Opinions of Federal primers

2 or 3 "shortages" ago Iwas a brand new reloader and a friend told me about Wideners and they had primers. I called and they said sure as long as you can use Federal. What the heck a primer is a primer The worked fine for me YMMV.

Federals are considered the softest of the primers, and some people will tell you not to use them in semiautos.I had a slam fire in a Garand once, with a Federal primer.

While you might get another loading or two with a slightly bigger primer, I'd start thinking about changing out my brass.

ETA: what headstamp brass? Just curious.

I had trouble with their LP being to tight in some H.S. And the way they pack them i don't like. Other than that they worked fine.

No problems with Federal 205 primers. Last i checks, Federal is the only primers containing nitroglycerin. It listed in there SDS. Nitro may make them more sensitive than other brands??

If primers are falling out in 5 reloads or less, the powder charge is to hot. Reduce it.

I prefer Federal in general, because they go off so easily, and I tend to run my handguns on the edge of reliability.

As @Laphroaig points out, that might not be the best feature in a primer meant for semi-auto rifles, but then the AR is a modern gun and unless something is seriously wrong with it, you won't have a problem.

Federal are my favorite primers. Since they are soft they work great in revolvers that have had highly tune double action triggers. At one point in time my 610 would only run reliably on Federal primers. I have since up the hammer spring to make it reliable with all but if you're going for you absolute lightest double action trigger or striker spring Federal can buy you a little leeway to go lighter.

I have some loads where using the 205M makes a noticeable difference in accuracy

Every Federal primer I've ever used went bang. Seems to be very consistent. I've also "heard" Federal primers are the "softest" but I have no guns that are primer sensitive. IIRC all my firearms hit all primers enough to set them off. So far I've used CCI. Winchester, Remington, Wolf, Federal, PPU (?) and SA. (I stocked up over the years prior to any shortages so I have mostly CCI, Winchester, and Wolf.)...

I use Federal AR Match in my 55 grain varmint soft point 223 load. I don’t know if the match part helps but it’s a pretty accurate load for a regular soft point bullet.

Bulletski said:

Hi all:
I'd like to get opinions on Federal primers as I've never used them before.
Some years ago I bought 5k of Remington 7 1/2s for my ARs, and while they're fine as far as performance, they're not snug enough in the pockets and some of them have even come out when firing. I usually use CCI and have never had this problem.
Now I'm seeing Federals for sale, which I've never used. So, I'd like to get opinions on these.

Thanks for replies

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They are fine, but their boxes are sucky and a pain. Really though, sounds like your pockets are a little stretched or over swaged. You should get a pocket go/no go gauge. In addition, some of the slightly tiny bit bigger Unix Ginix small rifle will likely work better for you, and they are cheaper. Grafs and other's usually have them in stock. I've been using a lot of these lately, and they've become my new favorite small rifle primer.

https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/74066

Bulletski said:

Lake city brass

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I get about 6 - 8 reloads before the pockets get loose from my LC brass with 68/69 match bullets and Varget. Federal brass is worse. Its just a fact of life, brass doesn't last forever.

I've used the small rifle in handgun calibers with no problems. Great for interchangeability during shortages. Though I don't run super hot handgun loads.

Bulletski said:

Hi all:
I'd like to get opinions on Federal primers as I've never used them before.
Some years ago I bought 5k of Remington 7 1/2s for my ARs, and while they're fine as far as performance, they're not snug enough in the pockets and some of them have even come out when firing. I usually use CCI and have never had this problem.
Now I'm seeing Federals for sale, which I've never used. So, I'd like to get opinions on these.

Thanks for replies

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The Federal SPP are my preference for .32S&W Long and their LPP is my preference for .45ACP. In both cases for the same reason: thinner cups. They ignite easier with a light hammer blow.

mdi said:

Every Federal primer I've ever used went bang. Seems to be very consistent. I've also "heard" Federal primers are the "softest" but I have no guns that are primer sensitive. IIRC all my firearms hit all primers enough to set them off. So far I've used CCI. Winchester, Remington, Wolf, Federal, PPU (?) and SA. (I stocked up over the years prior to any shortages so I have mostly CCI, Winchester, and Wolf.)...

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I have one revolver in particular which has been tuned to the ragged edge and is totally unreliable with most primers - and by that I mean something between 30% and 70% misfires, depending on primer brand. Federals, in the same gun, are in the neighborhood of 99-point-something percent reliable. There is absolutely no question in my mind on the issue, at least when it comes to handgun primers. I honestly don't know if it's cup thickness, cup material, priming composition, or what - but it's a real thing!

I've never had a single issue with federal, and for my carbines I shoot in matches they are first choice. I do agree, their packaging is excessive, and they take up a lot of storage space...

I've used then, still have a few thousand of various flavors in the cabinet, and have never had a problem with them. CCI and Winchester are my preferred, but I got a great deal on a bunch of Federals yrs ago, hence why they're in the cabinet. I'll second @CoalCrackerAl ....I am not a fan of their packaging

Not all primers are dimensionally equal.

Federal primers will show pressure signs before any other. Federal works fine but I recommend you use their AR primer and not the std in your AR's. Rem 7 1/2 run on the small size, switching to CCI or Federal will get you a few more reloads before the brass is toast/done.

My favorite has always been CCI. Competition shooters seem to favor Federal Match primers and I have shot a lot of Federal 210M over the years with no problem.

I don’t believe I could make a blanket statement about which rifle likes which primer, it’s more to do with how each rifles( even the same make ) ignition is slightly different, spring weights play apart for sure.
At short range , out to 300 or so ,most will look about the same on paper. Just gotta test a bit

I really like 7 1/2 BR Remingtons, But Federal Match primers fuel all my bolt guns that really shoot. I have had good success with cci 450s and the Russian primers in accurate ar 15 loads.
The 205M is my go to for .222 and 22BR

I only avoid them in pistol calibers because I like to use a Lee Auto Prime that says not to use them. I like hand priming for higher volumes, and haven’t had any light strike issues yet. I have used them in large rifle where the lower volume makes priming on a single stage press more attractive. They work fine, but like someone mentioned above, you can’t read pressure signs on them. Federal factory loads give flat primers but normal extraction. I guess it’s a softer alloy than cci.This is part of the reason that reading primers is an unreliable measure of pressure.