Using Rem 6 1/2 SR primers for 223?

[Southpaw45]

I stopped by Bass Pro Shops last weekend and to my surprise, I spotted a 1000 box of Remington 6 1/2 small rifle primers. Since Im running a little low on small rifle primers, I jumped on it. I have reloaded for years but I have never used Remington primers before. I have always use Win Small Rifle primers. I wanted to use them for 223 loads but to my shock, on the side the box it said "WARNING" DO NOT USE 6 1/2 PRIMERS IN HIGH INTENSITY CARTRIDGES SUCH AS THE 17 REM, 222 REM AND THE 223 REM. Im confused! Did I buy the wrong stuff. 6 1/2 primers are standard SR and 7 1/2 primers are SR Magnum primers. I find no data using the 6 1/2 primer for the 223 but I thought I would ask if anybody uses these primers for 223 loads or anything else for that matter.

[ocabj]

The cups on the 6-1/2 are too soft. They're more for low pressure rounds like the Hornet.

As far as Remington marketing, the 7-1/2 is their benchrest primer.

The 9-1/2 is their SR magnum primer.

[Southpaw45]

Thanks for the response Ocabj. I Googled Remington 6-1/2 primers and found some info that matches yours. Found info saying not to use these primers for 223 and even some people saying that they use them all the time for the 223 with no problems. Im going to take the safe route and not use them. I heared from some reloaders saying that they blew holes in the primers that caused gas leaks that damaged there bolts. Thats cause enough for me. Guess I will try to return them but if they wont take them back, I got primers for sale!

[joelogic]

Wolf says its small rifle primers are not meant for semi autos. Then they started recommending the sr magnums which had the same charge but a harder cup. And then they came out with SR .223 specific primers. I have shot thousand of each out of my AR and have not had one problem or a slam fire. But thats just me.

[Teletiger7]

71/2 is what ive used in the past. Worked fine.

[ness395]

Being new to reloading and under the impression that all small rifle primers are created equal, I bought 2,000 of these at a gun show. Now, after having used about 500 of them for loading .223 for my AR-15 Service Rifle and a Howa 1500, I find this thread.

I never noticed anything out of the ordinary with the first 400 or so primers. I believe I had 1 pierced primer in my Howa 1500. Looking carefully at the 100 cases I used in my AR for a practice match yesterday, I don't see any pierced primers or visible leaks around the primer cup. The only strange thing I see is that some of the firing pin strikes on the cup look like "outie" belly buttons rather than little craters. However, this is only present in a small minority of the primers.

So, based off these observations, is it safe to continue to use these primers? What sort of problems could I run into if I do? Slamfires? Damage to the rifles?

According to Quickload, the two loads I used yesterday (75gr and 80gr bullets with 24.0 gr of RE-15) have pressure somewhere between 47,000 and 49,000 psi. Would they be considered "high pressure" loads? I thought high pressure loads were more in the range of 55,000+ psi. Or is that the range for "unsafe" loads?

[Southpaw45]

Very interesting Ness. It's amazing to here they are unsafe to use for the 223 but some reloaders are using them with no problems at all. I think I will take the side of caution.

[NRAhighpowershooter]

Wolf says its small rifle primers are not meant for semi autos. Then they started recommending the sr magnums which had the same charge but a harder cup. And then they came out with SR .223 specific primers. I have shot thousand of each out of my AR and have not had one problem or a slam fire. But thats just me.

I use nothing but Wolf primers in my Service Rifle AR with nary a problem either...