Velocity Changes in Small Primers

[cheyennewyo]

I have been shooting Starline SR brass in my 6.5 Creed for a while with really good success. I have been using 40.8 of H4350 and CCI #400 (small rifle primers). I haven't had any problems with ignition, and pretty much every load I have every used has been in the single digit SD range. As with all reloaders, I am plagued with the desire to try to make a better (more consistent) load. I have found that my particular load, while not really that hot, has primer piercing problems in other rifles that are used to much hotter loads (headspace wasn't an issue) which I believe is related to different firing pins. I would like to find one type of primer that I can use across the board.

I would like to try BR2 primers, but am not sure how that will affect velocity or consistency across rifles. Has anyone experimented to see the results in such a primer switch? If so, what velocity differences did you observe and did you find the BR2s to be better across different rifles?

 

[John Glidewell]

BR2s are hotter and will produce a little more velocity, 5-7 fps. The best primers I have run are the Federal 205M. They are consistent lot to lot and produce great numbers. I use to use a lot of CCIs until a friend told me to try the Feds, not going back. I also tried the Remington 6 1/2 they are also a bit hotter. The Federal Match primers have been the best so far. I also load for multiple rifles, 4+ and I saw the same results with them all.

 

[cheyennewyo]

BR2s are hotter and will produce a little more velocity, 5-7 fps. The best primers I have run are the Federal 205M. They are consistent lot to lot and produce great numbers. I use to use a lot of CCIs until a friend told me to try the Feds, not going back. I also tried the Remington 6 1/2 they are also a bit hotter. The Federal Match primers have been the best so far. I also load for multiple rifles, 4+ and I saw the same results with them all.

Thanks for the feedback, and I will give Federal a try. If I recall, they are a little cheaper than the BR2s which is also a plus.

 

[John Glidewell]

Yes, they are about half the cost. They are also slightly larger around and fit snugger in the pocket

 

[ShtrRdy]

Have you tried the CCI 450? (Small rifle Magnum) This is what I ended up using in SRP case for the 6mm CM.

 

[John Glidewell]

We tested them all, 450s were the worst, looked like a shotgun pattern. I know some folks think they are the gnats ass to primers but I have not seen it. @47guy has done tons of testing too and he just went back to Federals due to the inconsistency of the 450s.

 

[Supersubes]

I’d never recommend using a CCI 400 in that cartridge. Swap to a small rifle magnum like a 450, or a BR-4 which has the same cup thickness.

A BR-2 isn’t going to make much difference in your load, give it a whirl and if you need to make some small charge adjustments.

I’ve got tens of thousands of Br-4 and 450 primers. In the lots I’ve cracked into, I can see no difference between them. Accuracy and speeds are absolutely identical.

 

[Conaso]

If I remember correctly, CCI BR2s are large rifle primers.

 

[John Glidewell]

If I remember correctly, CCI BR2s are large rifle primers.

Correct, the BR4 is the small rifle primer. I have done the testing with both large and small primers, same results.