Tried CCI-34 NATO primers in my Bergara .300 Winmag

Amanda4461

Amanda4461

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Wasted 50 primers is all I did. The Bergara wouldn’t set off the primers normally used in M-1A and Garand type Mil spec guns.
Pulled the bullets, dumped the powder back into the container, and neck-sized and decamped the 50 tough primers.
At least my Winchester Magnum primers showed up just in time🙈
 
Nice to know. All I've used mine for is in my AR10s, and they work well there. But I won't bother ever even trying them for my bolt actions since you mentioned this.
 
Wow, really? I didn't have an issue with .308 in a Howa.
 
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I was quite surprised. I have used CCI-41 NATO SR primers in place of CCI-400 SP primers quite often during the last three years. My Pythons set them off single or double action, hammer-fired 9mm pistols work fine, but the striker-fired guns mostly don’t.
The Garand hammer strike is quite heavier than the Bergara’s. I won’t try this trick again with the Bergara, but I will prime some brass and see if different lever actions or single-shots will ignite the NATO primer.
 
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Amanda4461 said:
I was quite surprised. I have used CCI-41 NATO SP primers in place of CCI-400 SP primers quite often during the last three years. My Pythons set them off single or double action, hammer-fired 9mm pistols work fine, but the striker-fired guns mostly don’t.
The Garand hammer strike is quite heavier than the Bergara’s. I won’t try this trick again with the Bergara, but I will prime some brass and see if different lever actions or single-shots will ignite the NATO primer.
Click to expand...
SR?

The NATO primers are not only harder, there's more space between the cup and the anvil too.
 
If this is indeed because of the harder primer (any chance headspace is off a bit?)
I would be Leary of non NATO primers below freezing / colder temps.
 
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@Amanda4461
How do the primer strikes look? Do the indentions seem light? Is there a chance they were not seated fully?
 
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The primers were seated on the Co-Ax press. They won’t seat any deeper. The Bergara doesn’t have the mainspring power of a Mauser or 03A3. The indents are light. I think I’ll try some CCI-41 NATO in my Remington 700 .223.
If it works, I’ll just figure the Bergara has a weak mainspring.
Point being, I should have primed a few empties, and tried them before loading 50 rounds that I had to rework. I was used to using the NATO SR primers in a Rossi .357 magnum model 92 and a Colt Python when I ran dry of SP primers last year. I tried those both prior to loading ammo for them, and they ate them just fine. My Sigs that were striker-fired can’t ignite them, but the hammer-fired P210 does fine.
Just figured might save somebody the hassle of pulling bullets and wasting primers. Try a few blanks, then you will know.
 
Just another one of those things you won't know until you try. I'll have to remember the light firing pin strike of Bergara's, If I ever look at one.
 
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