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Wasn't there an outfit in Texas that wasn't going to start making primers?

Tula Primers worked very well for me. I have a 6.5-06 that loves the Tula LR. So I have about a 1000 of them left. Used a lot of the Small RIfle until unfortunately I ran out. They don't seem to be imported anymore.

You are correct. The company is called Expansion Industries out of Carrollton, Texas. They planned to set up a plant in Texarkana at the old Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant to make them. From what I can tell, they made primers for three months, shipped them, and then abruptly fired most of their employees. Some called them "scammers".

There was a post somewhere on this board about that. No status update of which I’m aware.

Y
Yeah, that's one of the problems today--partly because, again, the increasing amount of primers (and cartridge cases and powder) being spoken for by military contracts.

Which is why I've been "hoarding" (buying more than I might need in a year) primers since the primer shortage during the Clinton administration. That one was caused in part because of the early Internet, where rumors arose that all new primers were designed to "go dud" within 6 months. (Among other things, this resulted in some people putting primers inside PVC pipe and burying them in their yard. Would love to hear from anybody who's encountered any of those dud primers, since some of mine were made in the late 90s, or even earlier, and still go bang.)

Yup. That's what I'm planning to do. Pull out a couple of 'ol reliable, proven recipes and swap the primers. Then see what happens and compare.

If anyone is seriously worried about that, just shoot the newly purchased primers and hang onto the older ones for the day the new ones "expire." I don't take it seriously but if someone does, that's a way to address it.

I still shoot some primers from the 70s, and dont think twice about going boom.
Never had a dud myself..

Shot a boatload of Fiocchi, Cheddite, Argentine, and Aguila shotgun shells over the years and have yet to have a dud primer ...

The first 100 Argentine (Servicios Aventura) SP primers I loaded in 9mm last week all went bang too.

I have my domestic favorites, of course, but when times is tough ...

Plus, I've always liked Fiocchi factory shotshells, and Cheddite hulls (and primers) are a mainstay of 16 gauge load data.

I don't see a problem.

I don't know about the US, but Ginex primers are cheaper than US made and are available in many places in Canada. If you get a chance to get more, buy them.



There isn't one.

It hasn't been a problem for more years than most of us have been alive. Primers are waterproofed and have been for years. At least 60 that I know of. One of my jobs when I was in the military was inspecting explosives, storage and packaging. I worked in an X area - explosive area.. A lot of these "reports" are concocted or misinterpreted.

One of the biggest problems were reports of surplus ammunition ftf. It was often blamed on primers, but I can tell you that was only part of the problem. A lot of the ammunition was European surplus left over from some war at the end of the 19th over to the 20th century. It was sold off to civilians cheaply. There are many examples, but POF (Pakistani Ordinance Factory) was notorious for ftf. I am not sure if POF ammunition was even waterproofed. Many countries used to assemble ammunition with corrosive primers. Today, recalls are still a thing.

Over the years I have seen assembled and stored ammunition that ftf because of grease/oil in the cartridges that contaminated the powder. I have seen loose bullets that allowed water in, despite being sealed at the factory.

Ammunition destined for the CDN military has been loaded with non-corrosive primers since WWII. Our plants made both military and civilian ammunition (as most other factories around the world do). When a factory produces millions of rounds per year, some of it will be defective.

I believe the "less than 3%" figure was bandied around at military trade shows, but since I've left the military, I am no longer current.

I did find the need to chamfer the primer pocket on virgin W-W brass with Ginex primers in order to assure reliable and uniform seating. About 50% of the primers resisted smooth seating with my RCBS hand press. Could have been the primers or the brass.

Got a little confused for a minute by the abbreviation "FTF" - Failure to Fire or 'Mis-fires.'

I bought 5K of those for my nines.

Loaded up 100, & had one not go bang the 1st hit, fired the 2nd time.

Loaded & shot another 50 w/o issues.

Got over 2K loaded now to blast away when the new snow disappears.

These are outta stock now

Buy 3K & get free shipping when available

https://normausa.com/product/blowout/primers-b/small-pistol-primers-made-in-argentina/

It seems there are several different stories/rumors about this company. Who knows what the truth is.

Picked up a thousand RUAG large rifle primers a few months ago. Was the first time I ever heard of them. Haven't used any of them yet because I put the date that I got 'em on the box and use the oldest stuff first. Although I might try some of these early just to see how they work. Normally it would take a few years before these became my oldest primers. I have experience with all the American brands plus Fiocchi, Wolf, and Sellier & Beloit. Last time I had a FTF was probably close to 20 years ago with a Winchester SP primer in a .38 Spl. load. Must have been too hard 'cause the firing pin hardly dented it, but all the others worked fine.

Does anyone know of a decent outlet for large pistol primers? I'm down to my last 400 or so and looking for a deal that doesn't make me sick to my stomach.

I just received 1000 Federal Premium Magnum Large pistol primers today from Natchez. But I don't care to make you sick so I'm not gonna admit what they cost me. I felt a little nauseated just ordering them.

Target Sports had (may still have ) Remington and CCI LP primers.

I recently conducted an experiment with some 5.56 steel cased rounds picked up at the range that were essentially gobs of rust; the headstamps were obliterated by rust. I pulled the bullets with pliers from four rounds. The powder in all four rounds was dry and loose, and burned when lit with a match. Three of the four primers fired when struck with a punch. That "steel cased crap" seems to handle dampness rather well.

I had some of the Pakistani (POF) .303 British that Steve mentioned that was prone to hangfire; I didn't have any that was prone to FTF. I pulled the bullets from a few unfired rounds from the same lot and reloaded the cordite and bullets into commercial cases with new primers. All of it fired normally with the new primers. When I popped the POF primers in the rifle before scrapping some fired normally but some made a fizzing sound.

I have fired thousands of rounds of Eastern European Soviet era 7.62x54 and 8x57 from the 50s through the 70s and I've never had a dud primer. I wouldn't hesitate to use recognized brands of European primers.

Gone

https://www.targetsportsusa.com/large-rifle-primers-c-2810.aspx