Some Questions About Primers

[Notchy Bob]

Friends,

I've been shooting muzzleloaders for quite a while, but the world of blackpowder cartridge shooting and reloading is relatively new to me. I have most of what I need to load up some .45-70 and .50-70 cartridges... Except primers. I believe Mr. Venturino recommends Federal Large Rifle Magnum primers, but these are not to be found and one may need to settle for an alternative. Large rifle primers of any kind are pretty scarce.

After reading something about them in the most recent issue of Muzzle Blasts, I checked out Republic Ammunition. I had never heard of them before, and with the proliferation of scammers, I've been wary. However, two things to look for in the scam operations are claims to have everything in stock, and requiring payment by Venmo or something similar. Republic Ammo shows lots of things out of stock, and they accept major credit cards.

Link: https://republicammunition.com/

First questions: Are any of you folks familiar with Republic Ammunition, and are they a reliable dealer?

They show Winchester #34 Large Rifle Primers as well as White River Large Rifle Primers in stock. I had never heard of White River primers. I looked up the Winchester #34's and found they are extra hard, evidently to prevent slam fires in semiautomatic rifles.

This leads to my second group of questions: Do any of you have any first-hand experience with White River or Winchester #34 primers with black powder, and would you recommend them, if nothing else is to be had?

I just don't shoot well enough to worry about winning long-range matches. My priority would be reliable detonation of the powder charge. However, I would appreciate any knowledgeable responses and comments. I can speculate as well as anybody, I guess, but I do hope to hear some voices of experience.

Much obliged,

Notchy Bob

[art ruggiero]

large pistol primers are my choice no magnums prefer federal but try any name brand available art

[JonnyV]

Never heard of that outfit. I buy primers online from Midway, Brownells, or Graf’s.

About the type of primer… I don’t know anyone running LR magnum primers. Doesn’t mean there aren’t any, but at least amongst guys competing with BPCR rifles, you’re a lot more likely to find LP primers or BR-2’s. Federal 150 or BR-2 being the most common. I’m sure there are guys running regular LR primers as well.

I lucked into a good deal on Unix LR primers (European) at Graf’s, but haven’t had a chance to chronograph them yet. Also bought a bunch of Fed 150’s to run over the LabRadar as well. Currently, all I’ve used for the last three years are BR-2’s.

[gunlaker]

That book you are looking at showed what the trends were quite some time ago. Very few people use magnum primers anymore. Maybe it was the advent of Swiss powder that changed it, I'm not sure. I do have a decent load using plain Goex Fg and Federal Large Rifle Magnum Match primers, but when those primers are shot up, I'll buy no more magnum primers.

I pretty much only use CCI BR2, Fed LR Match, or Fed LP Match.

Chris.

[patchbox]

I would stay away from small unknown online shops claiming to have primers - 90% of these places are scams - when the scammers first started showing up they were easily identified by misspellings, incorrect grammar, or ignorance of firearms use so they were easy to spot. Over time they have gotten better so word to the wise - be very cautious about who you place an order for any firearms related goods. There is a website that you can run a check to see if they pop up as a scammer but it’s not all inclusive.

https://stopgunscams.com/

I do have some LRM primers that I purchased years ago but if I use them for black powder loads I sandwich a strip of 20 lb printer paper between the primer and the brass when priming the case. It helps a bit to lower the intensity or brisance of the primer flash. Black powder does not need that strong of a flash to ignite - it doesn’t take much.

[patchbox]

Rifle primers are harder to get but they do pop up occasionally. I have plenty as of now so I don’t even bother looking. I do occasionally increase my stock of SP and LP for my semi-auto reloads.

Some guys use a primer wad at the bottom of the case before charging the case - lowers the intensity and keeps smaller grains of power from entering the flash hole - creates more consistency.

[Don McDowell]

Google search turns up Republic is a reputable company.
White River primers are evidently new to the market.
In this day and age with the supply problems, if you don't have primers already in hand you are left to using what ever you can find. Looks as tho Republic has Fiocchi primers in stock.
Might want to consider placing a small order of what ever large rifle and or large pistol primers and see what happens. Heck you never know those White River primers might start a new craze...

