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When it comes to long-range shooting, consistency is king – and rifle primers can play a critical role in achieving it. A primer’s job is to ignite the powder charge, and how consistently it does that directly impacts muzzle velocity. Even slight variations in ignition can shift pressure curves, leading to velocity spreads that cause vertical dispersion downrange.
The best rifle primers are manufactured with tighter tolerances, uniform priming compound, consistent cup thickness, and reliable sensitivity. That level of quality delivers more consistent ignition from shot to shot, which translates into lower standard deviation (SD) and extreme spread (ES) in velocity.
For shooters stretching beyond 600 yards (especially 1,000+ yards), even small variations in velocity can cause significant vertical POI shifts. If your ammo has an SD of 15 fps, you could see 14-18 inches of vertical spread at 1,000 yards – unacceptable in precision rifle competitions. A quality primer helps minimize that variable, especially when paired with quality brass and consistent powder charges.
Bottom line: If you’re chasing extreme precision, don’t overlook the importance of selecting the best rifle primer. It’s a small component of your load, but it can have a big impact on consistency and downrange performance.
So, what is the best rifle primer? While everyone has an opinion, I surveyed the top 200 ranked shooters in the Precision Rifle Series (PRS) to see what rifle primer they were using in their match ammo. These guys represent the best of the best when it comes to long-range rifle shooting, so getting insight from them is far better than listening to some random guys arguing on a forum! 😉
Best Rifle Primer
Let’s dive into the data! Here is a look at the specific type of primers that the top 200 ranked marksmen in the PRS said they were running in their match ammo:
63% of these guys are using CCI #450 Small Rifle Magnum Primers! CCI 450 primers are by far the most popular choice. That doesn’t surprise me because CCI #450s have been the most popular option among pro shooters in the PRS for more than 10 years. They are known to be extremely consistent, and there may be another benefit to using magnum rifle primers that I’ll share later in this article.
CCI BR-4 Small Rifle Primers were tied for the 2nd most popular choice. It was used by 14% of these pros, and there were more top 10 shooters using it than any other primer – although that was only 1 more than the CCI #450 and the Federal 205M. The top 10 seemed fairly evenly split among the top 3.
Federal 205M Small Rifle Primers were also tied for the 2nd most popular choice among this group of elite competitors, with a couple of the guys in the top 10 running it as well.
91% of these shooters were using one of the primers above: CCI 450, CCI BR-4, or Federal 205M. Those are clearly some of the top-performing small rifle primers when it comes to long-range precision. If you are wondering what you should try in your match ammo, those are probably your best bets. But there are several other types of primers represented among this group, and here is the full list:
- CCI #450 Small Rifle Magnum Primers
- CCI BR-4 Small Rifle Primers
- Federal 205M Small Rifle Primers
- CCI #400 Small Rifle Primers
- Federal 205 Small Rifle Primers
- Federal 210M Large Rifle Primers
- Federal 210 Large Rifle Primers
- CCI BR-2 Large Rifle Primers
- CCI #41 Small Rifle Primers
What’s interesting is that only two primer brands are represented among all 200 shooters: CCI and Federal. A decade ago, CCI and Federal were still the most popular, but we also saw a few of the top shooters in the PRS using TulAmmo, Winchester, Wolf, and Remington primers (view the data from 2015). It’s interesting when you see consolidation like that over time, so I thought it was worth mentioning.
What Makes A Primer Benchrest or Match-Grade?
Many of these primers are marketed as “Benchrest” (BR) or “Match-Grade” (M) – but what does that even mean?!
