drapes. Sometimes you just have to say no. ......

Yes I agree. When the reloading components situation started to correct itself the prudent thing seemed to be to prep for a possible Clinton in the Whitehouse. This was a major reason why I stocked up on everything I didn't have and that was mainly primers and bullets.

We have just got through a major shortage, in particular powder so there was a good lesson to learn. I started out thinking a 2 year supply of components was plenty but now it's a 4 year supply. I do hope though that Federal SPP make an appearance by the end of the year.

 

[Dicem]

I was at a gun show at Orange County CA yesterday and I saw plenty of CCI small pistol for $24.95/1K and Winchester small pistol for $22.95/1K. As I have a good inventory of Winchester and a couple of thousand CCI I didn't buy any more, only Bullseye. Ammo Bros. in Santa Ana CA sells CCI small pistol for about $27.

I have only loaded CCI for 3 1/2 years (about 20K on a 4 die single stage). 9's, 38 spl, 357 mag and 45acp. I understand from a friend that he sees no difference between CCI, Winchester and Federal with all kinds of different loads.

 

[Eddie Southgate]

I get nervous when I have less than 10,000 of any size of primer . Why would you wait till you were down to 100 ? Did you not learn anything from Osama Obama ?

 

[daniel lawecki]

That's large pistol mag & standard. Rifle mag & standard so you'll need 40,000 your running a little short.