Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Douglas
use Winchester primers. One size fits all. Hehe, not really. As Jeff said it's one or the other. Winchester cost a few cents more a box but they are very good primers. Lots of bang.
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Winchester primers are indeed "hotter" than other brands, but that isn't necessarily a good or bad thing. Just different.
Winchester produces nothing but "ball" powders these days. Powder burning rates are controled a couple of different ways; size of the kernels or flakes and / or deterent coatings. Traditional extruded powders (they look like little pieces of pencil lead) lean more towards the size of the kernel than any deterent coatings to control burn rate. Modern ball powders (the kernels look like just that - little round balls) rely almost completely upon deterent coatings to control burn rate. This makes them notably harder to ignite than the old extruded powders. Hence, Winchester's use of "hotter" primers accross the board, since all they produce and use are ball powders.
Being "hotter" may or may not make them better suited to a given load in a particular rifle or handgun. I will say I have seldom obtained best accuracy with them, with the notable exception of black powder match rifle loads. Even when using Winchester ball powders (760 in the .375 H&H, 296 in the .357 mag, .44 mag, .45 Colt, etc.) I've typically wound up with either CCI or Federal magnum primers.
A lot of folks swear by Remington primers, which are generally the "mildest" of the lot. There is a prevailing feeling in the shooting world that the mildest primer that will reliably light the charge provides best accuracy. I'm not convinced. I've used dozens of bricks of Remington primers over the years and have not found that to be the case.
Anyway, primers are kind of a "last thing" in the process of load development. When I get a new gun, I typically start with proven powders and bullets, and whatever suitable primer I have on hand at the moment. As I work my way through different powders, charges, and seating depths with a given bullet, I will zero in on a combination the gun seems to like. Then, and only then, will I start fiddling with primers. I'll back the charge off a few grains and work back up with a different primer. Sometimes I see some improvement or deterioration in group size. Sometimes it makes little difference. But, like I say, it's always the last thing I play with. All primers are "good" primers these days, with no one brand of better quality than any other. It's all about suitability of application.