I’ve heard all kinds of speculation on this over the years, but here is the definitive answer from Jeff Siewart, a ballistic engineer with 40 years of industry experience. This is an excerpt from his book Ammunition, Demystified:
“According to sources at various primer manufacturing operations, when you buy benchrest primers, what you’re spending your money on is a slightly larger quantity of primer mix, on average, than the standard primers and a slightly tighter tolerance regarding mix weight variation. Dimensionally, there are no differences in the metallic components because they are made on the same stamping lines as non-benchrest primers, using the same tooling.” – Jeff Siewart, Ballistic Engineer
One of my favorite quotes related to this topic is from a research paper titled “High-Speed Measurement of Firearm Primer Blast Waves” by Michael Courtney, Joshua Daviscourt, Jonathan Eng, and Amy Courtney. They measured and quantified the blast from different primers, and this was their conclusion after reviewing all the data:
“There are significant differences in the standard deviations observed for different primer types, and it is notable that so-called ‘Match’ primers are not always more consistent than non-match primers.“
So don’t just assume that if it says “Benchrest” or “Match” that it is the most consistent – and don’t assume that if it doesn’t say those words that it isn’t as good. Notice that the CCI #450 doesn’t have “BR” in the name – but clearly, many of the best shooters in the world believe it is match-worthy. The CCI #450 was included in Courtney’s research and seemed very consistent.
Why Use Magnum Rifle Primers?
The most popular primer was the CCI #450 Small Rifle Magnum Primer. To be clear, none of these guys were actually using magnum cartridges. They were primarily using medium-sized, short-action cases like the 6mm Dasher, 6.5 Creedmoor, 6mm GT, 6mm BR, 25×47 Lapua, and other similar-sized cases. (View the data on what cartridges these pro shooters run)
So what’s the advantage of a magnum primer?
In the book Ammunition, Demystified, Jeff Siewart gives a thorough technical explanation of why magnum primers were invented (pages 147-148), and it has to do with how modern gun powders are made in order to provide optimal performance. I’ll do my best to summarize.
To get the best possible precision and highest possible muzzle velocity, you want a rifle case to be full of powder and for that powder to burn completely while the bullet is still in the barrel. Ideally, the peak pressure should occur farther down the bore, and the powder should be fully burned as close to the chamber as possible. That way, expanding gases push on the bullet for as long as possible without wasting energy accelerating unburned powder that exits the muzzle (which also hurts accuracy).
Modern powders achieve this balance using deterrent coatings and specific grain shapes. Smaller grains with high levels of deterrent coating burn slower on the surface but faster overall, helping stretch out the pressure curve and boost velocity – which is great for precision. But that also makes them harder to ignite, especially when the case is packed full and you’re shooting in cold weather.
Magnum primers were invented to solve that ignition challenge. They produce more energy at the start, helping to consistently ignite large volumes of slow-burning, highly deterred powder, reducing velocity spreads and pressure inconsistencies.
Note: I share several practical tips on picking the optimum rifle powder from Jeff’s book in this article: Rifle Load Development: How To Find The Best Powder & Load For Accuracy.
Now, is that the reason the majority of these guys are running CCI #450 primers? I’m not sure. I can say the CCI #450 primers have proven to be very consistent. A magnum primer may give you a little more velocity than a standard primer, but the trend among the top shooters over the past 3-4 years is to run their bullets at relatively slow velocities anyway. I will add that I’m personally one of the top 100 ranked PRS shooters from this past year, and I use CCI #450 primers in virtually all of my match ammo that uses small rifle primers. I can attest that I get velocity SDs of 4-7 fps from my 6mm Dasher load, so I don’t see any reason to change it. That might be anecdotal, but I’d suspect most of these other pro shooters running it would say something similar.
Small Rifle Primers vs. Large Rifle Primers
You may have noticed that the overwhelming majority of primers these guys use are small rifle primers, even though some of these cases, like the 6.5 Creedmoor, were originally designed for large rifle primers.
98% of these pro shooters use either match-grade brass made by Alpha Munition, Lapua, or Peterson (view data on brass). All 3 of those brass manufacturers offer a few cases with the option for primer pockets made for either a Large Rifle Primer (LRP) or a Small Rifle Primer (SRP). The most popular example is the 6.5 Creedmoor. The original 6.5 Creedmoor case design from Hornady had a large rifle primer, but Alpha, Lapua, and Peterson are all offering 6.5 Creedmoor cases with a small rifle primer OR a larger rifle primer. They might also offer cases with the option for small or large primers in 22 Creedmoor, 6XC, 6mm Creedmoor, 25 Creedmoor, 260 Rem, 308 Win, and other cases.
