Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Which Primers are Most Consistent

I noticed something reiewing my notes from the last two range trips with my handloads and discovered something. In my 300 WSM and my 338 on the first trip both calibers were loaded with WLRM primers and I noticed that the velocities varied significantly between shots in the same group. The loads I fired today with the 300 WSM were loaded with Fed 215's and I noticed that the velocities from each group were very consistent. Where as the 338 had the same fairly wide variances in velocities and I just realized I only loaded the WSM with the 215's and the 338 was loaded with the WLRM's. As you can guess the next batch of 338's are gonna have Fed 215's in em to see if it stabilizes the vel. Are the Fed 215's more consistent than others out there?

I use WLR in my 300WSM for the best accuracy and consistancy.Rick.

Try Fed 210M you may be suprised!

I like the Fed GM match primers.

I have used remington, win, CCI, and federal. I ONLY use federal 205, 210,and 215 primers GM and regular. I have found them to be the best and most consistent primer on the market. The only other primer I use is the winchester pistol primer and thats because it's the only pistol primer that the store had when I bought my 44mag dies and components.
If I had to change I would probably change to Winchester LR and then 3rd choice would be CCI.

As a very general statement, I find WW and Fed primers both to be the most consistent. But changing to a new lot of primers can change your findings...........


Casey

Ditto.

Other than match grade primers, most primers are a crapshoot simply because of the way they are made. Every reloader's experience seems to be different. It's the luck of the draw.

+1 - throughout, excluding my use of just the 205's for gophers and such......can't find those anywhere, anyhow.

I have had the best luck with federal primers.I will not use CCI primers at all after having two misfires several years ago.A friend also had misfires using CCI primers,so none of our hunting part use them anymore.

A few years ago, I tried various magnum primers in my 338WM to compare them to my usual Winchester Large Rifle primers.
I got no increase in velocity, but the groups opened considerably. I don't use magnum primers, but that 338 is the only rifle I own that's called "magnum."

My .375 H&H loads are much more accurate with Fed 215M's over the Winchester primers.

Statistically, it is a lot easier to detect changes in means (averages) than it is for variation (variance, standard deviation, or range). You might very easily be getting less variation simply from "luck of the draw", rather than any actual change in ammunition components.

Here are some rules of thumb for interpreting changes in standard deviation:

If you shoot two lots of 100 rounds each, and the ratio of the standard deviations is 4:5 or greater, the change is real. If the ratio is less that 4:5, you have no evidence that there is any difference in consistency between the two lots of rounds.

Similarly, two lots of 50 rounds each, and a ratio of 3:4 indicates change. The same applies to two lots of 22 rounds each, and a ratio of 1:2.

If you don't have that many rounds, or that big a ratio, you don't know whether you saw real change or not.

AC:
I'd agree with Denton on this one. For me, I've mostly used WLRM primers in my .270 WSM. I did try Fed. GM-210 Match primers in 1 session. While nowhere statistically significant, using IMR-7828 SC, and a 150 gr. Sierra, the Std. Dev. was from 31 to 2.8 for the Federal and powder charge was from 61.5 to 65.5 grs. The WLRM primers showed a Std. Dev. from 59 to 11 with the same bullet & powder. Not really meaningful. Lots more work to do.
Bear

There is no consensus on primer �consistent performance�. Pick a primer and test your loads. No one can truly help you here.

I�ve had miss fires with CCI, Remington, and Federal primers. Shot enough you will have miss fires.

I expect everyone's experiences are as true as the next, but after 30+ years of handloading, I've never once had a Federal primer not do what it was designed to do.

This encompasses thousands of .223 each and every year in the "pursuit" of varmints as well as thousands of big game loads.

Can't speak to other primers in long guns, but I've little need to go shoppin' for a better mousetrap at this point.

I had the same problem with the winchester primers.

In order of preference:

Federal 210M / 215M
Federal 210 / 215
CCI BR2 / 250Mag

MM

I only use Federal match primers anymore. Like others here, my 300 WSM really likes Fed 210Ms. When I switched form Fed 215Ms to Fed 210Ms my extreme spreads for 5-shot groups from my competition rifle dropped to 11 fps.

AlaskaCub, I got wonky velocities with WLR's and a .300WSM. IME 215's work the best although I haven't tried the 210's. Stock up on the same lot of the primers that work for you.

The only primer I've seen fail was a Remington 9 1/2 in factory loaded 30-06.The rest shot fine.Myself been using CCI and couldn't be happier.