Previously there were warnings about Winchester primers. I'm wondering what primers you like and why.
Thanks
Jim

I like Winchester, Federal, and Remington. I have a lot of CCI, but haven't used them in years.

I have been using mostly CCI and Winchester primers with an occasional patch of Federals. I haven't had the problems with Winchester people have mentioned so I keep buying them on sale.

I had several misfires with Winchester LRP, Winchester generously re-imbursed me more than I paid for the primers and sent pre-paid packaging for their return. I switched to CCI although I had used Winchester LRP and LPP for 30+ yrs. without any problems.

I have and still use nearly all of the available brands, including Winchester. The only primer failures that I've encountered with handholds have been when I experimented with One Shot case lube a few years back.

I had been using up the remnants of a brick of CCI Bench Rest 2 when I began getting misfires. 14 misfires in 3 different rifles and I pulled the remaining from primed cases I have. I bought that brick about 10 years ago and I'm down to the last 100. It had served me well until this last year. My Win primers are used up and I'm about to get another brick of something. I never had a problem with Win primers but am wondering what you folks are using.

Winchester. New ones are fine.



P

Once the potential issue with some lots of Winchesters came to light I shelved the ones I had and Federal 210's more or less became the first primer grabbed. Although I did start to use CCI 200's more as well. My lot of primers never showed up on the list of affected primers and so I began to use them again.

And like Pharmseller said, the new ones should be fine.

^^^^This^^^^

federal 215 are what Ive used for 4 plus decades with zero issues
Ive never even heard of anyone having issues using them

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/953586171/federal-large-rifle-magnum-primers-215

the only primers I occasionally had hang-fires and duds with were Remington large rifle primers

Seem to be. I made sure mine were recent production, not Obama-era. No issues after several hundred fired.

CCI, never an issue. They always have gone bang when they were expected to go bang.

All Winchester back in the day (silver cups). When the new brass cup primers came out, I used them until split cups messed up the bolt face on a couple of my rifles. I buried all my remaining Winchester primers in a bucket of oil too quickly to get anything back from Winchester. (My bad) Since then I’ve used nothing but CCI and Federal. Hopefully, as Pharmseller noted, the new ones are okay.

I use CCI, Federal and Winchester, along with some Euro-brands that also work well.

Winchester, CCI and S&B.

It might be difficult to trust a brand that has underperformed in the past. Just remember that every once in a great while, every company has needed to recall one or more of their products. Oops! It has happened to them all. If they were consistently bad, they would be out of business.

Federal GM match and CCI Br's when I can't find the Federals.

Federal match.

CCI 200 and 250 Mag, Federal 210 Match and 215 Mag, Winchester LR and SR, Remington 7-1/2 Benchrest and 9-1/2 Mag.

Only issue I have had is with the CCI 250 Mag in my .460 Wby and using Var-Get and a 400 grain Speer. Kinda hard to concentrate on shooting when you're getting hang fires. I use Federal 210 Match and 215 Mag in the .460 Wby now.

Never had a problem with any Winchester primers that I can think of.. Also have lots of CCI & Federal that have been trouble free. Had a bad small pistol primer on a 38 Spl. load about 10 years ago but I'd have to dig out my notes to identify what it was. Now that I think about it maybe it was a Winchester because back then I had a lot of Winchester SP primers.

Mostly Federal 210's. I had several misfires with CCI 200's in 2 30-30's and a 45-70 so I've gotten away from them.

I have several thousand of the "new" Winchester primers and have shot many hundreds of the "new" ones as well. To date, I have had no issues whatsoever!!!

CCI normally.

Have used S&B without issue.

Used Winchester a few times but last time had an issue, no never risk using them again. Something wrong with their system if they allow defects to hit the market. With 50,000psi being generated right next to my face, any component errors are unacceptable.

I have a fairly large supply of CCI primers and use them with great success.....that said.....I've never had a problem associated with bad primers and that goes all the way back to the famous Herter's primers.

I think I have them all. Winchester, Federal, CCI, Remington, Wolf, S&B, RWS, and Magtech are current manufacture that come to mind right now. I have Alcan, Herter's, and a couple other obsolete primers somewhere's too.

