For over a year I have been using cci large rifle primers. I just bought a case of cci large BR. My question is are these primers "hotter" or just more consistent? Can I simply substitute these in loads I have already worked up, or do I have to start over? Lastly how much emphasis do you guys put on the primers? Are some brands better than others? Are some brands "hotter" than others.? Huntingstoneboy

Used to be that Federales were known as the "hottest" primers, Winchester WLR were next, CCI was middle of the pack, and Remingtons were the "lowest energy" of the group. A study done by some fairly prominent gun scribe years ago, seemed to verify that ranking.

He loaded a cartridge, primer only, sans bullet, in his rifle, dropped a cleaning rod, or something into the barrel, then measured and photographed how high the primer alone would drive the rod.
He taped a yardstick to his wall, and supposedly photographed the rod at maximum rise. Doing that is a real trick! (don't ask!) He never reported sticking one in in the ceiling.

Not that any were regarded as "wimpy", or unreliable.

Iirc, CCI Benchrest primers are supposed to be more consistent, but with about the same "brisance"(Pizzazz, force) as the standards. They will do you a good job.

I have switched from WLR to CCI standard, to CCI Bench and back, all without noticing a dime's worth of difference in accuracy or pressure.

As recommended in the reloading manuals, I dropped my load a little whenever I switched, but noticed not much difference once loads of the former level were reached.

I think changing primers might raise pressures, if it were done with a maximum load, and no reduction in charge. But, we all know not to do that , right?

Good luck, and Be Safe!

Sniper...The only thing that I ever noticed between CCI and Winchester primers is that Winchester tend to be 25 to 50 fps faster. Not that it matters one way or the other. I use both and will adjust fps with one or the other especially in my magnum handguns.

Bushmaster wrote:

Sniper...The only thing that I ever noticed between CCI and Winchester primers is that Winchester tend to be 25 to 50 fps faster. Not that it matters one way or the other.

That sounds about right, Bushy...the differences were not all that great, as I recall...the Federales boounced the cleaning rod maybe 6-8in. higher than the others, which were fairly close together.

I should have said maximum loads too. They (CCI and Winchester primers) do make a bit of a difference in champer pressures. Not much, but sometimes just enough.

Like you guys I've found Federal primers are always hotter and you do need to adjust your powder accordingly especially near max loads. Snipers right about the CCI BR primers. They are produced under tighter controls so that there is less diff in (to use his term) pizzazz from primer to primer. I only use CCI standard primers and winchester magnum primers. When I start running low I buy about 4000 at a time from the same lot #.

I've never experimented much with changing primers. Use the Standard CCI primers in all of my rifles. They seem to be pretty consistant and have never had a misfire with one. Still hoping some day to be as consistant pulling the trigger as they are at doing their job.--tr

I am having problems finding standard rifle primers from any manufacturer. The magnum primers seem to be readily available. Can a load be reduced and re-worked up using the magnum primers, or is the primer/powder mix just wrong.

The powder is IMR-4350, and the primers are CCI large rifle magnum.

Thanks for any input.

Absolutely...Drop the maximun powder charge by 10% and work up to what you want without seeing any high pressure signs. A chronograph is very helpful when doing this as you can keep track of your velocity...

Thanks. That's what I was hoping.

Listen to Bushy, he knows his stuff.
I think that we all will have to adjust for a while as some primers become scarce.
I had to change primers last week from WLP on my .45ACP's and dropped the charge on the first few reloads just to be careful.
The difference wasn't noticeable, and the accuracy was the same, so I went back to my regular loads.
I reload on the low end of the tables for accuracy, but would sure be careful if I was pushing the envelope like I do with my 300WinMag.

Eric

I've used magnum primers with maximum loads of Winchester 760 ball powder for years. I like it better in cold weather and have never noticed any problem. All the advice here is sound, but I don't think that it really matters much unless you are shooting a firearm that is unsafe in the first place and your loads are way over the top. But hey, that's just my opinion.

"For over a year I have been using CCI large rifle primers. I just bought a case of CCI large BR. My question is are these primers "hotter" or just more consistent?"
The CCI BR primer is a standard primer, NOT a magnum primer. The BR is CCI's premium quality primer, supposed to provide a bit more consistency than a standard primer.
As far as substituting the BR for the regular CI 200 primer, since the BR is a new lot of primers, if your load is anywhere close to maximum, I'd drop down the powder charge and work up again- just to be safe.
IMO, all the major manufacturers make good primers. I made my choice of what brand to use this way: I found out what my favorite store kept in stock all the time, and that's the brand I use.