They have the largest diameter of all the primers I have used. They are supposed to be hotter,but not as hot as the Fed 209A. They will render the hulls primer pocket too big for other primers. So what. Dedicate the hulls to use with them and throw them away when done. You use what it can find these days and be thankful you have them. They have been around for several years. Work good if you are reloading Rio hulls.

 

They will render the hulls primer pocket too big for other primers.

IF the hulls you are using are US. For example, Rio primers will fit into Rio hulls all day long as well as Fiocchi.
Steve

 

Part #	209 Primers	Type & Use:	Box/Case	Diam.
#F616	Fiocchi 616	multi-purpose 209	1000/5000	0.242"
#RIO209	Rio 209	multi-purpose 209	1000/5000	0.245"
#CH209	Cheddite 209	multi-purpose 209	1000/5000	0.242"
#CCI	CCI 209	small-bore & mild	1000/5000	0.240"
#CCIM	CCI 209 Magnum	magnum 209 uses	1000/5000	0.240"
#209A	Federal 209A	multi-purpose 209	1000/5000	0.241"
#R209	Remington STS	multi-purpose 209	1000/5000	0.241"
#W209	Winchester 209	multi-purpose 209	1000/5000	0.2415"

 

I will politely disagree with your information that says Winchester 209 primers are larger diameter than Federal 209A primers.

I've been loading Federal 20 gauge hulls for more than 30 years and during the first 15 years I used Winchester 209 primers exclusively for loading those Federal hulls.

There were many times I had to reach into my pouch to find the primer that fell out of the primer pocket and had to be pushed back in to use that shell.

Then I switched to Federal 209A primers in those Federal 20 gauge hulls and I can accurately state that not one primer has fallen out in the 20 or so years since making the switch.

I can't think of a better field test to prove the Federal 209A primers are larger in diameter than Winchester 209 primers, regardless of someone's published measurement.

 

I have used RIO primers and I have a bunch on hand. I could care less that they are larger in diameter. They fit fine in any hull and they light off 700-X well, even in the ND cold. Oh yeah, they don't pierce either.

K.I.S.S.

 

Oh yeah, they don't pierce either.

At least in your guns and not yet anyway!

 

Every Model 12 I own pierced them. 12s, 16s, 20s.

They acted "cooler" than STS209s, about like Fio 616s, in my chrono tests with RD, CD, Clays, Promo in the 12.

But that was long ago. Newer version might be different.

 

This load was tested at Precision on 4/1/2021.

Federal 2 3/4" 16 gauge hull w/paper basewad
Winchester 209 primer
16.0 grains 700-X powder
DR-16 wad
7/8 oz. #7.5 West Coast magnum shot
1,260 FPS 8,163 PSI

These are the velocities I recorded on 4/8/2021 using 4 different primers: Outdoor temp was 57 degrees. Partly cloudy

Winchester 209 - 1,239 FPS

Federal 209A - 1,256 FPS

CCI 209 - 1,234 FPS

RIO G-1000 - 1,246 FPS

High to Low spread of 17 FPS.

The RIO primer falls in between the high and the low of the 4 primers tested. Given another set of components that might not hold true.

This load is a perfect example of primers not changing much in regards to velocity. Unfortunately there are loads that are much more sensitive to a primer change.

 

Did you also record the chamber pressures resulting from those primer switches?

 

No I didn't, I don't have the means. Someday......and hopefully soon. I am interested in primer swaps, because there is so much nonsense going on about it right now.

 

i like them, they are my winter time primer.
but i had to take a hard pass on the last ones i seen at 69.99 a brick.

 

They flattened in my 28 gauge loads.

 

….are these primers suddenly available? Otherwise, no need to fret……

 

doesn't anyone own a pair of calipers anymore?
all you gotta do is measure stuff.

 

I posted my info some time ago using my calipers. without re measuring. Winchester and Cheddite are the same diameter. The difference is Winchesters are tapered. Cheddites are straight and slightly longer. That makes them seam larger in use. Fiocchi are .001+ larger in diameter than Winchester/Cheddite. I can remesure if its that important.

 

that's more like the conversations we should be having... LOL

maybe i'm kind of weird in that i like to cut up, and measure things, and make hand made mock ups of loads i'm thinking about testing.
it only takes a few minutes, but there is a lot of information there.