Primers

[1100winger]

Just re-read an article on reloading and magnum primers; authors rules were: >60 grs powder charge, hunting or shooting below 0 deg C, and the use of ball powders. I'll bet most of us develop loads and shoot during warmer months (I do!) where temp isn't an issue but we tend to hunt when its cold. Do any of you use magnum primers regardless in your hunting loads? The load that sent me down this rabbit hole is for the 280/RL22/140 gr TSX - it approaches the 60 gr limit and I hunt below 0 deg C. Thoughts?

[Dick284]

The only way to know for sure is take those pet loads you’ve developed in the summer and shoot them in colder conditions.

I’ve found that depending on the cartridge, and the powder used it sometimes helps using magnum primers, but there’s a few cases where it actually causes accuracy to become worse.

See my sig line.

[Mateo]

I use N570 in my 6.5 Sherman Shortmag. 60.gr. I also hunt in cold weather. i'm a target shooter and strive for the best in precision and accuracy. A standard large rifle primer has been the sweet spot. Ive heard quite a bit that you try and use the smallest primer you can get away with. I've also got a smaller diameter firing pin to help with cratering and piercing. it's supposed to help primer ignition too. benchrest shooters also get brass with small rifle primers when the case would have normally been a large rifle case from sammi/factory.the goal of the primer is to ignite the powder and have as little influence on the charge pressures. it helps remove some variance.

[32-40win]

All you can do is work up parallel loads with each primer to see what difference it makes for you, sometimes it works better, sometimes it doesn't. The use of small primer brass on larger cartridges, possibly likely ought to be restricted to summer use, saw one ad hoc test of them, where they didn't necessarily want to work real well in colder weather. That's something you can test yourself. It makes sense on a range and paper environment, I've used lighter powered primers in a couple of cartridges with reduced loads and cast, that benefited from doing it, but, no desire to use that combo in a hunting scenario.
There are also examples around of people working up load data in some of the published data books, where swapping primers out, produced spikes they found unacceptable. So, it's a mixed bag.
I use magnum primers for one gun , a 7-08, w/ww760, worked better for me, but, that was the only one that has so far.

[elkhunter11]

My 280AI loads, using R-22 worked well at well below freezing temperatures with Federal 210 primers.

[1100winger]

To date I use 215 in my 300 WM and a 9.3x64; everything else is 210. The article just got the gears grinding. Thanks for the feedback.

[Dean2]

I use CCI magnum in all hunting loads. Any load that uses more than 70 grains I use Fed 215. The CCI MAG are not hot enough to set off 90 grain loads reliably. For target loads and varmint loads I will play around with primers to see what shoots best but for hunting loads i will give up a tenth in group size for reliable bang in cold weather.

[Grizzly Adams]

I always use magnum primers. Better ignition, why quibble ?

Grizz