I was curious how many of these top-ranked shooters opted for one primer or the other, so I did some analysis on it – and it’s pretty conclusive!
98% of these guys were running brass with small rifle primers! Only 3 people were running large rifle primers, and none of those were inside the top 100. In fact, 2 of those using a large primer were shooting a 308 Win in the tactical division (but still shot well enough to finish inside of the top 200 in the PRS Open Division). So, if you were wondering if you should buy the brass with a small rifle primer pocket or large – this group seems pretty definitive on that!
I will add that I’ve heard ballisticians from Hornady say that if you are using a Creedmoor-sized case in cold conditions (below freezing), they would highly recommend a large rifle primer. They say you could experience ignition problems trying to light powder in those cases that have over 35 grains of powder with a small rifle primer.
“Unfortunately, you see a huge push to the small primer pocket brass for match shooting in certain cartridges, like the Creedmoor family. We’ve seen quite a bit of that available. What a lot of guys don’t understand is that you’re skirting the line there with the combination of the charge weights that are used within those cartridges, the type of propellant that’s used, and then the small rifle primer that at generally at colder temperatures you can have ignition related issues with those. So that’s something to keep in mind. A small primer pocket isn’t just more material around the primer pocket, meaning you can stand on pressures, and your brass lasts longer. There are other things going on as well.” – Jayden Quinlan, Hornady Senior Ballistician
I personally competed with a 6mm Creedmoor for 5+ years and easily fired 10,000+ rounds with a small rifle primer in it without a single ignition issue – but very few of those rounds were fired below freezing and none were below 0° F. I was using CCI #450s and Hodgdon H4350. The guys at Hornady are experts, and that is only my anecdotal experience – but I just want to try to present a balanced view.
“It gets muddy because there are times where it’s like this primer works with, say, all 5 of these cartridges no matter what powder you put in it. Then you switch to this other powder in those same 5 cartridges, and for 3 you better use this primer, and for those two you better use a different primer, because if you don’t do that, then problems are coming.” – Jayden Quinlan, Hornady Senior Ballistician
I’ve also heard Jayden say that in the research they’ve done at Hornady, they’ve found no precision or consistency advantage to small rifle primers. He also hadn’t heard of any other serious research that had been done by other labs that would indicate some intrinsic benefit when it comes to small rifle primers for precision.
One reason many of these shooters opt for small rifle primers is the belief that more material at the base of the case around the primer pocket could either extend brass life or possibly support slightly higher pressures. I’d also bet that some people do believe that small rifle primers are potentially more consistent and might help precision. But, again, I haven’t seen any serious research (based on appropriate large sample sizes) that supports that conclusion. So I can’t confirm or deny that.
If anyone is aware of research into small rifle primers vs large rifle primers, please share it with us in the comments!
Coming Up Next
This article is part of a series on rifle reloading data, load development, and reloading components. Here are other related articles that I’ve recently published or plan to publish in the near future:
- Best Reloading Presses & Dies – What The Pros Use
- Best Powder Scale – What The Pros Use
- How Do The Best Shooters Reload? What The Pros Use (This is all about the reloading steps and process that these shooters perform to reload their match ammo.)
- Best Brass – What The Pros Use
- Best Long Range Bullet – What The Pros Use
- Unlock the Secrets of Ammo: A Must-Read for Every Shooter and Reloader (This is a review of the book Ammunition, Demystified by Jeff Siewert, which is the best book I’ve ever read on ammo.)
- Best Rifle Powder – What The Pros Use
- Rifle Load Development – How To Pick The Right Powder & Load
- Powder Temperature Sensitivity – Why It Matters & Best Powders To Use
- Best Rifle Primers – What The Pros Use
- Best Match Ammo Options for Shooters Who Don’t Reload (coming soon)
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Actually, as shown by tests in the past, the best primers are the Russian primers which gives the best SD. Unfortunately, they are no longer available due to embargo.
Thanks, Joseph. I’ve heard that in the past, but it’s hard to compare since they’re no longer available. Maybe one day we’ll be able to compare them again, and see if they’re one of the better options.
