Heads up on potentially faulty WLR primers

[Chuckbuster]

Hello folks. A PSA in regard to Winchester Large Rifle primers, lot # EAL018G. I have had ammo loaded with these primers suffer pin holes around the periphery and gas blow back which resulted in some etching to the bolt face on a rifle. Loads were not hot rods, all were 5% to 10% below max, and it occurred with 3 separate bullet/powder combinations with less than a dozen total rounds fired. At first I thought it was a fluke, or that I had a faulty case, but one of the failures was with 1X fired brass, and that it happened 3 times that quickly and with different loads, made me stop and pack up.

I have looked around online and found that faulty lots of WLR primers are a fairly common occurrence; with failures and results consistent with what I experienced. I am going to be pulling all .308 rounds loaded since the quarantine began, as those are the only rifle rounds I have loaded in that time and I was using a box of 1000 WLR primers with that lot number.

So, if you are using WLR primers lot #EAL018G, beware!

 

[jza]

I once had the same issue with Remington primers. Remington and Gravel Agency were pretty quick to send replacement primers and repair my gun (brand new bolt), free of charge... Might be worth contacting Winchester.

 

[Chuckbuster]

I once had the same issue with Remington primers. Remington and Gravel Agency were pretty quick to send replacement primers and repair my gun (brand new bolt), free of charge... Might be worth contacting Winchester.

I will contact Winchester, but am not optimistic about a successful resolution. A friend had the same thing happen with Winchester factory ammo a couple of years ago. He contacted them and that is still in limbo with Winchester dragging their heels and not making any moves towards restitution. And, from what I've read online, there are a large number of people who have experienced this with reloaded ammunition, but accounts of successful results and restitution from Winchester seem to be as common as trustworthy Trudeaus.

 

[PWear 57]

I use a lot of WLR Primers and will be checking what I have.
Thanks for the info.

 

[Chuckbuster]

This link has a partial list of faulty WLR primers that failed in the exact manner that I experienced. There are more out there.

https://www.handloadersbench.com/fo...ets-and-brass/819811-winchester-primer-recall

 

[yomomma]

This link has a partial list of faulty WLR primers that failed in the exact manner that I experienced. There are more out there.

https://www.handloadersbench.com/fo...ets-and-brass/819811-winchester-primer-recall

Yup issues for the last 5 years or more. Only use them for low pressure rounds

 

[stubblejumper]

I have avoided Winchester primers for many years, because of the poor quality, and recent Winchester cases aren't much better.

 

[bWONGER]

Thanks for this info. Just checked mine and luckily they are a different lot number.

 

[vagrantviking]

I've had a lot of Winchester large pistol primers do that. Even very low pressure loads have gas jets around the circumference.
I'm not very happy about it as it's not good for the face on any gun and my antiques don't need the extra wear.

 

[old303]

So, ummm, having not been burned by Winchester primers yet, what large rifle primer do folks actually recommend?

 

[Chuckbuster]

So, ummm, having not been burned by Winchester primers yet, what large rifle primer do folks actually recommend?

Well, I'm switching to CCI. The only reason I've used Winchester over the years was habit. Now that they have burned me, there's no compunction in quitting them.

 

[badbrass]

Use CCI after I had same thing a few years ago! I have to say Winchester has gone down in brass and primers!

 

[Ruger007]

Always used CCI or Fed. Never had an issue. Except for a few piercings. But that was to do with a sloppy firing pin hole.

 

[bigbull]

I had a similar problem with Federal primers!
One thing that I never do is record the primer lots in my reloading log book, maybe I will start.
I still use Federal, Winchester, Remington and CCI.
BB

 

[300wmxcr2]

Had the same issue with WLR primers a few years ago when they burnt a divot in the bolt face of my 300WM. Contacted Winchester and they ended up covering the cost of Gravel Agency replacing my bolt.
Haven't used Winchester primers since, lots of guys have used them with no problem but I have switched to Federal and have never had an issue.

 

[StoneHorse]

What, again? There was a problem with WLR primers years ago. Same problem with resent manufacture or an old lot of problem primers from years ago has surfaced?

 

[J10archer]

I'm not found of the winchester primers. I stick with cci and federal. Thanks for the information/warning

 

[Chuckbuster]

What, again? There was a problem with WLR primers years ago. Same problem with resent manufacture or an old lot of problem primers from years ago has surfaced?

The box of primers is at least a couple of years old. So, it’s likely an old problem that has resurfaced; even though it’s a new one for me.

 

[bWONGER]

So, ummm, having not been burned by Winchester primers yet, what large rifle primer do folks actually recommend?

I like CCI the best. I use WIN's when CCI's are sold out followed by Federal.

 

[Munkey1973]

So, ummm, having not been burned by Winchester primers yet, what large rifle primer do folks actually recommend?

I can't remember who... but someone told me when I first got into reloading (10+ years ago) to always use CCI primers.
So I did, and I've never been inclined to use any other brand.
Used most of their product line for 1,000s of rounds each... Large Pistol, Small Pistol, Small Rifle 450, Small Rifle Benchrest, Large Rifle Benchrest.... I don't recall having any issues with any of them