As a user of some of the more recently developed powders such as VV High Energy powders and powders with CFE additives, I look forward to opportunity of benefiting from the application of 21st century chemistry to primers.
There have been other lead-free primers on the market for decades, but they weren’t viewed as reliable enough for duty ammunition and have been relegated to use in training ammo.
While eliminating lead was a primary requirement of the project, Federal ended up creating a primer that wasn’t just the equivalent of the current lead styphnate mixtures, but one the company says is significantly superior to the older technology.
“It is safer to manufacture, and it’s affordable and reliable,” says Drew Goodlin, senior director of technology at Vista Outdoor, the company that owns Federal Ammunition.
One way in which Catalyst improves on current primer technology is that it is more compatible with modern propellants, meaning that it won’t degrade the powder it comes in contact with the way some current primers can. Even better, the Catalyst formula propels more hot, heavy metals, while producing less pressure from gases, into the propellent bed than any other primer system Federal has used—even its vaunted Gold Metal primers.
Catalyst Primer Formula
The aluminum performs two main functions. It makes the explosive nitrocellulose more sensitive, and it helps heat up the bismuth. The “oxide” in bismuth oxide adds oxygen to the reaction, while the remaining 10 percent is a blend of fuels, binders, and sensitizers.
