Q: What is the weight of the propellant in a primer?

I did that (2.8 grains).

However, I wasn't clear with my question>>>

I am trying to determine the amount of propellant in different sized primers: standard pistol, magnum pistol, small rifle, large rifle, etc.
 
Primers are not propellant, a typical center fire primer is composed of these chemicals to initiate the combustion
lead styphnate 5%
Barium Nitrate 3%
Antimony Sulphide 1%*
Lead thiocyanate 0.2%

The percentages are based on total weight of the primer, the copper and zinc that make up the metal compose the rest or about 90% give or take depending on the specific type of primer, this BTW is not the CCI composition just a generic centerfire primer for comparison purposes, the total composition is very similar the the composition of a detonator used in explosives...

These compositions are adjusted to increase or decrease properties in order to achieve the desired effect, IE: LR vs. SR, I am not aware of any company that makes its exact recipes public...
 
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i weighed small and large pistol primers after removing the anvil and scraping the compound out, it was under 2gr if i recall.
 
Scanner_66 said:
Primers are not propellant, a typical center fire primer is composed of these chemicals to initiate the combustion
lead styphnate 5%
Barium Nitrate 3%
Antimony Sulphide 1%*
Lead thiocyanate 0.2%

The percentages are based on total weight of the primer
Click to expand...

This is similar to what I have been told: about 90-91% of a primer is just the casing and not the chemicals in it.
 
Scanner_66 said:
Primers are not propellant, a typical center fire primer is composed of these chemicals to initiate the combustion
lead styphnate 5%
Barium Nitrate 3%
Antimony Sulphide 1%*
Lead thiocyanate 0.2%

The percentages are based on total weight of the primer, the copper and zinc that make up the metal compose the rest or about 90% give or take depending on the specific type of primer, this BTW is not the CCI composition just a generic centerfire primer for comparison purposes, the total composition is very similar the the composition of a detonator used in explosives...

These compositions are adjusted to increase or decrease properties in order to achieve the desired effect, IE: LR vs. SR, I am not aware of any company that makes its exact recipes public...
Click to expand...


^^^ This ^^^
Technicality not answering your question but primers contain a high explosive, not a propellant. Totally different properties and behaviour. While the 1st one actually detonates/explodes, the latter combusts/burns.
 
Some days I just don't know what to think of the internet. I've been loading ammo for more than 25 years and not once ever has it occurred to me to wonder about the amount of explosive compound in a primer. The thing goes "bang" when it is supposed to and that is really the extent of my interest in primers. Why do we have these conversations?
 
Suputin said:
Some days I just don't know what to think of the internet. I've been loading ammo for more than 25 years and not once ever has it occurred to me to wonder about the amount of explosive compound in a primer. The thing goes "bang" when it is supposed to and that is really the extent of my interest in primers. Why do we have these conversations?
Click to expand...

if your not interested in something then don't post about it, it's really a simple concept.
 
The heat and pressure produced by primers is of interest to ballisticians. That type of information is input into numerical internal ballistic models, which can be used to safely and economically calculate things like breech pressures and muzzle velocities without having to venture into the HFO temperatures that much of the country is currently experiencing.
 
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