I learned something this weekend that I should have already known. Federal primers are hotter than Winchester primers. What I really re-learned is that when you change components you need to work up the load again!
I have been loading Federal primers for about two years. Prior to that I was loading CCI primers. This was mainly due to availability as I started reloading during the great shortage due to the Obummer administration in office. I have worked up a number of pistol loads using Fed primers. I have been happy with their performance but alas once again cost and availability has me switching to Win primers.
I have a USPSA load for my TSO in 40 that was developed using Fed match primers. As I recently ran out, I needed to load up another batch for a semi major match coming up. I thought that I could just drop in the Win primers and everything would be OK. I knew that I should have worked them up but I know my load isn't pushing the envelope and I wasn't concerned from safety standpoint. What I didn't think was that I would loose 30 fps switching from Fed primers to Win primers! My USPSA load is right at 170-171 PF and when I dropped in the Win primers, it dropped down to 166 PF! I can't use them at the match as Murphy will make sure that during the chrono stage they will chrono at 164 PF. (bumping me to minor). It is too close for comfort.
I had loaded 500 of these with the new Win primers to boot! I will run through them in practice or at my local matches. They shoot great as does most stuff I shoot through my TSO. It's was just a bummer as I had to do a quick work up with the Win primers and load up another batch for the match. I had to increase the powder charge by 0.1 gr to get back to near the same velocity (about 169 PF). I couldn't believe the load changed that much with a primer swap! In trying to save time (take a short cut), I ended up making a bunch that I couldn't use for the match and I still had to work up the load in the end!
I will say that the Win primers are slightly more robust than the Fed primers. They can take a little more abuse when seating them. With the Fed primers, I had to make sure I was aligned well or they would just get mangled/shear off the cup in the process. The Win primers are more forgiving and take a little more force to seat. CCI's are by far the toughest I've used.
In other news, I found another reason to like the Franford Vibra Prime. Aside from being a super quick and convenient way to load up the primer tube it also gives you the opportunity to inspect the primers before loading the tube. In the first box of Win primers I opened, I found one primer missing an anvil. Since the Vibra Prime flipper tray is clear and it has a cover, once you get them all right side up and covered, you can inspect them all without fear of dumping them all over the place. It's the first bad primer I've come across. I will make sure to keep inspecting them, hopefully this was just an anomaly and not a theme with the new batch of Win primers.
Cheers,
Toby
