Fiocchi Primers

[John Campbell]

Friends:
Now that we've flogged Cheddite primers, I thought I might provide some insight into Fiocchi 209s.

A local sports store is currently trying to dump a supply of these at under $20 a brick, so I thought I'd try some.

Before loading, I put a dial caliper on them and found their diameter just under the rim to be identical to Winchester 209s. However, they taper less toward the flash hole than Win. But only by a .001 or so.

So... I tried the Fiocchis in 28 and 12 bore guns. Both hammer and hammerless. They work fine -- and seem to leave less residue in the bore. Also... angular impact sensitivity seems fine. This can be an issue in older hammer guns and some O/Us with angled firing pins.

Also... reloading a case fired with a Fiocchi with another Win. primer does not seem to be a problem. The Win. primers fit as well as ever.

Bottom line: I get great results with Fiocchi 209 primers and save enough on each brick to buy a Happy Meal. Seems appropriate.

Best Kensal

[scott kittredge]

yup, thats all i reload with i buy them by the 5000 brick and yet to have one not work:)

[charlie cleveland]

siunce were on primers have any you fellas used rio primers they seem to be bigger in size than other 209 s i only use them in some of my hulls that the winchester 209 s push in too easily or want stay in at all...the reo works fine at this for me.... charlie

[Pete Lester]

My experience has been the Fio 616 (209 type) primers are larger than Win/Rem/Federal and that switching back to Win/Rem/Federal after using Fio's resulted in a bunch of loose primers and powder in the bottom of my shell bag. I have read the are straight sided and the amercan primers are step sided so after using a Fio the US primer would not be holding on by much. Other than that they seem to work fine. If you Google Fiocchi primers and cold weather you will see some reports on duck hunting chat.com, trapshooters.com that people report issues with cold weather use.

http://www.duckhuntingchat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=125799

http://www.trapshooters.com/cfpages/thread_archive.cfm?threadid=232005&Messages=16

[John Campbell]

JB:
Darn if I can see a step in a Win. 209... but maybe I don't have enough magnification. But both the Win 209 and Fiocchi come to a "stop" in a AA primer pocket at the same point.

Cold weather? Maybe there are problems there... but I use 99% of my cartridges in summer on the clays range. I guess if I were making duck ammo, I'd pop for real Winchester primers to be safe.

Glad to hear of your insights.

Best, Kensal

[Pete Lester]

My experience with primer fallout was shooting Federal 12ga Gold Medal hulls reloaded with Fio 616 primers and then loaded again with Federal 209A's. The result was many shells missing primers. These shells were loose inside a fanny pack for crow hunting and they get bounced around when walking. Howeve I had never experienced primer fallout before. Boxed and used on a trap or skeet range you may not notice.

[charlie cleveland]

yep ive experiance them same thing primer and powder in the bottom of the sack... i too am a big fan of the winchester 209 but i do install a rio primer if the pocket is to big...ive shot a few of the rio brand shells and i must say they will roll a can on the ground 10 yards fruther than most shells...seem to be loaded pretty stout... charlie