Primer problem

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glenliz87

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Hello fellow CGNers',
I ran into a bit of a problem & can't figure it out. Firstly, I assumed that all large rifle primers are the same thickness whether they be regular or magnum. I purchased some very old stock hoping they would work, but may not. They are CIL #8 1/2 magnum. Their thickness is .005" thicker than WLR. Does anyone have any knowledge of these old primers and can they be used?
I took 2 .308 cases exactly the same length at 2.012" & primed one of them. The primed case with the CIL primer measured 2.020" a difference of .008". I know that primers should be seated slightly below flush but since this primer is thicker than WLR there is no way to seat it deeper. It protrudes past the case head .008" & I feel that this will not work as it is hard to close the bolt & I am thinking that it may go off before the action is closed completely. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I should do with these things? I know that I do not need a magnum primer in a .308 but I just wanted to use them up if possible with a lighter powder charge. Any help would be appreciated, thank you.
 
Their thickness is .005" thicker than WLR.
Click to expand...

How did you measure them? If you are measuring the face of the cup(where the firing pin hits) to the anvil (the part protruding from the cup) all that would indicate is the anvil sticks out more.

Although I have never used CIL primers, I have also never heard of primer dimensions changing over the years. Are you sure it's fully seated? Did you seat primers in more than one case with similar results?
 
Hi Joe, yes, I measured them the way you specified. I did notice that the anvil does stick out more & I'm assuming that this is why I cannot seat them deep enough. I am currently using a ram prime on a lee press. I rotate the case a few times while priming to ensure the primer is fully seated, & I still have the same protrusion. I have tried on several cases on .308 & .303 with the same results. It has me stumped.
 
That is weird. The anvil is supposed to compress flush with the rim of the cup and should have no bearing on seating depth. Can you get a measurement of the thickness of the cup itself? Maybe try the calipers on the very edge of the cup and see what you come up with.
 
Ok, I measured the very edge of the primer and got .129" with the anvil is
.134". Diameter is .211". Does this sound right or are my eyes giving out on me? I don't know how to explain this but I will try. We all know that primers with anvil side up looks like 3 bent over tabs inside. However, with the CIL primers anvil side up looks like another insert inside the cup itself with no compound visible whatsoever. You would really have to look carefully to avoid putting these in upside down. I never seen anything like these before.
 
joe-nwt, I think you are right, they probably made them different back then. I don't think they are packaged wrong as they were sealed. I'll just use my WLR primers, only problem is I don't know what am I going to do with 800 of these CIL primers. Maybe someone someplace might have a use for these. I bought them real cheap so it's no big loss. By the way, thanks for all your help. It was greatly appreciated, I always like to get advice from someone who knows more than I do about these things.
 
DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT USING THESE IN A SEMI-AUTO !!

If you are using a bolt-gun the primers should fire just fine. I've seen this before in very old 7mmRemMag.

Plinking ammo only, it'll be fine.
 
I've loaded thousands of C.I.L. 81/2's without this problem!
Not sure if it is the primer lot maybe?
I'll go downstairs and check the ones I have left and see if there is a difference in mine.
Cat
 
Splatter: I will not be using these primers in a semi auto as you warned. I want to use them in a bolt action .303 & lever action .308. I just want to use them for plinking only. My main concern is that I don't want them to fire before the action is closed completely since they protrude out a bit.

catnthehatt: I never thought about primer lot, I suppose that's possible as well. I didn't think that there were any more of these primers around. I'll look forward to hearing about your lot of primers if there is a difference or not.
 
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