Calvin45
Well-Known Member
I unlearned a lot of things I "knew" about primers over the COVID shortages up here in Canada…got my hands on some OLD primers at an auction sale made by C-I-L (Canadian brand, roots older than Canada itself, started out as a supply company for the explosives used to blast through the Rockies making the Canada pacific railway, still exist mostly making lawn fertilizers and similar stuff) …. They quit making primers and ammunition in 1974 I've since learned (just couldn't really compete economically with American manufacturers while not having access to the American consumer base) but I can tell you they made GOOD stuff back then. Some of these primers I got are likely from the early 1960s….ive used a few hundred of them, they've all gone bang without issue in magnums and non magnums alike, no less consistent over the chrono than any modern primers. I like them. Non corrosive, non mercuric, nothing to worry about. It's too bad they quit making them, lord knows we need as many good sources of reliable primers now as we can get.
But the point is, they're over 50 years old, they've not been stored in any special way (even based on the condition of the boxes), and there is absolutely NOTHING questionable about their dependability. And I grew up believing you needed to ideally store primers in airtight containers in a humidity controlled environment or they might get wrecked or compromised….doesnt seem to be the case, at least for these guys.
