So I ran out of small pistol primers a few weeks ago and everything everywhere seemed to be at least $28 per K and while at a gun show I ran across Georgia Arms selling Wolf SPP for $22 per K so I picked up 10K. Shortly after that Cabela's put S&B primers on sale for less than $20, which ended up way less using discount codes and gift cards. So generally which are better and which should I stash for a rainy day and which should I use first, the Wolf or S&B......any experiences? I've never used Wolf but I notice that S&B seem to be flatter and don't flip as well as Winchester's in the primer flipper tray.
SPP - Which is generally Better Wolf or S&B
- Thread starter Spur0701
- Start date
NoSecondBest
New member
They're all good. I've used every brand out there and I can't say that one is noticeably better than another after almost fifty years of loading. I've tested them all for grouping and in a handgun it makes no difference. In a rifle it can make a difference, and if you're an accuracy nut (I am) I use the one I got the most accurate load with. That being said, sometimes I get the best load with brand B over brand A and sometimes the opposite.
Average Joe
New member
I used them all, no noticeable difference at all.
These days, except in benchrest competitions, an accurate match rifle is a half-moa gun. An accurate match pistol is a 4 moa gun. You just don't see primer differences at the pistol level of precision.
The reason for the above is that errors that contribute to group diameters don't add directly. The odds of a second random error source adding to another random error source in the exact same direction away from the mean POI at any given shot are small, yet it would have to do that on every shot for the error to add directly. It works out that radial standard deviation of group sizes add as the square root of the sum of the squares of the errors different sources make in isolation. So, if a bad primer choice made a 1/4 moa error in what was normally a bughole load for a benchrest gun, it would make a 0.5 moa load for a match rifle into a 0.56 moa load when added to the existing 0.5" error (√(0.5²+0.25²)=0.559). It's not a big change, but you can measure it with a large enough shot sample size. If I add that 0.25" error source to a 4 moa group, it becomes a 4.008" group, and would require test group shot counts in the thousands of rounds to be sure it was a real difference, and thus, it is invisible to us for all practical purposes.
The reason for the above is that errors that contribute to group diameters don't add directly. The odds of a second random error source adding to another random error source in the exact same direction away from the mean POI at any given shot are small, yet it would have to do that on every shot for the error to add directly. It works out that radial standard deviation of group sizes add as the square root of the sum of the squares of the errors different sources make in isolation. So, if a bad primer choice made a 1/4 moa error in what was normally a bughole load for a benchrest gun, it would make a 0.5 moa load for a match rifle into a 0.56 moa load when added to the existing 0.5" error (√(0.5²+0.25²)=0.559). It's not a big change, but you can measure it with a large enough shot sample size. If I add that 0.25" error source to a 4 moa group, it becomes a 4.008" group, and would require test group shot counts in the thousands of rounds to be sure it was a real difference, and thus, it is invisible to us for all practical purposes.
.Wolf is made by Tula. I have had more problems with products from Tula than everything else combined. I will never again knowingly buy any Tula product.
My primer choices have been Winchester, CCI, and most recently S&B (the past 2 years). Cabella's had the S&B primers on sale for $19 recently.
My primer choices have been Winchester, CCI, and most recently S&B (the past 2 years). Cabella's had the S&B primers on sale for $19 recently.
Shotgun Slim
New member
I have used many thousands of both brands in SPP and had no problems with either. In my opinion,seat of the pants only, I think the S&B primers are maybe a little more consistent but I can live with either one. I used to be a CCI snob until times got hard(shortages,remember?). Now when you can buy S&B from Cabelas $19.99 it makes the "usual" brands looked terribly overpriced.
Master Blaster
New member
Tula primers tend to be at the hard end of the scale. So your minimally sprung S&W revolver may go click once in a while with the tulas. I also find they require more effort to seat than winchester, federal, or cci primers.
SauerGrapes
New member
Have only used CCI and Winchester.
I just bought some S&B primers. {LPP} WHY ARE THEY SO TIGHT GOING IN???
I just bought some S&B primers. {LPP} WHY ARE THEY SO TIGHT GOING IN???
NoSecondBest
New member
Back at the last primer shortage I bought around 20K of Tula (Wolf) primers and haven't had even one problem with them. I do seat them by hand though, and not at the press. I do that with almost all my ammo. I have heard reports of people having problems seating them though and think it's probably how they're seating them as opposed to them being a "bad" primer. My light trigger revolvers haven't had any problems with them yet.