Thanks,
Cal
I agree completely. I have tested primers regularly (as well as several shooters I know well) and have found the Sellier&Belloit SRP to outshine any other brand. We also find the Wolf match primers to finish 2nd, followed by the BR4’s. As mentioned, the first two are no longer available in the US. I am fast running out and will convert to the BR4’s sometime this year. Until then I will continue to enjoy ES in the mid-single digits.
Alpha had an interesting article on Primer Pockets /lg vs sm Primers some years back. I remember it saying accuracy isn’t affected but the life of the case is—-large gets larger faster
Thanks, David. I can’t seem to find that article online, but I might reach out to those guys and see if they could share any research they’ve done into it. That does seem to echo what most of the shooting community believes to be true (and makes sense logically thinking), but I’m struggling to find any empirical data that might back it up. Maybe they have something. If they do, I’ll come back and share it here.
Thanks,
Cal
Hi Cal
Very good article. It doesn’t surprise me that the top 200 shooters only use CCI and Federal primers.But I did think there would be fewer using magnum primers.
I personally like the Federal 205M Small Rifle Primers but last year I started using the
CCI #450 Small Rifle Magnum Primers. I have never used CCI BR-4 Small Rifle Primers, mainly because I didn’t think the extra cost was worth it.
I was surprised to see the CCI #400 Small Rifle Primers. Last year I tried these with 6.5 Creedmoor and had all kinds of problems. I talked to CCI and they were useless to deal with. But I had asked Lapua brass some questions on this issue and they wrote me back recommending I use magnum primers and they also recommended CCI #450 Small Rifle Magnum Primers.
Are there any studies that discuss using magnum primers over standard primers in non-magnum cartridges as it relates to how long your brass last or added pressures caused?
Thanks
Paul Goggan
Hey, Paul. Thanks for sharing your experience. I’ve used both CCI #450 and CCI BR-4 and CCI BR-2 extensively, and I can’t say that I’ve ever got better results with the BR primers. I’ve used a lot of the Federal Larger Rifle Magnum primers, but not many of their small rifle primers.
I don’t know of any research related to magnum primers in non-magnum cases. I guess among this group of pros, we’re firing 100,000+ rounds annually with them … so it seems to be working. But, it’s funny that we’re all doing it without any empirical research. I’ve been using the CCI #450 primers in all of my rifles that take small primers for a few years now, and always seem to get small SDs and no issues with ignition. So I guess that is enough to convince me, but I would be interested in reading any research thats been done in the space – but there just doesn’t seem to be any.
Thanks,
Cal
In your examination of all this data, I’m wondering is there anyone who is using all the most popular equipment? And if so, how did they rank?
Hey, Brian. That’s a good question. Because I survey and report on so many different types of gear, I might think its unlikely … but I’m curious now! I’ll take a look at the data and report back here.
Thanks,
Cal
Brian, as I suspected … there isn’t even 1 shooter who is using the most popular brand for each of the major rifle components: action, scope, chassis, barrel, trigger, and muzzle brake. That’s even before you start throwing all of the other things like cartridge, bipod, and ammo components at it. There are so many different options for each of those that it seems like it would be very improbable that someone would check all the boxes. It’s kind of like getting a perfect March Madness bracket.
Now, I have talked to several shooters who built a rifle like that … basically picking the most popular item for each of the components. That’s kind of a fun idea. In fact, over the past few years when I met several of these top shooters they thanked me for publishing the “What The Pros Use” and went on to say that is how they picked their gear when they were starting out. They just bought whatever the guys leading it at the time were using. I’d say over time we all develop some preferences in different areas that might make us decide to go with a different brand or product that might not be the most popular brand at the time.
Now if you reframe it to “How many guys are using the 1st or 2nd most popular items for the major components?” … then there are 2 people who meet that criteria. If you changed it to be any of the top 3 components, there are 22 shooters who match that criteria – including the PRS Champion from last year.
It was an interesting question, so thanks for dropping the comment!