I often buy out someone's reloading equipment and usually get a fair number of components to go with. I'll keep the components and sell the rest to offset my investment. I used to get some interesting components but not so much any more. Enough time has gone by that the oldies are gone and what is left is what is currently available.

I was given 35k Winchester primers a few years ago so I use Winchester exclusively. All orange and white box.

You're all set, those are from before the troubles.

Just ordered a brick of Winchesters.

About 1988, I decided that with all of the variables in reloading that have a direct affect on accuracy/velocity, I would choose one primer brand & stay with it. I chose CCI due to reliability & have not deviated since. Fortunately, when there was a primer shortage, CCI was normally easy to find. I have quite a surplus too.

So you made it past the big recall in 2004?



P

Good to know so many have found The Primer Answer.

I like to keep various LR primers on hand partly because of possible "panic shortages" (have seen a few over the years) but also because I've often found one particular brand will work better with some handloads. But testing various primers with handloads has apparently gone out of style....

If you’re asking me, yes I surely did. Did not even cut into my inventory to the halfway mark. I keep, at least, 8000 in my drawer & another 10,000 on the shelf of all the sizes I use. Scored a case of GM 210’s for a ridiculously low price recently.

Apparently so !! .... ???

I’ve been following this thread ALL the way waiting.........
and YOU are the only ONE to mention TESTING primers. wow.

I found out years ago that all primers are not the same.
All don’t have the same heat range and therefore all don’t ignite DIFF types of powders
the same.

Also using the SAME components, EXCEPT primers not only does velocity
vary but ACCURACY as well.

AND all primers don’t HOLD the velocity in COLD weather. humm, doesn’t most
Big game hunting happen in COLD weather ??

I guess things have improved in the primer department ! ??


Jerry

ADDENDUM ! !

Wow.... crickets are LOUD.



Really ?

Jerry

Many of the threads you post in go that way.

I use WLR and CCI 200s. I have some Remington LR primers but for some strange reason I never use them for my own handloads. There is no sane reason for this as I've used Rem 7 1/2 primers in my .222 without a single issue for twenty years. I use them for when I load for other people.

The Following was posted by Pappy in the " R 26 .270/ 160 temp issue " > thread. He said.....




Interesting Ain't It !!


Jerry

Thanks, MD for your posts. My somewhat modest retirement income does tend to cramp my "style" a bit. There's a lot of information available on this forum. Yours I trust to be mostly accurate. You're far more "rifle looney" knowledgable than I. Several others here are usually pretty much right on also.

I began this thread with the question, "I'm wondering what primers you like and why." Reason for the question was I had several misfires with 3 different rifles after recently reloading for them. Not the norm for me and the only component consistent in each rifle was the primes. I no longer shoot 1000+ rounds per year and mostly use my rifles for hunting the brushy Adirondacks. Pinpoint accuracy isn't so much my desire as the rifles going bang is. I'm willing to adapt to whatever minor idiosyncrasies may emerge by various primers if they will fire.

I appreciate the responses.
Thanks
Jim

Weeeeellllll, let's see . . . .



Nope, only a lonely box of Winchester 209's. Far right, next to the small pistol primers. Forgot I even had those.

RJ

i also use Remington,besides Federal ,Winchester ,CCI

Don't use many pistol primers. I use mostly new Winchester Large Rifle primers and with absolutely no problems!

CJ

Used mainly WLRs for years and ran very low of the white box ones, so bought a bunch of the new ones, but the "trouble" surfaced before I used any. Sent them back.

Stocked up mainly with Fed 210, regular and Match when I finally found some, also a brick each of CCI 200 and BR2 for duplicating load data as closely as possible.

I don't doubt that the newer Winchesters are fine, but when the bad ones were discovered I asked a couple of dealers if they'd heard about it, and was told they hadn't, so I figured that some bad lots were likely still on the shelves. With probably all I'll ever need on hand, there's little reason to take a chance on WLRs locally sourced. If I ever decide I need some, I'll buy online from someplace with high turnover.

Winchester or Federal non-magnum, no problems with either.