Question About Primer Pocket Residue

[c-fbmi]

To all you longtime reloaders out there I have a question. Has anyone done a study of primer residue from different primers, powder, pressure combos to see which is cleaner and which is the dirtiest? I have noticed over the years that some loads have almost no residue and others leave a very tough almost glass like residue that is very hard and difficult to remove. I've never tracked it but would be interested to know if anyone else has. I use 90% CCI primers with the other 10% being Federal 215. However it doesn't seem to be the primer as some loads seem almost spotless and others are filthy with a very hard and thick residue.
Can anyone shed some light on this? And I don't want to hear about SS pins and how well they clean!!!

 

[LUTNIT]

I find lighter/lower pressure loads leave dirtier primer pockets. I guess higher pressure means a more complete burn? I only know what I've noticed; I don't have any scientific backing or anything.

I only ever use CCI primers (#200, #250, #350) and have noticed it with all of them.

My low power cast bullet plinking loads practically leave chunks in the primer pockets while my near max higher power loads for longer ranges leave very little residue in the form of black dust.

 

[Eagleye]

At one time, C.I.L. here in Canada Made primers for sale to the reloading fraternity.
The anvil design made these the cleanest I have ever seen.
No primer pocket residue, regardless of the load used.
Unfortunately, they have been out of production for 20+ years now.
I have a few left in LR [#8½] and LR magnum [#8½M]
Still work perfectly, since storage has been ideal.
Today's primers all leave some residue, and as mentioned, the powder charge and pressures contribute to more or less residue in the pocket.
In any case, cleaning primer pockets is a waste of time for most applications.
Regards, Eagleye.

 

[c-fbmi]

At one time, C.I.L. here in Canada Made primers for sale to the reloading fraternity.
The anvil design made these the cleanest I have ever seen.
No primer pocket residue, regardless of the load used.
Unfortunately, they have been out of production for 20+ years now.
I have a few left in LR [#8½] and LR magnum [#8½M]
Still work perfectly, since storage has been ideal.
Today's primers all leave some residue, and as mentioned, the powder charge and pressures contribute to more or less residue in the pocket.
In any case, cleaning primer pockets is a waste of time for most applications.
Regards, Eagleye.

Eagleye, I burned thousand upon thousand of the CIL primers, red, green and white box as I recall, or was it just red/green? $9.90 a thousand as I recall for the last ones I was able to buy.

 

[CZ_Brno]

CIL primers, red, green and white box as I recall, or was it just red/green?

 

[Why not?]

At one time, C.I.L. here in Canada Made primers for sale to the reloading fraternity.
The anvil design made these the cleanest I have ever seen.
No primer pocket residue, regardless of the load used.....

Right you are, and they are certainly hot enough to insure complete ignition. Still have a few boxes.

Have always wondered why no one took up the manufacturing method they used. Some of the most accurate loads I ever developed were CIL primed.

Ted

 

[KDX]

They were probably a dime per thousand more to manufacture so they went the way of the Dodo.

 

[1899]

I have used mainly Federal primers over the years - mostly 215 and 215M and also 210M. I don't know if there has been any change at a chemical level, but visually speaking the new 215M look different from the old 215M (inside). The new 215M looks like the old 215. So the point is that I decided to try Remington 9 1/2 and CCI BR-2 primers.

IMHO the Remington 9 1/2 primers left FAR less residue in the primer pockets, and what was there was easier to clean. This is a very recent change, so I don't have a huge sample of loads/powders to compare in order to draw a definitive conclusion, but I am sticking with 9 1/2 primers.

I should add that I achieved some fantastic accuracy with the 9 1/2 primers.