primers

[texasgunhand]

Ive been buying powder , now iam on a mission to get primers while there out there and have a few questions.

1.iam guessing,, seems easy enough,.223 small primer,6mm and 30.06 large primer all rifle primers of course.
9 mm small primer,.45 large primer unless they are the new small primers correct??

2. Is there a reason i shouldnt buy a couple of thousand at a time say 2 thousand each. As long as there kept inside they dont go bad right? While there out there i wana be sure i have them and judging by how hard things are to get others are doing the same. Powder is out there but doesnt seem like its everywhere all the time.So iam buying a couple pounds at a time driveing hours to get. But iam getting it.since i can get primers easly i wana get them and put them up.Before you have to look everywhere for them also..
Thanks.

[mattieb]

They won't go bad any time soon I've had primers sit for over a year and they worked fine. I'm no expert though just my expeireance.

[punkey71]

Properly stored (cool, dry), primers will last for decades.

Ive loaded with my FILs properly stored primers from the 80s without issue.

[Ryno12]

Don't worry about primers going bad. Just store them in decent conditions.
How many you buy is up to you. I usually have upward of 30-40k on hand of varying types. That sustains me, at my level of shooting/reloading, through any "hard to get" times. I also wait for sales & buy 5k at a crack. Same goes for powder. I don't tend to mess with 1#'ers unless I just want to experiment. I buy enough 8's of my go to powders to last me awhile. It really boils down to how much you reload. The less time I need to spend buying or looking for components, the better.

[Tigereye]

I also find primers and powder at Powder Valley and Wideners. Try Natchez Shooter Supply, too. They don't ship to my state but they seem to have good stock. It's much easier for me to order online than to drive. The LGS sometimes has 1 lb of various powders that I'll get when supplies are low or I want to try a new one.


Don't worry about primers going bad. Just store them in decent conditions.
How many you buy is up to you. I usually have upward of 30-40k on hand of varying types. That sustains me, at my level of shooting/reloading, through any "hard to get" times. I also wait for sales & buy 5k at a crack. Same goes for powder. I don't tend to mess with 1#'ers unless I just want to experiment. I buy enough 8's of my go to powders to last me awhile. It really boils down to how much you reload. The less time I need to spend buying or looking for components, the better.

[markm]

2. Is there a reason i shouldnt buy a couple of thousand at a time say 2 thousand each. As long as there kept inside they dont go bad right?

I have 32,000 of my favorite Small rifle Primers gathering dust on the cabinet by my bench. You'll be ok. ;)

[texasgunhand]

lol,I thought buying a couple thousand was to many,maybe i will pick up some more.
Thanks guys...

[markm]

lol,I thought buying a couple thousand was to many,maybe i will pick up some more.
Thanks guys...

When you buy them online, you have to buy in bulk to cover the Hazmat fees.

[Ryno12]

Yep. I'm usually good with buying powders locally. It's the primers, particularly Russian, that I can only find online & in bulk. My last order was 10k, which helps cutting down the shipping & hazmat fees.

[markm]

Yeah. 10k is about the amount where the Hazmat is diluted enough to live with.

[m1a_scoutguy]

When you buy them online, you have to buy in bulk to cover the Hazmat fees.


Yeah. 10k is about the amount where the Hazmat is diluted enough to live with.

Its the ONLY way to buy primers & powder when its around ! I don't know if they still do it,but my main shooting buddies and I have bought 50K primers on One Hazmat fee from Widener's on multiple times. Makes it pretty cheap when ya spread it out !

[markm]

Its the ONLY way to buy primers & powder when its around ! I don't know if they still do it,but my main shooting buddies and I have bought 50K primers on One Hazmat fee from Widener's on multiple times. Makes it pretty cheap when ya spread it out !

That's the way to do it.

[1_click_off]

I have primers from 1992 and they still go bang. They were $14.99 per 1k back then.

Just for price comparing, I found an old gray box of Hornady 240gr 44cal XTPs for $12.99!

[m1a_scoutguy]

I have primers from 1992 and they still go bang. They were $14.99 per 1k back then.

Just for price comparing, I found an old gray box of Hornady 240gr 44cal XTPs for $12.99!

Its a sign of the times,but doesn't it kill ya whey ya find old stuff with the price tag still on it !! I have receipts for 308 South African ammo for $22 bucks a battle pack,,yes those were the days ! Yea,I still have primers from back in the 80s when I lived in Montana,,LG rifle and stuff,,I keep it cool and dry,,but just don't use them much,,there were all for my hunting loads. I did load up 20 or so last Summer and they still went bang ! Correct storage is the name of the game !

[19852]

I once accidentally put a bunch of decades old primed cases though the vibratory cleaner. Not trusting them enough to use them and not trusting I could de-cap them without them going bang! I fired them all one at a time, like a blank gun. They all went bang.

When looking for primers I just do a google search for "small pistol primers for sale". Find the best price and order. I just got through 10,000 Tula primers, 9,999 went bang. I am now using some S&B's I got at a good price.

[markm]

I just got through 10,000 Tula primers, 9,999 went bang. I am now using some S&B's I got at a good price.

With Russian primers, you do have to inspect for damage. I hand prime all of mine, so I get a good look at them. They are good primers for 223.

For whatever reason, the Wolf Small pistol primer were terrible. I had a LOT of failures to fire in small pistol primer 45 acp brass. I quit buying those and just went back to CCIs and WIN primers.

[19852]

All the Tula primers were well packed, no damage apparent. I can't speak to quality of their rifle primers as I have never used them. I have used some Wolff LPP and SPP. They seemed hard so I went back to a full strength mainspring. Some competition shooters only use Federal match primers for their sensitivity. I just don't tune my pistols that fine. Some Glocks don't like Wolff ammo. A shooter at a long ago match had just bought a case of Wolf .45 Auto for his G30. His pistol didn't like it and he got a lot of practice ejecting live rounds from his Glock. All his Wolff ammo worked in my .45, whatever I was shooting at that time, I don't remember.

[markm]

All the Tula primers were well packed, no damage apparent.

Tulas, which are reported to be made at the same plant, are indeed packed well, and I don't think I've had any damaged ones in that packaging. But I've had some damaged primers in the Wolf boxes. Not packaging damage, but individual primers that were mashed a little.