CCI #34 military primers... hard to ignite?

[EastHumboldt]

Ive heard that mil-spec primers have a thicker or harder metal cover which can result in total ignition failure in rifles with a “weaker” firing pin. My son says his Ruger Scout in 308 wont fire 7.62 x 51 ball ammo. On ejection you can see there’s a dent in the primer but apparently not enough to set it off.

The reason I ask is I saw some CCI #34 primers for sale the other day and I’m wondering if I should buy them if they come up again. I’m loading for a Tikka T3 and a Remington 700 both in 30-06. The lot I saw for sale was 5,000 primers, so I was also thinking of selling 3,000 of them off. Ive also heard they are as hot as CCI #250 magnum primers, and what I really want are CCI #200 Large Rifle. I'll be using Ramshok Hunter which is supposed to be very comparable to H4350 and Winchester 760 which is a straight swap for H414. Both are ball powders.

 

[MBAO-millennialbyageonly]

First off I do not have any experience in this matter so take this with a large grain of salt but from what I read they are a usable primer in the correct situation ie strong firing pin due to the thickness to prevent snap firings and do behave more like a magnum primer. The efficiency of the ammo/what you are using it for/how desperate you are is the question. I would suggest you take this question over to snipers hide I was able to find a few related threads to what you are asking but I assume once you figure out it is a viable option you will have more questions.

 

[WCB]

A mil spec primer has a thicker cup leading to less sensitivity it is not really "harder". Most well built bolt guns without tuned triggers will shoot them just fine. Light triggers or single shots or just plain crap guns may have misfire/light strike issues.

You could try them but you may experience as your son is...light strikes (for that primer).

 

[EastHumboldt]

That would really suck to have 5,000 unreturnable primers if they don’t fire or present intermittent problems. You guys think I could sell them off if I end up not liking them? BTW the price I saw them at was pretty gouge-ey at close to $100 per thousand.

 

[MThuntr]

I wouldn't buy them just because that's price gouging plain and simple. That being said you probably won't have any issues selling them if they don't work (I bet they'll work just fine in a new production rifle) though people might call you a price gouger yourself or just hold onto them for a potential build later.

FYI don't buy them online from an unlicensed seller...shipping without HazMat license would be a quick way to end up on certain lists.

 

[Scoony]

I use CCI 34 for my 6.8 as well as my son's AR-10. I have shot the AR-10 loads in my bolt action 308 and have never had an issue with ignition. Matter of fact, they seem just as accurate as BR-2 primers. I picked up an entire case of them a few months back for $80 (5000 primers).

 

[EastHumboldt]

Any chance ,you might part with a thousand?