Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Winchester primers acting up. Is WW still replacing?

Got two bricks of WLP primers and at least one, sometimes two, out of each cylinder (or magazine) don’t fire. 10mm, 44 mag, 45 ACP & LC. Blue box stuff.

Anyone know if they’re still replacing?

Might want to make sure that your firing pin isn't a thousandth or so short

I suspect he's using at least four different firing pins already.

I understand, but I've had this problem before where 1 brand of primer wouldn't always fire and it was the firing pin. When the firing pin was corrected I never had a problem again.

Never had any issues until now

CUP hardness is why

The best thing to do is contact Winchester and give them your lot# to see if they had issues with it. I don't believe the blue box WLP primers are that old. Maybe 2015 or so?

From my experience the Win primer issue was related to pinhole leaks in the WLRs and these were from probably 15+ years ago. Those primer were the silver colored ones that shot great but pitted the bolt face when they failed. The newer blue box, brass colored, shoot fine but seem to be a bit undersized because they fit loose in every primer pocket that I have seated them in.

Have had primers FTF both because of the primers themselves, and the firearm. Once it occurred because the firing-pin spring in a new model of bolt-action rifle was evidently starting to "fail," but I didn't know that at the time. Switched to another primer and the rifle started going bang consistently again--until it didn't. Which is when I sent the back to the factory to be fixed. It was, and worked fine with any LR primer after that.

Have also seen the the same thing when I put a "trigger kit" in Ruger Redhawk .44 Magnum. The trigger pull was definitely improved--but the primer ignition wasn't.

In a way, it's kinda like putting a brand-new scope on a brand-new rifle--which many hunters often do. If the rifle doesn't group very well, is it due to the scope or the rifle? You don't know until running some tests.

I think it was the other way around. The pinholes I got were with WLRP that were the brass colored ones. The older, silver colored primers that I’ve used since the ‘60s had never given me any problems.

I have found the same. The blue-box WLR are significantly undersized compared to every other brand of primer I have compared them to. Fit loose in just once fired factory-loaded 30-06 cases (which are of course not loaded to very high pressures).

Rex

biggest Winchester issues I had was when primers leaking upon firing then putting both faces and such. and I do not mean pierced primers

WTF you talkin about, Willis ?

He drink too much...

I only know that the head of a well-known firm specializing in competition type ARs cautioned me against using Winchester SR primers, claiming they would damage the firing pin and bolt face. They had my bolt at the time, and replaced the firing pin. It was nothing I could see, but perhaps an experienced eye could do detect it. I do not load hot, so I doubt my loads contributed to the problem.

FWIW.

damn talk to text bit me again .... pitting bolt faces ... known issue of Winchester primers leaking between the cup and the primer pocket in the brass.. not with worn out brass but many times brand new brass and loads that were plenty safe not overpressured.. Big Time topic on here not so long ago how quick people forget..

So does anyone know if Winchester is still replacing large rifle primers? I have 3000 for sale if they aren’t.

Somebody at Winchester cs might know

The problem I experienced was a pinhole leak occurring in the "corner" of the primer, not between the cup and primer wall.

that's probably a better description of the issue.. it would pit the bolt face in a circumference lining up with the primer pocket edge