[bpcrshooter62]

Hi guys well when i try to go to the site it comes up as a blocked site as in dangerous site so I dont know what to think.

[Notchy Bob]

Thanks to all who responded so promptly.

It's good to hear that Republic Ammunition checked out clean. However, I had not heard of them before and would prefer to stay with better known, established sellers when possible. I have ordered plenty of times from Midway, Graf's, Natchez, and Midsouth.

Some of the above have limited selections of large pistol primers in stock. I found Fiocchi, Remington 2-1/2, and Federal Gold Medal Large Pistol Match and Gold Medal Large Magnum Pistol Match primers available. Given the choices, what would you recommend? This would be for mostly Hornady and some Starline .45-70 and Starline .50-70 brass, and possibly some Starline and Top Brass .45 Colt for my revolver, if I get into loading for the handgun. It would be great if one primer would work for all of those.

If it helps to know, I have Goex and Swiss FFg powders as well as Olde Eynsford 1-1/2 Fg. I would probably start out with the OE.

As noted previously, I am a recreational shooter. I don't anticipate any competition.

As always, your help and the time you invest in answering these questions is much appreciated.

Best regards,

Notchy Bob

[Don McDowell]

Thing is loading bp is much like loading smokeless. Some rifles respond better to one primer than another.
With Goex and Olde Eynsford rp 2 1/2 and 9 primers give good results. What few decent groups I could get out of Swiss, came with br2.
Schuetzen worked well with either cci or ww large rifle primers.

[Clarence]

I've been using CCI 200's for some years. I couldn't tell any difference between them and BR-2's. I've had no problem finding very good loads when using them.

Clarence

[RB1Shooter]

I have purchased primers from Republic. They are 100% legit however, if they say, "due to delays, shipping may take 3-5 days," that's true so you need to be patient. I have purchased Rem 9.5, Fiocchi LRP and CCI 200's from them and received them all.

Another place you might want to try is: www.TargetSportsUSA.com

Good luck - a positive recommend for Republic.

[Ray Newman]

"Thing is loading bp is much like loading smokeless. Some rifles respond better to one primer than another...."
--Don McDowell

BINGO!

[Notchy Bob]

"Thing is loading bp is much like loading smokeless. Some rifles respond better to one primer than another...."
--Don McDowell

BINGO!

Yessir. No question about that. However, when you are starting with nothing and your choices are limited, it's good to have some specific recommendations from the experts as to where to start.

I found Fiocchi, Remington 2-1/2, and Federal Gold Medal Large Pistol Match and Gold Medal Large Magnum Pistol Match primers available. Given the choices, what would you recommend? This would be for mostly Hornady and some Starline .45-70 and Starline .50-70 brass, and possibly some Starline and Top Brass .45 Colt for my revolver, if I get into loading for the handgun. It would be great if one primer would work for all of those.

If it helps to know, I have Goex and Swiss FFg powders as well as Olde Eynsford 1-1/2 Fg. I would probably start out with the OE.

So, those were my choices, in addition to the Winchester #34 LRPs and the White River LRPs from Republic Ammunition mentioned in post #1. From those, Don McDowell was kind enough to suggest the Remington 2-1/2 primers for Goex and Olde Eynsford powders that I have.

However, the question may be moot at this point. Since submitting the original post this morning, I have been advised that a gun store 50-60 miles from my place has a variety of rifle and pistol primers. No magnum primers, but it sounds as if very few people are using those. So, I'll call the store and if they have primers I could maybe use, I'll carve out a little time next week and drive over there to buy a few, and thereby avoid the HazMat and shipping fees. I've also been offered some World War 2 vintage military large rifle primers as a gift (locally). I figured I could prime a few cases to try as primer only or blank loads just to see if they'll work.

Some options are opening up.

Thanks to all who have responded!

Notchy Bob

[Castaway]

The WW 2 LRP’s have a shelf life on par with a styrofoam cup. For what’s worth, they’ll be corrosive. Not a problem for one used to cleaning a black powder rifle