All kind of problems with Servicio primers

[Zendude]

I never use X below flush, I use seated to the bottom of the primer pocket, as @mdi posted earlier.

An old post of mine about priming.

"Primers need to be seated until the anvil legs touch the bottom of the primer pocket (Minimum), and then a little more so the cup pushes down around the legs, up until it hits the bottom of the primer pocket (Maximum).

If seated to little (Anvil legs not touching the bottom of the primer pocket), the firing pin has to seat it fully and then have enough energy left over to crush the priming compound between the cup and the anvil. Sometimes it does not, these are the ones that so often fire on the second try. The first try seats them fully, the second try fires them.

bds has some great primer pics here somewhere that shows the cup and anvil and how they are positioned with each other prior to seating. The anvil legs are sticking out of the cup just a little bit.

After fully seating the anvil's legs and the primer cup is hard against the bottom of the pocket, it takes a great deal of pressure at this point to damage the primer so much it fails.

It is fairly easy to seat a primer too soft, not fully seating it, so that it misfires, but difficult to seat them so hard it damages them to the point of not firing. This statement is based on my decades of seating primers with various tools. I have never had one fail from being seated to hard/deep. Not saying that with some primer tools and some gorilla grips it can't be done, but it is 100/1000 times less likely to happen than seating one too shallow/soft.

We have threads here all the time when failures to fire end up being primers seated too softly/shallow. I can't remember one where it turned out someone managed to crush a primer into submission. I would suggest to all to try it. Some priming systems simply cannot do it for mechanical reasons. Some might have enough travel to do it if you have the strength, That cup surrounded by the brass primer pocket is tough to crush. Very tough."

Do you clean the primer pockets before priming?

 

[Walkalong]

I clean rifle primer pockets, and uniform primer pockets on match rifle ammo,
but never clean pistol ammo primer pockets. The crud is self limiting and has never caused issues.

 

[LiveLife]

I never use X below flush, I use seated to the bottom of the primer pocket ...

I clean rifle primer pockets, and uniform primer pockets on match rifle ammo, but never clean pistol ammo primer pockets. The crud is self limiting and has never caused issues.

Measuring primer cup seating depth to around .004" below flush was done for unboxing threads of SPP/Pro 6000 and 2023 Pro 1000 to verify operations of new priming systems.

While .004" below flush is ideal goal, I just seat primers to slightly below flush. Typically when reloading, I just put finished rounds primer side up in 50 round factory plastic ammo trays and run my finger tip over to detect primers that are not below flush.

As to cleaning primer pockets, I do the same as Walkalong and clean rifle primer pockets but do not clean pistol primer pockets when loading in progressive presses. (I guess cleaning vs not cleaning pistol primer pockets could be another myth busting thread)

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

I guess cleaning vs not cleaning pistol primer pockets could be another myth busting thread

I thought you already did one?

I seem to recall a few threads on the subject and I don’t recall any conclusive evidence indicating special attention beyond basic decapping and maybe tumbling - dry or wet - did much for pistol use. I have gone both ways with rifle over the years and have come to the conclusion that for hunting level accuracy and case life the same is true. Decap, tumble, check for wear. Done. But that’s hunting, not competition.

 

[LiveLife]

I thought you already did one?

I think we discussed it several times but prevailing reloading notion that most of crud falls out with spent primer won out and ended up not doing a myth busting thread.

I could do one if you like.

 

[Curious2]

Zero issues with Servicios. 38 spec using mixed range and new starline 1500 total. RCBS hand primer all below flush. Un modified or restored, well used, 1952 pre model 10 S&W. No issues with any brand primer. GP100 likes them too. If I have any problems will get back.
Shoot em!

 

[BRatigan]

We just loaded 40 9mm using 10 Argentine and 30 CCI SPP. My buddy was doing the reloading and I was doing the supervising. He used a Lee press with the priming attachment and had no trouble seating so long as he kept good pressure on the Servicios. The brass was R-P and all the primers were set below flush. Tomorrow we will go to the range and give it a quick test.

Ok, went to the range and had zero problems with the Servicios. We used a Kanic Rival, TrueBlue powder and Zero 125 gr hps. I'll buy more when I need them.

 

[blackd24]

For those that are having success, are you at least noticing that the primer strike isn’t as strong as other primers? Like the dimple isn’t as pronounced due to the hardness of the primer?

 

[Radom Guy]

I think you may have read my post about these primers. My experience is that they definitely require more force to insert into primer pockets of many brass head stamps and in different calibers. No question about it. Even in the Hornady, which is a much smoother press than my Lees, every once in a while I would accidentally not fully insert the primer in a 9mm case, and it would lock up the press, because the primer would only be partway into a primer pocket and the Hornady’s carrier. More force is necessary not only with the Hornady but also priming on the press with three different Lee presses (Classic Turret, ABLP, and single stage Challenger Breech Lock). And they do give me trouble loading them with my Hornady LNL AP in terms of feeding with Hornadys priming setup (jamming, flipping, etc); too tired to get into more detail again.

