SmallCaliberCentral

I am new to reloading for the 204 and I think I shoulda investigated the options before buying. I bought my gun, a Howa 1500 Varminter, at a gunshow. There is a guy at these gunshows selling reloading supplies and I asked him to recommend some powder and primers etc to load the 204. He said to try BL-C (2) and CCI 400 small rifle primers. I read on this forum after purchasing these to be careful with the thin walled primers with near max loads. There was not a problem with 39 grain Sierra BKs and 29.5 grains BLC-2, but 29.8 grains BLC-2 and I found out what a pierced primer looks like!
My 5 shot group with 29.5 gr. BLC-2 was 3/4" with 4 of the shots touching (.3"), and the 5th shot a little high. Velocity wasn't what I hoped for at 3650 fps. Should I ditch the CCI 400 primers or be content with the load as is? No problem with primers until I got closer to max load. Boy I wish I hadn't bought 1000 of them. But I don't want to risk a future problem.

doctor duck--I would highly recommend ditching those CCI 400 primers when reloading for the .204 Ruger. The CCI 400 primers have a cup thickness of only .0200" compared to the .0250" cup thickness for Rem 7½, CCI 450, and CCI BR4s. If you have a low-pressure caliber, you might be able to use them in that, rather than throwing them away.

According to the chart I have on Rifle Primer Dimensions, there is a difference in Cup Diameter for the three thick-cupped primers I listed. The CCI 450 is reported to have a cup diameter of .1750", the Rem 7½ is listed at .1752", and the CCI BR4s come in at .1755". Cup height varies as well with the CCI BR4 at .1090", Rem 7½ at .1090" and the CCI 450 at .1130".

Any of these fast shooting (high pressure) centerfire calibers should have you thinking "THICKEST CUP POSSIBLE" from the start.

Some folks like the 205M primers too. They have a cup thickness of .0225", cup diameter of .1744", and a cup height of .1075. I have used the Federal GM 205M primers and they seemed to give me good ignition and decent accuracy, but when seating them in the primer pocket, I didn't get the feeling that they were very tight in the pocket.

Thanks, Silverfox. I will definitely change primers. I wish I hadn't bought a box of 1000. Oh well, no sense taking a chance, could get blinded possibly. I'm wondering if I will get any change in velocity with a different primer. I was getting excited about the accuracy. I'll just have to try again but this time with a different primer. I'm thinking CCI BR4.

THIS is excellent info.

Any chance of wrapping this up in a graph and leaving as a sticky in the 204 reloading section???

Thanks SilverFox!

Be sure to go read the article at --> James Calhoons Site!

Great INFO!!!! Thank you very much! -Dan

Anyone know where to buy anything other than CCI 400s in Southern California? I have 2 local shops here in San Diego area and I can't find anything but CCI 400s. I suppose I will have to bite the bullet and pay the hazmat fee for a mail order.

before you pay a hazmat fee on primers, i would look in my yellow pages and find a place that sells something other than cci400 primers. i would think an area as populated as the san diego area would have a shop that sells more than cci primers. or maybe ask your local shop if they will order something else for you.

joea wrote:Anyone know where to buy anything other than CCI 400s in Southern California? I have 2 local shops here in San Diego area and I can't find anything but CCI 400s. I suppose I will have to bite the bullet and pay the hazmat fee for a mail order.

Just for ha ha's I googled "San Diego gun shops" Came up with ten of them. Eight of which are fairly close to or in the city.
One of them must sell something other than CCI 400's. Try Google.
Of course California is a big state. What might look like a town away for me on a Ct. map might be a three hour drive for you.

BR4's are $49.99 for 1000 here in Ct. Can you say price jump?
$37.00 at Powder Valley Inc. (out of stock at this time) Wouldn't be surprised if they go up when they restock though. Seems to be the current trend on everything.
The hazmat fee isn't looking as bad as it once did. Quantity shoppers will save $$

I live in Oceanside which is about 45 miles north of the downtown San DIego. I have a Turner's Outdoorsman and another shop withing 20 miles of me. Neither have BR4 for Rem 7 1/2

Found CCI BR4 at Bass Pro Shop here in SoCal. Not Exactly local to me but I have a buddy who lives pretty close and told him to call me next time he was in there. I had him pick me up 1000.

Last year after reading the Calhoon info I bought 2000 of the CCI 450's and they work perfectly. I had been using Rem 6 1/2's. When trying BLC2 with the thinner primer I was getting pierced primers. Now, after going to the CCI 450 I never went back and tried the 29.0 to 29.5 gr of BLC2 that had pierced primers earlier (I use RL 15).