Identify primers, CCI 200 or CCI 250?
- Thread starter Why not?
- Start date
Oh boy. No idea how you'd figure that out considering they're dimensionally the same.
By mixed, do you mean each individual primer needs to be identified, or the cardboard sleeves got mixed up and you're not sure which pack is which?
By mixed, do you mean each individual primer needs to be identified, or the cardboard sleeves got mixed up and you're not sure which pack is which?
And that, Gentlemen, is the dilemma. They are identical in appearance. Strange, it would be so easy for the maker to have different colour compounds to easily identify the primers as standard or magnum.
Regardless, they are in two different boxes and apparently not mixed, so my advice is to use them all as standard primers. That will be safe, easy on the brass, and perhaps prove to be just as accurate.
Appreciate your help with this.
Ted
Regardless, they are in two different boxes and apparently not mixed, so my advice is to use them all as standard primers. That will be safe, easy on the brass, and perhaps prove to be just as accurate.
Appreciate your help with this.
Ted
That'll be safe, unless you use a magnum primer with a previously worked up max load using a regular primer. If you stay well under max, you'll probably be okay.
On to the original dilemma: got a chronograph? Load up a couple of test rounds with each type of primer, and look for velocity variations.
Do you have a revolver or pistol that will take a case loaded with a Large primer?
Load a couple case with each. label them.
Go outside in the dark, or turn off the lights in your shop and fire both types. If they are rifle and pistol, the flame should look different.
Winchester large Rifle
CCI Large Pistol
Load a couple case with each. label them.
Go outside in the dark, or turn off the lights in your shop and fire both types. If they are rifle and pistol, the flame should look different.
Winchester large Rifle
CCI Large Pistol
I was told many years ago by a seasoned reloader to simply drop my charge by 1 grain if subbing with Magnum primers.
Years ago while working a load for my 30-06 I accidentally bought Magnum instead of regular primers and did just that and velocities were pretty close to what they would have been with +1 grain and regular primers. YMMV.
Years ago while working a load for my 30-06 I accidentally bought Magnum instead of regular primers and did just that and velocities were pretty close to what they would have been with +1 grain and regular primers. YMMV.
OP, If you're going to hunt with ammunition loaded with those primers, I would suggest that you set up your loads by the individual box of 100 and check the next box at the range.
I ran into a very similar situation when a shooter developed Dimentia. I picked up all of his reloading supplies, which were substantial, because none of his heirs knew what to do with them and frankly one of them had a bad experience with some of the recent handloads. No damage to firearme or shooter.
They were happy to take the firearms and distribute them among the siblings but all of them just purchased ammo as they needed it.
The old boy not only mixed primers, he mixed different designation of powders and used pistol powders in cartridges such as the 308win, while loading up several hundred rounds.
I pulled the bullets from a couple of thousand reloads, tossed the powder and primers, saved the bullets/cases.
He had a couple of 1000 count boxes of LRM/LP and several part boxes of 100 count SR and SP primers.
His wife, in her angst to clean things up, mixed the small pistol and small rifle primers into the trays before packing them into trays.
Luckily they had different color priming compounds and were easily separated.
The LRM primers were also mixed with the LR standard primers but it was fairly easy to distinguish which boxes had been mixed, because they were opened and either partial or full but all were loose and not in 1000 pack sleeves.
I tried a couple at the range to see if they were salvageable.
IMHO, they weren't. The points of impact between the two were significantly different that I wouldn't trust the reloads for hunting purposes.
Even if I were just going to use them to punch holes in paper, IMHO they were a waste of time and other known components, all of which have a lot of value.
I don't care if primers are $25 or $200 for a 1k pack, they aren't worth wasting other more valuable components on and they aren't worth wounding a fine game animal.
I ran into a very similar situation when a shooter developed Dimentia. I picked up all of his reloading supplies, which were substantial, because none of his heirs knew what to do with them and frankly one of them had a bad experience with some of the recent handloads. No damage to firearme or shooter.
They were happy to take the firearms and distribute them among the siblings but all of them just purchased ammo as they needed it.
The old boy not only mixed primers, he mixed different designation of powders and used pistol powders in cartridges such as the 308win, while loading up several hundred rounds.
I pulled the bullets from a couple of thousand reloads, tossed the powder and primers, saved the bullets/cases.
He had a couple of 1000 count boxes of LRM/LP and several part boxes of 100 count SR and SP primers.
His wife, in her angst to clean things up, mixed the small pistol and small rifle primers into the trays before packing them into trays.
Luckily they had different color priming compounds and were easily separated.
The LRM primers were also mixed with the LR standard primers but it was fairly easy to distinguish which boxes had been mixed, because they were opened and either partial or full but all were loose and not in 1000 pack sleeves.
I tried a couple at the range to see if they were salvageable.
IMHO, they weren't. The points of impact between the two were significantly different that I wouldn't trust the reloads for hunting purposes.
Even if I were just going to use them to punch holes in paper, IMHO they were a waste of time and other known components, all of which have a lot of value.
I don't care if primers are $25 or $200 for a 1k pack, they aren't worth wasting other more valuable components on and they aren't worth wounding a fine game animal.
