223/556 Primers

General Firearms Reloading & Ammunition
1

Anybody have any strong feelings about using “MilSpec” primers like CCI #41 versus plain CCI #400 (or BR4) for 223/556 reloading to be shot out of a couple of plain Jane ARs and a Mini? Just fun range/tactical stuff, no precision or BR.

I went down to my local reloading emporium and they only had CCI BR4 s in small (100) boxes and I didn’t want to buy 1,000 at their prices. Got home and promptly loaded them. Is the risk of a slam-fire really that much greater with standard vs. MilSpec primers? I know (and don’t care) that the BR4s are more consistent than the 400s.

Fortunately, I came on a smoking deal soon thereafter for CCI #41 ($36/1,000 delivered in a group buy) so this won’t be a problem soon. :wink:

2

Mil spec primer are absolutely not necessary. There’s been a trillion rounds of commercial primers fired in the AR without a slam fire.

If there is a slam fire… it’s the gun… not the rifle primer.

3

Ditto on what markm said about standard small rifle primers in an AR.

Reloading with large rifle primers for a FAL is a different story. I absolutely won’t use anything except CCI #34s there.

The CCI 34s are considered to be a magnum primer. Not sure on the CCI 41s, but I would consider them hotter than standard unless proven otherwise.

4

i use the cci magnum 450 in my ar’s…

5

I use the WOLF SRMs for low reported velocity Standard Deviations… other than that… anything that’ll fit in the primer pocket works for me.

6

Same here WOLF SRM’s at $15.50 a K, working really well for me too.

7

Obligatory recent Wolf SRM note about not using H335/SC844/846 etc with recent lots of Wolf SRM…

(older lots like my 2007 ones are fine)

8

Indeed. If you like H335, don’t buy the current WOLF primers.

9

Is the caution regarding Wolf primers applicable also to the Small Rifle 223 primer or only the Small Rifle Magnum?

10

BOTH from what I’ve read… but the SRMs are what I have first hand experience with failing to start H335.

11

Shame, I’d like to try H335 but if that’s an issue… I’ll stick with TAC as at $15.50 for WOLF SRM… I’m not going to change up my load and pay more than needed for primers.
I do have a few hundreds CCI #400 though, maybe I’ll get just a pound of H335 and experiment a little, get some chrono data worked up.

12

H335 is good powder, but for me… it was much easier and more economical to replace h335 that it was to replace my WOLF SRMs.

H335 just doesn’t do anything THAT great to make me switch primers… and it’s flashy as hell.

13

If you have not already bought the primers, it is probably cheaper to buy non WOLF primers and then by WC844 powder at $85 per 8lb keg instead of paying 120 or much more for 8lbs of TAC. WC844 is non canister grade H335 surplus pulldown powder. Works fine for me.

14

Good to know about the flash :cool:

I already have 16#'s of TAC and 5K of WOLF SRM’s on hand to last me throught the rest of the year but will keep WC844 in mind for when I restock back up. Thanks for the 411.

15

Are your Wolf SRM the recent lots? I have 2007 lots of Wolf SRM and they work fine. Just recent lots have the problems.

16

I’m not close to my bench to check right now… but I think when I checked they were manfactured 2nd quarter of this year. I’ll confirm and update when I get home.

3 or 4 buddies and I got in a on a group buy from PV and we all got them. So far no one has reported issues, but then again I think we are all loading TAC and Horandy FMJBT’s. I’m almost through my second brick.

17

I think my 09s were no go with H335. I still have 200 of the 07s I saved when I realized they changed the formula.

I think I ran the 07s with success behind H335.

18

Probably SOL on those with H335 type powders.

19

But they do run TAC pretty good in my experience.

20

I think I overheard somebody say that Remmy 7.5 primers were just as slam-fire hard as the CCI military ones … can any one confirm this?