Winchester or CCI Small Pistol Primers

W

WVsig

New member
I have been loading CCI primers for 9mm in my Lee Turret Press and have had a few light strikes here and there. I can get the CCIs for about $31 per 1000 including the hazmat fee. The other option is Winchester which I can get for about the same price.

I am pretty new to reloading so I am looking for insight into these 2 primer brands. I know CCI are supposed to be hard primers. Are Winchester easier to set off. Any issues with Winchester? With the CCI primers they all went off on a second strike.

Thoughts? Thanks in advance.
 
It seems to be in the agreement of most that CCI primers are the hardest cup and hardest to detonate in the industry. For the most part, it's all I care to use and it was that way for decades until I got hold if a radically custom tuned S&W PPC revolver.

It demanded an easier to detonate primer and it deserved it, so for that revolver I feed it THE easiest to detonate primer on the entire market: the Federal small pistol primer.

So you have CCI on one end and Federal on the other... it is a safe bet that everything else is somewhere in between.

To your situation:
I would prefer to address either my technique or any particular problem gun that won't reliably detonate CCI. However, if you have some customs or worked-over guns that you would rather alter your ammo to run them, Federal is the slam-dunk answer.

If a pistol will detonate CCI all the time, it'll do any primer.

If a pistol won't make a Federal go bang 100% of the time, no other primer or ammo is going to fix that problem.

But I would be remiss if I didn't say that failing to seat primers fully is one of -THE- most common rookie handloader failures and if you aren't certain that you have that down, it honestly could be your answer.
 
I have used CCI & Winchester over the years and have noticed no difference to speak of.

No misfires or hangfires in anything I have put them in.

I did have one fail to fire with a CCI 350 a few years ago, but it was old ammo, maybe had been loaded approximately 30 years. Went off at the second pull.
 
Thanks for the info. I definitely considered that I could be the cause of the issues. The light strikes have been on 2 pistols. Both pistols have lower # hammer springs.

One was a Sphinx with a lightened hammer spring. It failed on some factory rounds as well. With the factory spring it detonated everything including CCI. I actually just put a CGW spring in it and had no failures in a 100 rounds.

The other was a Browning Hi Power which is a custom gun which has a 26# spring vs the factory 32# but has never failed to ignite a primer. I think these might have been seating issues.

So at this point I might just stick with the CCI primers. :confused:
 
I have a Lee Classic Turret press and used both Winchester and CCI. Both primers performed as they were supposed to in my Sig 320. My shooting range sells CCI primers, so its a no brainer...plus I lean toward CCI because they are shiny...

Cheers
 
The general consensus will no doubt again be that the CCI's are the hardest and accordingly the reason behind the light strikes you have been getting. For some loading situations with semi-auto rifles like the M-1 Garand and others, these harder primers are preferred, but light strikes do not occur because of the more powerful firing mechanisms of the rifle types.
 
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One thing I've gotten in to the habit to tell new(ish) handloaders that may be having some issues seating primers is to get themselves a nice, thick towel and place it over the whole operation and THEN go ahead and prime some brass with brute force. Don't break any tools mind you, but give it some gorilla strength and you may find that these primers are designed to detonate with a firing pin hit and NOT with a normal process for seating.

The towel is simply to contain the blast that is unlikely to happen -- the exercise is designed to demonstrate that priming cases does NOT require nor benefit from any soft touch. They need to be bottomed out to be loaded properly and our tools are capable as long as we don't handle them gingerly because we are concerned they may explode at the bench.
 
$31 per thousand?!

May I suggest option C. Sellier and Bellot primers at $22 per thousand. Small pistol is easy to find, too. Try powder valley.

Order 50,000 primers and the cost of shipping and Haz mat is greatly diminished per 1000 primers. You can order 50,000 per one haz mat fee, so order in increments of exactly 50,000 for the best price.

They shoot great.

 
$31 per thousand?!

May I suggest option C. Sellier and Bellot primers at $22 per thousand. Small pistol is easy to find, too. Try powder valley.

Order 50,000 primers and the cost of shipping and Haz mat is greatly diminished per 1000 primers. You can order 50,000 per one haz mat fee, so order in increments of exactly 50,000 for the best price.