Cal
I only shoot 223, but I find that with 80 grain projectiles and varget @ 24.7 grains, cci 450’s give similar SD but smaller ES over 205m’s. Also about 30 fps slower with the cci 450’s. I’m about 095″ off rifling.
Interesting, Jeff. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Hi Cal,
research task showed, that the best hydrophobicity, or hydrophobic technology have russian Murom primers.
Best cup softness consistency have Federal. All measured in lab conditions.
Best ignition consistency from sub zero to high temperature have russian Murom.
Best chamber preassure SD measured by special brass have russian Murom.
Meassuring bullets Vo SD isnt best option to compare performance of primers.
Federal primers are very close to performance of Murom.
If Federal will have better hydrophobic technology, they will be far the best.
If Murom will have better cup softness consistency, they will be far the best.
Regards
BlueArmory
https://www.instagram.com/blue.armory/
Thanks for sharing. I’ve never even heard of Murom primers, but it’s interesting to hear about their performance. You mentioned that it was all measured in lab conditions. Is there any research documents or info you could point us to if we wanted to learn more about the testing and results?
Thanks,
Cal
Hi Cal,
Great article again! I was wondering how the primer shortage over the past bunch of years may have influenced the outcome of this article (especially with large rife primers and even beyond Russian primers)? Thanks.
Hey, Jim. I do think you might see some Russian primers on here, if any of the good ones were available. I have heard people like David Tubb and others over the years who bought a pallet of those in the past because they felt like they were clearly more consistent. So I think there is some truth to how good those were in the past, and you used to see them being used by at least a few in this group.
However, I’ve been reporting on “What The Pros Use” since the 2012 season and CCI and Federal have always been the favorites, even when all the others (including Russian) were readily available. So, while this might have looked slightly different if the Russian primers were available, I don’t think it would have been dramatically different. I’d bet that the top 3 primers were still the most popular, even if every option was on the shelf at local gun stores across the country. But, that is just my guess.
I don’t think large primer availability has anything to do with what these pros are choosing to run. While there only appears to be a few research projects that have ever been done on rifle primer consistency and including samples of small rifle primers and large rifle primers, the shooting community as a whole tends to believe that small rifle primers might be more consistent and also that brass with a small rifle primer will last longer because the primer pocket doesn’t grow as fast as brass with large primer pockets – especially when you are running loads on the warmer side. I think that thought process is why the majority of us are running brass with small primer pockets. I don’t think it has to do anything with availability. I’m one of the top 100 shooters and I literally have thousands of large rifle primers on the shelf, including thousands of CCI BR-2, Fed 210M, and Fed 215M. But, anytime I’ve bought Creedmoor brass, I have always opted into the small rifle primer version of it, whether that was Lapua brass or Alpha brass. I’ve just never had ignition issues with the CCI #450 in those cases. Now I only use Varget or H4350, and I don’t shoot below freezing too often … and never below 0 F. I’ve heard the ignition issues that Hornady experienced were with certain powders at very cold temps, so I guess I’m just not using whatever powders that is relevant to or I’m not shooting as cold as they are testing.
So I think you have a point on the Russian primers, but I’m not sure about large rifle primers.
I appreciate you sharing your thoughts!
Cal
Great article, and has me thinking about trying a “magnum” primer in my LRP 6mm Creedmoor. I wonder though if the move to SRP was influenced by the inability to obtain any LRP in the recent past. In my small town in SE Arizona, and in Tucson, the only available LRP consistently is Winchester WLR. I can sometimes find CCI 200s, but no Federal of any type.
Second question, much like any other sport, the top tier competitors are gifted with enhanced abilities to shoot and compete at levels beyond the average competitor. For example, I love baseball, and played for quite a while when younger, but I couldn’t hit a low 80s mph fastball, nor was I fast enough to beat out a ball hit into the “hole” between third and short. So, our top tier competitors, how much does the top tier equipment affect their scoring? How many are sponsored by OEMs or equipment providers, and to what level of sponsorship and support? Thanks!
