The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

Somewhere in guidance there the calculation to work out the theoretical explosive content of a primer.
I cant find it.
Its something like 0.0142 gns per primer.
Does anyone know what it is?

Thanks.

Many years ago (the now defunct) Precision Shooting magazine did a test on this very subject - complete with photographs of the 'flash' produced by each primer. The only bit I can remember is that Federal primers added the least to the effect of the powder charge.

Bit off topic however if you do want to know about the ignition characteristics of primers I did this 10 off years ago. The action was a prototype aluminium job we built and the cartridge was .308 Winchester.

https://shootingshed.co.uk/wp/2012/12/c ... n-testing/

There's a bit about this topic in "The Benchrest Shooting Primer published by Precision Shooting Inc., ISBN no 13:978-0-9670948-7-8, page 131 "Primer Tests" by Steve Chernicky.
There are some interesting pics of the actual point of detonation showing the flame shape/size.

Pete

Many years ago we were asked to do some basic heat energy/ joules measurements on some rifles primers....results are long gone. But if I remember, results were not what you would expect...ie a magnum primers heat output was the same as a standard primer. I wonder if thats still true now?

It was always an ammunition fallacy and myth, like lead bullets must be hard, that magnum primers work by burning hotter.

Magnum primers burn longer, that is what makes them Magnum and helps ignite slow burning and or compressed powder.

Thanks for the replies. Maybe I didnt word the Q correctly.
I was looking for the "sum" to work out primer explosive weight content as part of NEQ`s.
I found it in the 2014 Explosives Regulations.
"Note: Ammunition net mass is calculated by the weight of powder and the explosive content of the
primer that is used. As an accepted rule, 0.8 of a grain is allocated as the explosive content of any small
arms primer/percussion cap."