They shoot great.
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Thanks for the thought. I am ordering about 10,000 to get the price I am quoting. I do not need 50,000 primers at this time and would be hesitant to to order $1100 worth of something I have not tested on my equipment.

If I go with Powder Valley I might pick up some S&B to try them out.
 
Winchester primers are my new go-to, they are way softer than CCI, not that my guns have trouble with CCI, but the winchesters seat easy and cost a few bucks cheaper. My favorite thing about Win, is that the primer anvils are color coded. I am the type to always have a few random primers laying around my reloading cabinet and it's nice to know what It's for rather than tossing it.
 
the exercise is designed to demonstrate that priming cases does NOT require nor benefit from any soft touch. They need to be bottomed out to be loaded properly and our tools are capable as long as we don't handle them gingerly because we are concerned they may explode at the bench.
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As a demonstration to show how unlikely it is for a primer to go off in the press, maybe, but if one is so confident, why then the towel:?

I do not advise any kind of "slamming" or gorilla strength force. If you need to do that, you are doing something WRONG, or your tools are either defective or improperly adjusted (where possible).

I've been reloading since the early 70s, and since the 90s, I STOPPED using a progressive press, and don't even prime on a single stage press.

I use a hand primer, and surprise, primers seat just fine with FINGER PRESSURE ALONE!!!

Both CCI and Winchester work fine in my hand primer tool. CCI seems to fit a bit "tighter" in most brass, but have always bottomed properly when the case was in spec.
 
No, you are missing the point. Just a simple exercise to prove to those new to priming brass who may not be seating them properly because they are over cautious and worried about making one explode.

No, you do not need to use gorilla force to seat primers--
I'm suggesting that you TRY gorilla force simply to prove to yourself that these primers are not at all likely to explode, so that you can go forth with the knowledge that you needn't handle them with kid gloves. The towel is merely for peace of mind.

As to your reference of "finger pressure", that would vary widely across a spectrum depending on the tool you are using to prime. On the Lee Classic Cast using the single priming arm... finger pressure only will get you nowhere at all beyond a case that ends up stuck in the shellholder by a primer that has gotten started (maybe) and hasn't gotten anywhere near seated.
 
Federal is fine, but those stupid boxs don't fit over my primer tray, so that's the ONLY brand I refuse to buy.
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Ditto times ten on this comment.

I got no clue what so ever for Federal's chosen packaging method, unless it is so it looks like you are getting more for your money. One box of 1,000 takes up more storage space than 3k of everything else.
 
I think maybe we need to explain, that when you are seating the primer, you are pushing the anvil in the primer into the primer material on the bottom of the primer. If you are do so lightly then the anvil is not getting to the primer mixture. Your first strike is finishing the job that should have been done when the primer was originally seated. The second strike sets the primer off.

That is what is most likely happening with your loads.

Have fun and stay safe.
Jim
 
Primer seating issue, not brand related

I concur that OP is describing under seated primers, indicated by second strike setting them off. OP needs to seat any and all primers firmly and just below flush. Then, this conversation is not needed and price and availability become the relevant choice factors.
 
Either primer will work and doubtful there's a measurable difference between the two. Your occasional light strike is more than likely form the primer not being seated all the way then it is from just being a bad primer.
 
Are Winchester easier to set off. Any issues with Winchester?
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I've been using Winchester primers for both rifle and pistol. In my experience, Winchester primers are softer than CCI and will ignite easier. I've never had any issues with Winchester primers. I have also used Winchester small rife primers in some of my .357 Sig and 9MM loadings with good results although I think the small rifle primers may be a bit harder than small pistol primers.
 
I've been using CCI for many years..with no issues ( on a number of finely tuned S&W revolvers, high end semi-autos ( 1911's, etc) with lighter springs...)....

I have used a few boxes of WIN primers - when I could not get CCI during the last 5 yrs or so ...and they were not bad / but I've gone back to CCI.

Federal - makes me nervous because they're so soft.

S&B, in my view, is poor quality - and I'd put them in the same category as Wolf...( not something I'd ever use ).
 
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