Regarding ignition, 100% success with 400 rounds. I fired them through two hammer fired 32 ACP pistols, two hammer fired 9mm pistols, including a Beretta 92 with a non-stock lighter hammer spring. Also in a striker fired SAR 9. And an AR-9. No second strikes needed for any of those six firearms.

I have a few bricks of these. Today I was just thinking about the varying experiences on different reloaders’ Hornady LNL AP. I thought that there could be differences between lot numbers. So, tomorrow I am going to check my SA primer supply and see if I happen to have more than one lot number between the different bricks. I’ll definitely try loading them again on the Hornady if so. If not, I will just stick with Lee’s Auto Prime when using these primers.

Good luck to you, I hope you can make good use of these primers, like I have.

 

[gunmechanic]

Thank you for the heads up on the primers. I was going to buy so my self ,i will stick to the CCI and winchester i normally use.

 

[dannyd]

Please don't Buy them, so the Price will Drop and I can get more.

Saturday fired 200 and they all went bang and were loaded on my LNL

Your Mileage My Very.

 

[N555]

Prices are already falling. Xtp bullets are almost back to preplandemic pricing at a few places.

 

[markr6754]

Prices are already falling. Xtp bullets are almost back to preplandemic pricing at a few places.

and...Hornady has restarted their "Free Bullets" program.

 

[LiveLife]

Prices are already falling. Xtp bullets are almost back to preplandemic pricing at a few places.

and...Hornady has restarted their "Free Bullets" program.

Woohoo!

 

[mdi]

Long thread, but IIRC someone mention differing diameter of SA primers as compared it US made primers, so yesterday while sitting at my bench contemplating the loose powder flakes on the clean spot on my bench, I decided to measure some. Sitting next to my press I have a sleeve of SA small pistol and a sleeve of CCI small pistol primers and three unknown loose primers I retrieved from the floor, so I measured 4, SA primers .1750" with one to .1751". Four CCI, 1750" with one at ,1751". Three unknown, .1750". Not "laboratory quality" testing but good enough for government work...

 

[MoscowMike]

It’s been interesting watching the discussion on the Argentine SA small pistol primers.

I have fired about 300 through an Argentine Hi-Power clone, a Sig P365 and a S&W Airweight with no failures to fire.

The only problem I had was with my older Hornady LNL progressive press. At times the second SA primer dropping from the tube into the slide on top of the first primer caught and would not allow the slide to move, suggesting the the first primer is a touch shorter, allowing the second primer to come down too far. I polished a radius on the back of the primer pocket on the slide, which allows it to lift the primer above it and let the slide move.

Since then I have loaded 100 with no primer slide issues.

Of course people are more likely to complain when they have problems than otherwise, so it’s hard to know how common the issue is. Another possibility is lack of consistency between lots. Inside the lid my primers have this number - 20817C.

 

[Radom Guy]

It’s been interesting watching the discussion on the Argentine SA small pistol primers.

I have fired about 300 through an Argentine Hi-Power clone, a Sig P365 and a S&W Airweight with no failures to fire.

The only problem I had was with my older Hornady LNL progressive press. At times the second SA primer dropping from the tube into the slide on top of the first primer caught and would not allow the slide to move, suggesting the the first primer is a touch shorter, allowing the second primer to come down too far. I polished a radius on the back of the primer pocket on the slide, which allows it to lift the primer above it and let the slide move.

Since then I have loaded 100 with no primer slide issues.

Of course people are more likely to complain when they have problems than otherwise, so it’s hard to know how common the issue is. Another possibility is lack of consistency between lots. Inside the lid my primers have this number - 20817C.

Nice solution. Thanks for sharing.

FYI, following up from my previous comment, I did find that I had two different lots. The second lot was cooking along (filled 25 primers) until it stuck again (with six of the 25 primers to go) , with the jam up being two primers stuck at the bottom of the primer tube, which is what was happening before.

This was just an FYI for anyone who was interested. Not looking to do any additional troubleshooting simply because I don’t have the time, I have other options, and I have a workaround (priming on single stage press before finishing the reloading process).

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

View attachment 1141098

Please don't Buy them, so the Price will Drop and I can get more.

Saturday fired 200 and they all went bang and were loaded on my LNL

Your Mileage My Very.

If I ever get low on Remington, CCI, and Federal, I’ll try them.

 

[bluetopper]

I bought 2k of them just because they were the cheapest available. My Uberti 9mm revolver puts such dents in them I thought they were knocking holes in the primer until a much closer look.