Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Primers

I currently use one of the following three rounds to hunt elk: (1). 338win mag/H4350/225gr. TSX, (2). 300 Win Mag/H1000/180 gr. TSX (3), 300 RSAUM/H4350/168 gr.TSX. I have been using Fed 215 primers in all these loads but have seen recent tests results where the Fed 210 primer outperformed the Fed 215. Does anyone know the specs on the 2 primers? Which is the best for my 3 rounds?

I've never done any comparison testing of the two primers you mention. But, what I have done may be of interest. I used Federal 210M's and 205M's for centerfire benchrest shooting for a few years. I didn't like developing loads for my hunting rifles using different primers, so for all of my hunting rifles, I worked up loads with the two I mention. The rifles include a 7mm Magnum, now in my son's hands, a 284 Winchester, several 7x57's, a 250 Savage and several different 22 Centerfire cartridges. Every one of those rifles shoot extremely well with the Federal Match primers. Zeroing in on the 7mm Mag, I get 5/8" three shot groups at 100 yards with Nosler 140 and 150 grain Partition bullets and Fed 210M's. I do lots of other things to help accuracy too, but we're talking primers here.
I will always use these two primers for loading, even though some loads call fo the magnum primers, like for the 7mm Mag.
Just bought some Federal Small Pistol Match primers for my 22 Hornet, and that rifle, with loads it likes, shoots great.
Don

The only way to know which works best in your rifle is try `em both.
Personally if I have a load that has been working fine, and that I`ve been happy with, I couldn`t care less what someone else claimed is "better". The primer you`re useing "might" not be the best, but the Fed 210 might not either. Remember every rifle is different and the best in one means just that, it`s the best in "that" one.

The only load you mention for which I have experience is your 300 Win Mag load. I just finished loading for one and ended up with that exact load, including the 215M primers. I did test all the other primers and 210Ms and WLRM also performed the same but I stayed with the 215's because of better SD's and the fact the load will be used in extreme cold weather.

I use slower powders than H4350 in 338 Win Mag and 225g bullets and have no experience with it or the TSX's, but in virtually every 225 load in a 338 Win Mag using partitions, Accubonds and a couple of others, I ended up with 210M's for loads with N160, RL22 and H4831. They were more accurate and gave better SD's. While you didn't mention RL22, Alliant in their reloading manual, footnote #3, recommends the use of regular rifle primers with all their propellants UNLESS THEY SPECIFY OTHERWISE. They don't specify otherwise until the loads get beyond 80g. 210's have not only given me the best accuracy but also slightly HIGHER velocity in this cartridge.

In a couple of short mags (in 338 caliber,) in almost all instances the 210's have performed better than magnum primers using H4350.

I completely agree with the advice of Ol' Joe regarding primers.

You might read the latest copy of Handloader. John Barsness wrote a great article on primers, along with a chart regarding their effect on pressure. It's worth reading. There is no "best" primer except the one that performs best with your particular load and you can only determine that by load development.

I am a primer switcher when working up loads. I use s WLR in my 300WSM and a WLRM primer in 300WM. I have found that a mag primer works best in my 25/06. Primers are normally the last thing I try when working up loads, I will have already tried several powders/seating depths/bullets/brass. Then I will try different primers with the best combinations. Being careful of pressure concerns. Since I normally don't load to the edge, varying primers is usually not a problem. Will be at the range this afternoon shooting the final groups in a 30/06 and 223 both of these have been through the primer change and I will be tweaking the loads with 0.1gr powder changes above and below the best loads. Let your rifle tell you what it likes best. Rick.

In my .300 Win Mag, I get such fine accuracy with H1000 and the 180 grain Barnes TSX, with Winchester Large Rifle primers, that I have not felt the need to try magnum primers at all.

I used to pretty much figure that one primer was as good as another; stupidly mixing Feds with Wins and so on. The only smart thing I did was keep magnum primers separate from regulars. When working up a load for my .35 Whelen, I got an education.

The recipe called for Rem 9 1/2 Ms, but I didn't have any on hand, so I just used regular 9 1/2s, figuring that this wasn't a magnum round and moving down instead of up wasn't going to hurt, even more so since I was still way down the recommended charge range.

Accuracy was only so-so, but I ddin't expect much else because my experience has been that my rifles are generally more accurate with loads from the top end rather than the bottom. Well, I finally got off my duff and picked up some 9 1/2 Ms and tried those - staying well down in the charts.

My groups went from nearly 2 inches down to sub-moa. I played back and forth with primers and convinced myself that the primers were indeed the cause. Wow, an eye opener that didn't cost me a horrendous price. Now, I am very careful about primer switching. When I've got a load that works well with one brand/type of primer and want to test another, I move back down to the lower part of the recommended range of loads and slowly work my way back up. I was lucky and I know it.

There's an article in HANDLOADER, the current issue, AUG 2005, that outlines primers and pressure differences. I use FED 215 for loads over 60 grains and 210's for under 60. Thar may sound basic but it's really worked out so far. I use the Match Primers. According to the article, primer swapping can cause a real spike in pressure, like 12,000PSI from one switch. Anyway, the article says the FED primers are the mildest of the bunch and thus are safe for substitution for any other primer. I don't shoot match rifles, just have fun trying to make hunting rifles shoot their best way out there.