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Primer question

1K views 25 replies 9 participants last post by  mikld 
#1 ·
Loading a 9mm with 115 gr bullet, HP-38 powder. What brand of primer do you folks recommend?
 
#4 ·
Any one that fits...really.

I tend to prefer winchester brand primers, however I've used federal, cci, tula, S&B, wolf, even remington.

I've never had any of those fail to pop when i pulled the trigger. When shooting floating firing pin semi auto rifles, some of the softer primers get a little imprint ont hem.. but again.. I've never had one fire on charging, even multiple chargings on the same dimpled primer as a test, nor did that primer misfire when actually fired. Nor did those soft primers pierce .

So... for me.. whatever primer fits the hole is what I use.

Occasionally the off brands.. wold, tula, S&B are cheaper so i have bought extra bricks of them. ... and no issues encountered, except I saved money.

If I have to point out a downside... the tray the federal come in are huge and take up extra space for a brick or sleeve.
 
#5 ·
I am wrestling with a weird problem. I have several hundred rounds I loaded a while back. They work perfectly in my Browning Hi Power. This weekend my wife bought a Ruger SR9. When we tried to shoot it with my ammo, they won't fire? I have some Federal factory loads and they work fine in the Ruger. I was thinking I had a primer issue, but they work well in the Browning. Any ideas would be appreciated.
 
#6 ·
Weak hammer strikes? I have a S&W Bodyguard that sometimes has a weak strike. The gun has a hammer, repeated strikes usually fires the round. Mostly have problems with Tula and some of the other off-brand primers, I usually use CCI.
 
#11 ·
I've reloaded since 1969 (off and on) and most of my primers have been CCI, only because that'e what the guy handed me in '69 and they have worked well since. I have also used Remington, Winchester and Wolf primers all with zero problems with one exception;

I got a new plastic striker fired 9mm (my first) in 2011 and loaded up some reloads using Winchester primers. I got 3 out of 10 misfires with my plastic gun, but in my single action Tokerev the ammo fired just fine 100%. I tried Remington and CCI primers and all fired just fine. I did a little research and ran across "preloading" primers so I tried it. I seated the primers regularly, then gave a bit more "ummph" to add a bit of pressure to lightly crush the compound and next 20 rounds fired 100%. This "problem" only occurs with one pistol, and one primer. The gun is clean (removed bolt and thoroughly cleaned firing mechanism) and primers were seated correctly (all the way to the bottom of the pocket just like I do for my 13 other guns' ammo), but with preloading the primers I now can get 100% good Bangs! outta all my 9mms...
 
#12 ·
I've reloaded since 1969 (off and on) and most of my primers have been CCI, only because that'e what the guy handed me in '69 and they have worked well since. I have also used Remington, Winchester and Wolf primers all with zero problems with one exception;

I got a new plastic striker fired 9mm (my first) in 2011 and loaded up some reloads using Winchester primers. I got 3 out of 10 misfires with my plastic gun, but in my single action Tokerev the ammo fired just fine 100%. I tried Remington and CCI primers and all fired just fine. I did a little research and ran across "preloading" primers so I tried it. I seated the primers regularly, then gave a bit more "ummph" to add a bit of pressure and next 20 rounds fired 100%. This "problem" only occurs with one pistol, and one primer. The gun is clean (removed bolt and thoroughly cleaned firing mechanism) and primers were seated correctly (all the way to the bottom of the pocket just like I do for my 13 other guns' ammo), but with preloading the primers I now can get 100% good Bangs! outta all my 9mms...
Thanks for the good feedback. I am going to load a few tonight with CCI primers and see what happens.
 
#16 ·
Yep, sorta :p It was only the combination of one specific gun and one specific primer that was problematic. All other primers worked quite well in that gun, and Winchester primers worked quite well in my 2 other 9mm, and 5 revolvers. I found a solution, but danged if I could find a specific reason the combination wouldn't work...:D
 
#14 ·
A word of caution. You developed a load for your Browning. If that load is at or near 100% in your manual, it would be wise to back down a few percentage points and load back up to that full power loading when trying out a new gun. Handloads are firearm specific.

The 9mm headspaces on the case mouth. Remember that headspace varies between firearms. Some possibilities are a crimping problem, short cases, differing headspace between the two guns. My experience with 9mm brass is that I find a lot of variability in length between brands.
 
#17 ·
I had good luck last night. Started over with the whole reload process. When finished the pistol fired just fine. If I had to guess the reason for the problem, it would be that my loads were over crimped. I don't know for sure but thanks to everyone for the help.
 
#20 ·
That's like saying that my sterter wouldn't turn over because I was out of gas. Out of gas would make a no start-up condition.. but not a no crank condition.

if re-manufacturing the ammo made them work perfectly.. IMHO.. you did a step wrong.. and the most obvious would be incorrectly seated primer. What happens usually is the firing pin strike first seats the primer.. theoretically at that point you could have damaged the charge and anvil making ignition more difficult, but not impossible with a good strong fire pin hit.

re making them correctly, paying attention.. you didn't make the same mistake.
 
#23 ·
Will your wife's SR9 fire any other ammo or is just the reloads?
I had a problem with a new RS40 a few years back. Sent it back to Ruger three times without a fix. I finally sold it for $100 less than I bought it for because I was tired of messing with it. I'll never buy another Rugar as long as I live.
 
#24 ·
All chambers are different. If the Ruger has a longer chamber than the Browning and the rounds were over-crimped, IMO this could result in the light strikes, especially if the primers weren't seated properly.

Each step is important. This also highlights the reason that we load for one weapon at a time (or at least test each one separately.)
 
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