revisitng the old rem star 57 primers

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bobski

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i have 1000 old *57's sitting here begging me to be used. i know about them being smaller and how people cut straw shims for the pockets,. but...i was curious if there are any new production hulls out there that have smaller primer pockets that will accommodate these old primers. the closest ive found are old school aa 410's. issue is the 57's dont have a flash hole cover and they publish that ball powder should not be loaded with these primers. so...using 296 and 2400 is out. and so is the idea of using 57's for 410. just thought id tap into some ideas for using this stuff up. lmk.
 

NikA

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I think I remember a means to convert Berdan brass for low-pressure reloads using shotgun primers. Smaller size might be an advantage there, certainly won't matter much as the pocket has to be drilled either way...
 

Rick Courtright

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Hi,

I loaded a lot of 57s in Remington hulls when I first got started reloading in the mid-'60s. Winchester was pretty much the universal size, with their 209s, even back then. I don't really recall when Remington went to the 209 size with the 97 primers. I still have a dozen or two of the 57s sitting on a shelf. Last time I used a couple of the 57s it was to foul the barrel of an inline muzzle loader.

Rick C
 

Rick Courtright

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bobski said:
any current hulls from euro with small primer pockets out there?

Hi,

The Euro hulls I'm familiar with all use larger primers than US spec 209s (Fiocchi, Clever, Rio--haven't used Cheddite but suspect the same from what I've read.) I think that 57 size was unique to Remington and never to be revived. And I think each Euro brand has its own proprietary size: they can be interchanged to a point, like using the ever so much larger Fed 209s in Win hulls, But like the Fed into Win swap, you may be stuck using the "replacement" primer for the life of the hull if it's one that's "oversized" from the factory original.

Rick C
 

bobski

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its part of marketing...to make you buy only one particular primer for their hulls. they got it all sewn up tight.
shame to see shotgun sports get sold out to the euros.
 

Rick Courtright

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bobski said:
its part of marketing...to make you buy only one particular primer for their hulls. they got it all sewn up tight.
shame to see shotgun sports get sold out to the euros.

Hi,

'Tis a silly idea I suppose, but I figure any time someone starts outdoing us at something that's traditionally been "our game" is time to look at what's in their play book, and start using it!

Rick C
 
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Rick Courtright said:
they can be interchanged to a point, like using the ever so much larger Fed 209s in Win hulls, But like the Fed into Win swap, you may be stuck using the "replacement" primer for the life of the hull if it's one that's "oversized" from the factory original. Rick C

I had no idea that the win and fed 209 were not the same diameter
 

Rick Courtright

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bobski said:
just a tad. and, fed's are a little recessed.

Hi,

I haven't used any Federal 209As or whatever the "new" designation is, but if memory serves, the shape of the actual cap in the plain ol' 209s was also rounded a bit more than many other brands which are pretty flat. It seems one of the selling points of that design was to reduce the likelihood of misfire when shot in a gun with an angled firing pin, such as many O/U designs.

Is that still the case?

Rick C
 

bobski

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yes.
and too, the difference between 209 and 209a is the a' has alloy flakes in the primer to make it burn hotter. so any primer you see with 209(a)....means hot primer.
 
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