WARNING Murom small rifle primer

[Ben F]

Anyone tempted to save a dollar by buying Murom small rifle primers will need to reconsider.

Today my 2 sons used their 6BR which was using new brass and had the bolt refaced by LRP as the bolt face
had been scorched from what I thought was worn out primer pockets.

To my disgust tonight the bolt had scorch pitting again, 7 of 46 primers had leaked. Removed primers from cases to find
primers had very fine holes or splits at edge of face, so in words primers were not pierced they had actually failed at the edge.

To add insult to injury I had run in their new Barnard on Tuesday night with same primers but different batch of new Lapua brass.
So now we have a Barnard bolt with only 5 rounds on it and a scorched mark on bolt face.



Ben

[johnk]

Ben,

I've never come across that specific brand name primer, but Googling state that they are Russian manufactured & related to the Tula brand currently sold in the States.

I wonder how they differ from the different brands of Russian primers previously sold, for example the PMC primers sold here some years back. I've used those LR primers for maybe 10 years now for most of my loads without issue, although I did notice that the earlier versions had an "American" flat base appearance rather than the domed bases of later primers. In any case, both styles worked with my TR/FS loads & my MR ammo.

They are a bugger to seat properly though, as, I suspect, seating tends to flare the side walls & make it difficult to detect when they properly bottom out. Fortunately, my arthritis has forced me to use a K & M dial gauge primer seating as I need two hands on the lever to seat LR primers these days.

Anybody familiar with Russian primers who can help us detect the manufacturer pf Russian primers?

John

[mike H]

I have started to use Murom SR primers,only fired about 30 primers,no trouble at this stage. mine are KVB 223 small rifle magnum ,I am not going to the loading room,at this time of night for more details,re lot number.These are loaded in .308 Palma brass for FTR loads.In my opinion,they are modest starting loads.
Thanks for the warning.Fired in a Barnard.

[Razer]

I used PMC LR mag primers in the 2006/7 period with 2206H and experienced no problems( the load that I was shooting gave me a 1000yd 10 shot 60 at Australian vets shoot Bendigo.).
I bought some Murrum LR primers about 2 years ago and the only difference to the packaging was basically the name change from PMC.
They do have a rounded cup which is still discernible after priming cases. (Again, the same as PMC).
I never experienced any problems with these Russian made primers and found the LR primers better than CCI but as supply was not guaranteed I stopped using them in all but one rifle.
Haven't used small primers as I could not source any so stayed with CCI 450's.
Russian primers are apparently the primer of choice in the US ??
This doesn't give an answer to your problem, but you are the first person that I have heard of with a Russian primer leakage.
Ray.

[macguru]

Add another from North Sydney with the same issue. He was talking about this today .....

these were small rifle murom primers used in a dasher barnard. I saw the boxes.....

[Ben F]

These primers are not the magnum version, they are KVB 223 lot # 36-13.

[ratshot]

why are you blokes using these primers are they cheap or are they suppose to be better then cci or fed primers.

[NDO]

These primers are not the magnum version, they are KVB 223 lot # 36-13.

I don't have the reference handy but it refers to cup thickness as being one reason standard SR primers are unsuitable for 0.308 palma brass and that if used they will present increased risk of cratering/piercing as the pressures experienced are beyond intended.

In general, the standard small rifle primer has a cup thickness of around 0.020 compared to the magnum version of approx 0.025.

Try the Murom kvb223M. (I think the BR4's are also 0.025)

[bobeager]

Ben, I used the Murom KVB-223M in my Dasher at the fly shoot without problem. Batch number 4-13. However, some time back I tried some of the PMC Russian "standard" primers (these are copper coloured) and they were no good in either my .223 or Dasher as they pierced and cased bolt face carbon ring.

I have also used the PMC Large Rifle primers and they were great. Sold the last of my stash last week.

[mike H]

why are you blokes using these primers are they cheap or are they suppose to be better then cci or fed primers.

They are cheaper,about $5/100,I began using PMC large rifle primers years ago for .303 loads then heard of good results with Target Rifle loads,so used them for some loads.Thought I would try small rifle primers as well,no PMC but the Murom is supposed to be the same,certainly the packaging is the same.The first .223 rifle I owned had a sloppy firing pin fit and would blank out lots of the primers in factory ammunition,reloading with CCI-450 magnum primers stopped that.Since then I have been aware of the need for thicker primer cups.
Because of component shortages,I like to have suitable substitutes ready if my favourite brand is not available.

[mike H]

why are you blokes using these primers are they cheap or are they suppose to be better then cci or fed primers.

They are cheaper,about $5/100,I began using PMC large rifle primers years ago for .303 loads then heard of good results with Target Rifle loads,so used them for some loads.Thought I would try small rifle primers as well,no PMC but the Murom is supposed to be the same,certainly the packaging is the same.The first .223 rifle I owned had a sloppy firing pin fit and would blank out lots of the primers in factory ammunition,reloading with CCI-450 magnum primers stopped that.Since then I have been aware of the need for thicker primer cups.
Because of component shortages,I like to have suitable substitutes ready if my favourite brand is not available.

[RDavies]

Some batches of the original Russian primers, the PMC SRM also did the same thing.
For a few years I loved using the Russian red SR magnum primers (the ones with the thicker primer cups).
After only a few primers cracked around the corner, my bolt face got burnt out as well. I kept going down in loads but found it was not a pressure issue, but a brittle cup issue. I got the bolt face bushed by LRP and tried another different batch of Russian red magnums but after 12 medium pressure shots the newly repaired bolt face was toast again.

[mike H]

One thing I detest is burnt bolt faces,having managed to get my P 06 Barnard this far without damage I want to keep it that way,as well as my new one.Looks as though the Br4's will come out.