Hey, Davin. I don’t think large primer availability has anything to do with what these pros are choosing to run. While there only appears to be a few research projects that have ever been done on rifle primer consistency and including samples of small rifle primers and large rifle primers, the shooting community as a whole tends to believe that small rifle primers might be more consistent and also that brass with a small rifle primer will last longer because the primer pocket doesn’t grow as fast as brass with large primer pockets – especially when you are running loads on the warmer side. I think that thought process is why the majority of us are running brass with small primer pockets.
I’m one of the top 100 shooters and I literally have thousands of large rifle primers on the shelf, including thousands of CCI BR-2, Fed 210M, and Fed 215M. But, anytime I’ve bought Creedmoor brass, I have always opted into the small rifle primer version of it, whether that was Lapua brass or Alpha brass. I’ve just never had ignition issues with the CCI #450 in those cases. Now I only use Varget or H4350, and I don’t shoot below freezing too often … and never below 0 F. I’ve heard the ignition issues that Hornady experienced were with certain powders at very cold temps, so I guess I’m just not using whatever powders that is relevant to or I’m not shooting as cold as they are testing.
Now, your second is a really good one. I like your baseball analogy, too. You are on to something. How I’d explain it is that if you gave one of the top 10 shooters a factory Ruger Precision Rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor with a Vortex Viper scope and the white box Hornady Match factory ammo, it’s unlikely that they would still finish in the top 10 – but I’d bet money they would still be inside of the top 100 and maybe inside the top 50. They are exceptional shooters, which is a skill independent of the rifle system and ammo. That is all my gut, but I’m pretty sure the 2 or 3 friends I have that are top 10 guys would probably agree. They might say they’d still be in the top 25, but some of that is simply their competitive mindset. It’d be a fun experiment to do, but all of those guys are too competitive to try it! 😉 Hopefully that helps you understand how their top tier equipment impacts their score. I always say a really great rifle and ammo combo won’t make someone a great shooter, but in the hands of a great shooter – they will make them better. It’s all about whether the rifle system is the weakest link in the system, and for most shooters it isn’t … but for these top guys, it absolutely would be.
The 2nd question about sponsorship is that those are more sparse than most people believe. This isn’t 3-Gun, where huge sponsors are throwing money at the sport and the top shooters. I’m reporting on the top 200 shooters in the Open Division. There are a few sponsorship deals among some of the guys in the top 10, and a few of those might extend into the top 20 … but not much more than that. Even among the guys in the top 20, there are some that don’t have a single sponsorship deal. And the sponsorship deals up to this point aren’t that significant. They might give you a free scope or help cover a portion of your travel or match fees – but nobody is making a living on this. One of the guys in the top 10 told me every one of them are in the red on what they spend to compete every year, except for maybe the 1 guy who ends up winning the big prize at the AG Cup (I think that was $25,000 to the winner this year). You also have the Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU) guys – but that is because the US Army is paying them to shoot (or I guess we are as taxpayers), not because they have lucrative sponsorship deals.
I am friends with a few of the top 20 shooters, and none of those guys change gear because someone offered them free stuff or money. I knew some of them before they were a top shooter, and the equipment they used to run when they weren’t in the top 200 is virtually identical to what they run now that people know their names. Now, in some cases, the manufacturers of products they were already running approached them to offer a discount on future products or maybe to help cover some travel expenses to matches – but they were literally already using the product.
Even among the top 10 guys, many of those guys didn’t get their stock or chassis for free or even their action for free. They likely did receive an industry pro discount, but they could have gotten that on virtually any brand! So, they’re still picking what they believe gives them the best odds of winning.
At the JTAC class I went to not long ago, Clay Blackketter (2019 PRS Champ and 4th overall in 2024) said this is the question that they ask themselves about a sponsorship: “Is it adding to my score?” Whether it is a free barrel or free gunpowder, if it isn’t going to give them some advantage in terms of hits at a match – they don’t consider switching. Austin Orgain and Austin Buschman were also in that room as instructors and agreed with that view. So that represents how the PRS Champions from 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 think about this. All 3 of those guys also finished in the top 10 in 2024.
