Question about consistency in Federal primers

[John Weigel]

Hi folks,

I've tried to find the answer to this question via Google, but no luck. Hope someone has the expertise to advise. Attached image shows remarkable visual inconsistency in the red (sealant?) in my 1,000 lot block of Federal Premium Large Rifle Match primers. Is this normal? I hadn't noticed it before in LR or equivalent Small Rifle nor Magnum primers.

 

[WVelkhunter]

I'm interested in this also. I opened a pack last night that was considerably worse then those, some being completely red, others having none.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Doesnt seem to matter. The gold medals seem to look more consistent but they both seem to work the same

 

[jsn]

Mine look exactly the same. I bought them in April or May of this year.

 

[PatMiles]

What does the down range arbiter tell you?

 

[John Weigel]

Anyone out there who knows more about this? Yes, I can interpret my target variables, but something is basically wrong with the current loads using these primers. Looking for someone with actual understanding of this issue, e.g. can identify what are the reds and greens that vary so much primer to primer and batch to batch in Gold Medal Federals Large Rifle, that don't seem to vary in the other Gold Medal products?

 

[John Weigel]

What does the down range arbiter tell you?

It tells me that these primers aren't shooting well. Hence search for expertise before going off the Federal Gold Medal brand that I've shot with for many years.

 

[Cap'n]

I saw this on GM210M large rifle primers that I first opened in March 2020. I queried Federal about the red dye and got the following response:
“The red is actually a latex that burns up immediately upon ignition. Those primers could have only a trace of the red latex or be completely full and you will notice zero difference in ammunition function.”

So far I've seen no problems with these primers. Not a single failure and no accuracy issues.

 

[Thud]

The only consistency is they are out of stock

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[hammerjack]

I would take all these funny looking primers off your hands and test them out and report back.
Especially if you could throw in some Small Rifle Match being you going to quit shooting Federal.

 

[LCazador]

I've noticed no down range indications with this. I was puzzled by some down range inconsistencies a while back with a lot that I bought some 5 years ago with the same characteristics. After some head scratching I realized it had been a while since I had replaced my firing pin spring. I removed the firing pin spring to find it convoluted and shorter than normal. A new spring had my rifle shooting just like old times. I wonder how many shooters out there ever check the firing pin springs. They are only good for a certain number of cycles.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

Given the current lock downs, constitutional infringements and the push by the corrupt fringe minority democrats to take your guns. I would be happy for my reloads to go bang. (Federal corp has warehouses full of inventory, waiting the outcome of the election, why?).

 

[Ned Ludd]

I have also noticed these kind of differences in appearance before. In your image, it looks like about 7 or so largely have the red coloring on the anvil only, as thought they were sprayed prior to inserting them into the cups. On the others, the paint seems to be mostly at the very bottom center of the anvil, and on the surface of the priming compound where visible. In other words, there are two pretty distinct and obvious groups. I have never been able to quantify any difference primers with such visible differences, although that doesn't necessarily mean there aren't any differences. If their appearance bothers you, in addition to sorting primers by weight, you could also sort them into two additional groups, "red anvils" and "plain anvils".

Although I'm semi-joking about sorting the primers, if you really wanted to see whether there is a discernible difference between the two, the difference as shown in your image is quite obvious and it should be relatively easy to pick out a few of each to test and determine empirically whether you can detect any difference in velocity or on the target.

 

[K22]

I've used them for many years, both the Gold Metal and standard brand and could never attribute any accuracy problems to Federal Primers. In fact the standard 210 large rifle shot as well as the 210M match primers in my 243's and 308's.

The 205M's, small rifle match, have always performed great for me in the 223 and 222 Rems.

 

[STS]

(Federal corp has warehouses full of inventory, waiting the outcome of the election, why?).

Your source for this information is.............?

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Your source for this information is.............?

Yes because the people that work for federal would like to know that

 

[Thud]

Yes because the people that work for federal would like to know that

I know- it's the guy behind the counter at the local gun shop

 

[John Weigel]

I have also noticed these kind of differences in appearance before. In your image, it looks like about 7 or so largely have the red coloring on the anvil only, as thought they were sprayed prior to inserting them into the cups. On the others, the paint seems to be mostly at the very bottom center of the anvil, and on the surface of the priming compound where visible. In other words, there are two pretty distinct and obvious groups. I have never been able to quantify any difference primers with such visible differences, although that doesn't necessarily mean there aren't any differences. If their appearance bothers you, in addition to sorting primers by weight, you could also sort them into two additional groups, "red anvils" and "plain anvils".

Although I'm semi-joking about sorting the primers, if you really wanted to see whether there is a discernible difference between the two, the difference as shown in your image is quite obvious and it should be relatively easy to pick out a few of each to test and determine empirically whether you can detect any difference in velocity or on the target.

Thanks Ned, I appreciate that.

 

[dryhumor]

I’ve seen this in the Federal AR match primers, I normally separate out the ones that have less compound. A few weeks ago, I didn’t do that and had several failure to ignite. I realized what I had done after thinking about it for a bit. That particular rifle (M700 in 300blk) never has had that problem. I will say, the cups are thicker on these primers, however, the ones with more compound ignite fine and are consistent.

 

[johara1]

If you are worried about the consistency of the primers weigh them and sort them .... you will get your answer....... jim