Primer Test
- Thread starter Ganderite
- Start date
Big bore dinosaur
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Very cool
They are milder than Winchester, but is that bad?
I would not use them for a 300mag with 65 gr of 4831, or a 308 with 45 gr of H380 (ball). But they may be just fine for moderate cases of extruded powders.
i am not fussy about primers in pistols - so long as they go bang.
But in rifles they are part of the accuracy equation.
I am about to load some accurate 308 ammo. My load is the the Sierra 155 over 46 g of N140.
I can load them with Federal match, CCI bench rest, Winchester standard and the Ginex, and compare velocity, ES and SD.
That sounds like a very useful test. Please do, and let us know the results. Thx for this info too. - dan
Ok. I loaded the primer test ammo.
All the primers in the picture, plus some ammo made using Russian and Portuguese military brass (Berdan). The Portuguese (FNM) is brass cases and the Russian is steel case. I used to use a lot of Berdan brass when making my own match ammo. he Berdan rimer is superior for ignition uniformity.
The brass is virgin Winchester brass. It came primed, so I ran it through a neck sizer to uniform the necks and knock out the primers.
All cases were then chamfered and then 5 of each were primed with the test primers using a Frankford Arsenal hand primer.
A Chargemaster dispensed 46 gr of N140 into each case. The two military cases got 44.7gr, assuming they had less capacity than the Winchester.
Sierra 155 match bullets (factory seconds) were seated to an OAL of 2.790", which is about 20 thou off the lands of my Savage.
It has a 20" barrel, so velocities will look a bit low.
I will shoot each batch of 5 rounds for a group and measure av vel, ES and SD.
If the primer affects velocity, the groups will change a bit because each load would need a bit of tweaking for best grouping.
Based on the look of muzzle flash, I expect the Federal and Ginex to have the lower velocities and the Winchester and two magnum primers to have the higher end.
5 rounds is a very small sample. I usually do 20 round tests, but these days I have to be mindful of wasting components.
I hope there is a bit of wind tomorrow; otherwise the barrel heat will mess up the sight picture.
All the primers in the picture, plus some ammo made using Russian and Portuguese military brass (Berdan). The Portuguese (FNM) is brass cases and the Russian is steel case. I used to use a lot of Berdan brass when making my own match ammo. he Berdan rimer is superior for ignition uniformity.
The brass is virgin Winchester brass. It came primed, so I ran it through a neck sizer to uniform the necks and knock out the primers.
All cases were then chamfered and then 5 of each were primed with the test primers using a Frankford Arsenal hand primer.
A Chargemaster dispensed 46 gr of N140 into each case. The two military cases got 44.7gr, assuming they had less capacity than the Winchester.
Sierra 155 match bullets (factory seconds) were seated to an OAL of 2.790", which is about 20 thou off the lands of my Savage.
It has a 20" barrel, so velocities will look a bit low.
I will shoot each batch of 5 rounds for a group and measure av vel, ES and SD.
If the primer affects velocity, the groups will change a bit because each load would need a bit of tweaking for best grouping.
Based on the look of muzzle flash, I expect the Federal and Ginex to have the lower velocities and the Winchester and two magnum primers to have the higher end.
5 rounds is a very small sample. I usually do 20 round tests, but these days I have to be mindful of wasting components.
I hope there is a bit of wind tomorrow; otherwise the barrel heat will mess up the sight picture.
The Ginex gave good accuracy in my .308 and D4895. They make the 300 PRC go bang but I doubt it's optimum- I'm using the Gienx LR primer in the PRC just because I have thousands of them and these loads do the job I want them to at the range.
The Ginex SR primers work great in .223 and go bang whether bolt or semi auto rifle.
Ginex pistol primers work great with 9mm and 45ACP but I found them inconsistent to ignite 357 Magnum so I stopped using them for that. I have found in my Glock pistols that there can be light strikes with the Ginex but these Glocks are well used and need a rebuild (waiting for parts from Brownells) Hammer fired pistols and PCC's the Ginex primer works great.
The Ginex SR primers work great in .223 and go bang whether bolt or semi auto rifle.
Ginex pistol primers work great with 9mm and 45ACP but I found them inconsistent to ignite 357 Magnum so I stopped using them for that. I have found in my Glock pistols that there can be light strikes with the Ginex but these Glocks are well used and need a rebuild (waiting for parts from Brownells) Hammer fired pistols and PCC's the Ginex primer works great.
Test has been done. I will take me a while to prepare the results (and to thaw out).
I shot all the groups at 100 yards, in a single session. Started at the top of the target and worked down. Top right was scope adjustment and barrel warm up. Each square aiming mark is 1".
Each shot was over the chrony, and the velocity was noted. Rifle is a Savage single shot with 20"McLenan match barrel, Obermyer 308 chamber, heavy spring.
Ammo was loaded in new Winchester cases, primers as marked, 46 gr N140 and Sierra 155 MK.
I noted the group name, location and velocities. Binocs required to read the chrony. Gloves because it was 0 degree. Wind was enough to make sure barrel mirage was not a problem.
Results in an hour....
I shot all the groups at 100 yards, in a single session. Started at the top of the target and worked down. Top right was scope adjustment and barrel warm up. Each square aiming mark is 1".
Each shot was over the chrony, and the velocity was noted. Rifle is a Savage single shot with 20"McLenan match barrel, Obermyer 308 chamber, heavy spring.
Ammo was loaded in new Winchester cases, primers as marked, 46 gr N140 and Sierra 155 MK.
I noted the group name, location and velocities. Binocs required to read the chrony. Gloves because it was 0 degree. Wind was enough to make sure barrel mirage was not a problem.
Results in an hour....
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Here are the results. In order, groups starting at top left of target:
My comments:
The chrony results are hard facts, although the sample size for a valid ES is too small. 10 shots would be better. When I was doing serious work, I always fired 20 shots.
The groups are dependent on my shooting ability, off a bench, on a cold day. My "Best Before Date" was about 40 years ago....
Note big velocity difference - CCI Stnd 2,760 and S&B 2,776 vs GNX 2,712 fps. Same brass, bullet and powder charge. I like the GNX. Just have to adjust the powder charge a bit (up).
My conclusions:
My previous use of Berdan cases for serious shooting was a valid choice. The Berdan primer really performs well.
Any primer can be used to develop the best load for a rifle. It may take a small increase or decrease to make a primer perform like another. I do not use magnum primers for extruded powders and I always use magnum primers for ball powder. The latter is based on experience of multiple incidents.
Ginex is an excellent primer.
My comments:
The chrony results are hard facts, although the sample size for a valid ES is too small. 10 shots would be better. When I was doing serious work, I always fired 20 shots.
The groups are dependent on my shooting ability, off a bench, on a cold day. My "Best Before Date" was about 40 years ago....
Note big velocity difference - CCI Stnd 2,760 and S&B 2,776 vs GNX 2,712 fps. Same brass, bullet and powder charge. I like the GNX. Just have to adjust the powder charge a bit (up).
My conclusions:
My previous use of Berdan cases for serious shooting was a valid choice. The Berdan primer really performs well.
Any primer can be used to develop the best load for a rifle. It may take a small increase or decrease to make a primer perform like another. I do not use magnum primers for extruded powders and I always use magnum primers for ball powder. The latter is based on experience of multiple incidents.
Ginex is an excellent primer.
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Thanks Gander ! Very Interesting ! Especially how poorly the 5 shot group was with the Fed 210 MATCH PRIMERS ! compared to the others ! By Far the largest group at over 2 " ! Thxs RJ
probably me, not the primer.