Honestly, most of the guys in the top 50 HATE changing their gear. Like it’s almost like pulling teeth for them to change something about their match rifle. They’ve learned that switching gear can impact reliability or reset how familiar they are with their system, so if you ever have a conversation with them you’ll realize that many of them haven’t changed anything about their rifle system in years. Now we all like to tinker with new products and are also all searching for something to help us pick up 1 or 2 points per match. But, the more experience you get in this sport the more likely you are to want to stick to what has been working and what you know. Guys who frequently switch gear just aren’t guys who finish in the top 50.
If you’re ever concerns about how sponsorships might impact this kind of data, you can simply exclude the top 50 and see if the trends are the same. Virtually nobody outside of the top 50 has meaningful sponsorship deals. But, I doubt you’ll see a difference in trends … because, I really don’t think sponsorships influence the overwhelming majority of these guys. Maybe they will one day if this sport continues to grow, but that seems to be a ways off.
Those are good question! I hope that is helpful!
Thanks,
Cal
Thanks Cal! Great response and explanation. Now, regarding the Ruger RPR and Vortex Viper, that’s how I started into the game. With respect to “bang for buck” (pun intended) it’s hard to argue. But, shooting my buddy’s PRS specific rifle, I can readily see the difference. Back to the skill level issue, Doug Koenig using a Ruger RPR certainly exemplifies having exceptional skills with a less than optimal shooting system.
With respect to sponsorship, I’m surprised that the OEMs that we use to pursue our sport haven’t jumped into the game. I’ve only shot a few matches, and in those I’ve seen lots of gear, guns and stuff, but nothing really consistent. Now the things that are consistent, bullets, powder and cases, those I would think that sponsorships would be readily available to the pro’s and local club high performers. Anyway, thanks!
Davin
Hey, Davin. You make some great points. Doug Koenig is a freaking competitor! I’ve ran into him at a couple of matches, and got to interact a little and watch him shoot. Super nice guy who I believe would probably excel at anything he does. But, he’s handicapping himself a little with a production rifle. I don’t know how much it holds him back, but it does some. I will say that I’ve felt his trigger before, and it did NOT feel the same as my stock RPR. He’s tuned on it a little. 😉 Doug finished 139th in the 2024 PRS Open Division with his RPR. If you put a heavy, custom rifle in Doug’s hands, I’m not sure he’d finish the season in the top 10. But, Doug also seems like the kind of guy that if he heard me make that comment, you’d see him on the podium with a smile the next year. I think the competitive mindset plays a lot into this game, and Doug 100% has that. The gaming strategy, mental management, confidence, and killer instinct is in that guy. Honestly, you can’t break into the top 200 if you don’t have that.
I’m with you on the sponsorships! I don’t know why there aren’t more big name companies supporting the sport. We’re hopeful they’ll come around at some point. My very next article is going to show how much this sport has grown over the past few years, and I bet that wakes a few manufacturers up to how big this crowd has become. It’d be cool to see more guys get supported, and more manufacturers supporting matches, prize tables, etc. This group spends a LOT of money on gear, ammo, barrels, and everything else. If you add up the cost of rifles and optics that are on the line at every match, you easily get over $1M! And every big match costs $1000+ if you add up travel, hotel, ammo, and match fees. The top 20 are averaging over 13 of those each year, so it’s a lot! That doesn’t even count the sheer number of barrels we burn through!
But, it’s a lot of fun. Worth every penny in my opinion! As much fun as I’ve ever had legally or with my clothes on! 😉
Thanks,
Cal
Cal, so the guys shooting 6.5CM, where ur dealing with a case loaded with considerably more powder, are still using brass with SRP pockets vs LRP pockets?
Thanks George
Yes, sir! That is correct.
Hi Cal,
What kind of SD could be measured if one uses *bad* primers? There appears to be an ongoing shortage of large rifle magnum primers (I was forced to reload .338 Lapua), and the only ones I could find locally were made by a company called White River Energetics. No matter what I do the SD always hovers around 15-25, and that’s using an FX120i down to the grain. The primers themselves are a bit on the thick side and won’t seat flush unless you really push it, and others have reported similar issues in the past. To the majority of casual reloaders I suspect they use what they can get their hands on. How could one tell if their high SD was due to primers? For example, are there obvious red flags that one should know?
