Primers

[Oncorhynchus.nerka]

Hi All,
I am new to reloading, and after three years, I have just finished my first 100 rounds. With inexpensive equipment (Lee Classic Loader), a pack of CCI large rifle primers, and some Ramshot Hunter, I made accurate, one-inch groups at 100 yards from my 270 Winchester. I do not shoot a lot and mostly use my rifle for hunting. It's more than accurate enough for hunting at the distances I shoot. At the moment neither Ramshot Hunter nor CCI primers are readily available. My questions are:

1. It is said that most commercial primers work, however, switching primer brands often causes a point-of-impact switch that can be significant. Without conducting a ladder test, is there any reliable way to gauge whether a particular brand will have an accuracy node that is either faster or slower than my setup? My best accuracy is about 150 feet slower than the powder's top-listed velocity.
2. How long do primers last? I like the idea of discovering an accurate load and sticking with it. Additionally, I do not shoot too often. If I were to buy 500, or 1000 primers, I would have reliability, yet, it could take me over a decade to use them all, will they go bad being stored in the garage?
3. If Ramshot Hunter and CCI primers work well for me is there a way to estimate another combination other than trying them?

Again, thank you in advance for any insight into this. With a busy work schedule and family commitments, I am merely trying to see if there is a shortcut to determining an accurate load, or if I am best holding off until components are available again.

 

[rayporter]

no. technically you should not mix components, and after testing keep them the same..

buy a couple thousand, you will not be sorry.

no. there are many reasons not to swap out primers. brisance, cup thickness, and cup hardness are a few.

i keep many thousands on hand, they keep a loooong time. so does powder.

 

[5MilesBack]

Just make sure your garage is dry......i.e. low humidity. I keep all my stuff in a vault in the basement, and humidity is in the single digits year round. But that's what we get in CO. Great for guns, powder, primers, and ammo.........but bad for wine storage.

I bought an 8# jug of Hunter and Big Game from Powder Valley earlier this year for $179.99/ea, plus hazmat and free shipping so under $200/jug. Just keep your eyes open for what you need. And if you find the powder, hopefully you also find some brand of primers to ship at the same time to save some money.

 

[Vern400]

Primers and powder will keep for a long time. Ideally you want to keep them at 68° and about maybe 50% humidity but certainly not in a very humid place.

I've been reloading 40 years. I have seen components go bad four times. Primers and powder stored in outdoor buildings with big temperature swings caused three of them. Leaving powder in the electronic powder dispenser and exposing it to humidity did the fourth. I keep my loading equipment out in the shop but my components stay in the house! If you're not storing huge amounts that's probably a better idea for you also.

Anytime you change a component or even the lot number of the component you should pop off a few shots and make sure nothing changed.

When you get a really good load, make a bunch of them. I seal my bullets and primers with markron sealer. I throw them in a military ammo box with a 100 g dessicant pack.

I regularly shoot 10, 20, 30-year-old ammunition and don't blink. For the time being, powder and primers are coming back into inventory. I've even seen some alliant powder! And I got an 8 lb jug of varget two weeks ago, for the first time in 3 years! So keep looking for your stuff it'll come available somewhere.

 

[Oncorhynchus.nerka]

Hi All,
Thanks for the quick responses. It seems like there is no simple solution and my options are to either wait or start anew. I appreciate the idea of storage for the powder, I live in Oregon and it can be damp here.
Have a great holiday!

 

[Vern400]

Hi All,
Thanks for the quick responses. It seems like there is no simple solution and my options are to either wait or start anew. I appreciate the idea of storage for the powder, I live in Oregon and it can be damp here.
Have a great holiday!

The supply right now is the best it's been since February of 2020. What you decide, decide quickly. And Merry Christmas to you too!

 

[onlybrowning]

Maybe ask around if you know any others who reload. I’ve had some success trading different types of primers in the past.

I’m waiting on a specific LRP to become available again too. I think many are in that boat.


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[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

If I had to change primers I’d probably load a mini ladder +/- a bit on the powder charge and chrono them and see what matches the original load velocity and then shoot than load to validate it’s grouping similar.

If new powder and primer you’re back to the beginning.

Your current load has a certain velocity which may line up similarly with another powder of a similar burn rate (that doesn’t mean same weight of charge!), so if finding a new combo I’d shoot pairings over the chrono in rough gradients to figure out the powder charge window +/- 50fps of the original and then focus in there to check for something accurate. If that failed I’d open up the search wider but that’s where I would focus first to ideally reduce the components and time required.