Thanks,
J
Hey, John. Those are good questions. There are lots of things that play into SD, and primers are just one of those. Based on what you’re saying, I’d say it is likely that it’s the primer. It seems like you know this, but you shouldn’t have to force a primer to seat in a case. I’d bet those are out of spec.
To be honest, I heard of White River Energetics for the first time this month, so I don’t have any experience with them. Knowing that you’re weighing to within +/- 1 kernel of powder with the FX120i, the only other question I might ask is what kind of brass you’re using. In my experience, brass plays the biggest role in SD (at least after you’re weighing powder to the kernel). If you are using Lapua brand brass (or Alpha for other cartridges), then it’s almost certainly not the brass. But, if it’s not one of those … then I would suspect some portion of it could be coming from the brass and some portion from the primer.
In my opinion, any SD of 15 fps or more is unacceptable for handloaded ammo. In fact, I’m not really happy with anything in the double-digits, but some cartridges are tough to get below 10 fps. I was able to find a load for a 338 Lapua Mag using Lapua brass, H1000 powder, CCI 250 primers, and Berger 300 gr OTM bullets that regularly produces 3-6 fps SDs over 10-shot strings. I’ve had first round hits at 1.5 miles with that rifle. It’s a freaking shooter! You can view all of my detailed load data here, including that exact 338 Lapua load.
The only way to know for sure if it’s the primer is to do A/B testing. Load 20 rounds exactly the same, but 10 of them have the White River primers and 10 have another primer. If you’re trying to detect minor differences, then you need to increase the count to 20 each. But, I bet if you did 10 rounds each – it’d be clear that it was your primer. For a 338 Lapua Mag, my favorite is a CCI #250, but I’ve heard some people have good luck with the Federal 215M Large Magnum Match primers. I have tested both in a few cartridges, you’ll see almost all of my load data for cartridges using a large magnum primer is using a CCI #250.
I know a lot of people like buying primers at a local gun shop – but I’d say you can typically find almost any primers online, if you know where to look and how to setup alerts. I’ve heard people say we’re in a primer shortage … but I’ve been able to find and buy all of the primers I wanted over the past 2-3 years. There was a time a few years ago that they were virtually impossible to find, but we’re pretty far removed from that. Of the 20+ popular rifle primer brands and models, I’d bet you could find 80% of them in stock online somewhere right now, and the others you might have to wait 2-3 months before you got an alert that says they were in stock somewhere. That’s at least my experience.
Right now, there are CCI #250 Large Rifle Magnum primers readily available from quite a few places online. If I were you, I’d go buy 1000 or maybe even 5000 primers and try them out. I bet you don’t regret it. Anytime I find a primer that works well, I typically buy 5,000 of them and that also helps to keep me from running out.
I primarily use AmmoSeek.com to find components. It searches a bunch of different online stores, and shows you who has it in stock and what the unit price is. If something is out of stock at all of the stores that it checks, then you can setup alerts that will text you when it eventually finds results. You can even set price thresholds, like only alert me if the price is under $0.08 per primer.
Here is a direct link that will show you all of the places that have the CCI #250 in stock, ready to ship. You could have those by next weekend!
https://ammoseek.com/reloading/primers/CCI?ekw=pistol&ikw=large%20magnum.
The lowest priced ones look like they’re from Miwall Corporation, which sounds like a fishy name. But I’ve probably bought 15,000+ primers from them over the past 2 years. It’s legit.
To me, there is no reason to use sub-par primers or powder if you live in the United States. People who live in other countries literally might only be able to buy 1 kind of primer, which is just nuts. God bless America! 😉 It’s one of those luxuries we don’t ever think about. And while I do like support local businesses (especially my local gun shop), ammo components are just never in stock there. So while I don’t like paying the haz-mat fee for shipping, if you buy 5,000 at a time – I’m going to bet the total cost is still much less than a local gun shop, if they’d even had it in stock.
Hope that’s helpful! Go pick you up some of those CCI #250s and I bet your SD drops quite a bit.
Thanks,
Cal