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    Primer: Primer - Is An Igniter Used To Initiate The Burning of A Propellant. Small Arms Cartridges Are

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    Haimelien De Limos
    Primer is an igniter used to initiate the burning of propellant in small arms cartridges. There are two main types of primers - boxer primers which have a brass cup containing explosive material and anvil, used in most American centerfire cartridges, and Berdan primers which have the anvil built into the case and two flash holes. Shot-shell primers are a variant of boxer primers used in shotgun shells. Primers come in different sizes and compositions depending on the type of ammunition, with large rifle and pistol primers being the largest in diameter. When fired, the firing pin strikes the primer cup, compressing the material and causing it to explode, sending a flame through the flash hole to ignite the propellant.

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    Primer: Primer - Is An Igniter Used To Initiate The Burning of A Propellant. Small Arms Cartridges Are

    Uploaded by

    Haimelien De Limos
    267 views2 pages
    Primer is an igniter used to initiate the burning of propellant in small arms cartridges. There are two main types of primers - boxer primers which have a brass cup containing explosive material and anvil, used in most American centerfire cartridges, and Berdan primers which have the anvil built into the case and two flash holes. Shot-shell primers are a variant of boxer primers used in shotgun shells. Primers come in different sizes and compositions depending on the type of ammunition, with large rifle and pistol primers being the largest in diameter. When fired, the firing pin strikes the primer cup, compressing the material and causing it to explode, sending a flame through the flash hole to ignite the propellant.

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    Primer

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    Primer is an igniter used to initiate the burning of propellant in small arms cartridges. There are two main types of primers - boxer primers which have a brass cup containing explosive material and anvil, used in most American centerfire cartridges, and Berdan primers which have the anvil built into the case and two flash holes. Shot-shell primers are a variant of boxer primers used in shotgun shells. Primers come in different sizes and compositions depending on the type of ammunition, with large rifle and pistol primers being the largest in diameter. When fired, the firing pin strikes the primer cup, compressing the material and causing it to explode, sending a flame through the flash hole to ignite the propellant.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    267 views2 pages

    Primer: Primer - Is An Igniter Used To Initiate The Burning of A Propellant. Small Arms Cartridges Are

    Uploaded by

    Haimelien De Limos
    Primer is an igniter used to initiate the burning of propellant in small arms cartridges. There are two main types of primers - boxer primers which have a brass cup containing explosive material and anvil, used in most American centerfire cartridges, and Berdan primers which have the anvil built into the case and two flash holes. Shot-shell primers are a variant of boxer primers used in shotgun shells. Primers come in different sizes and compositions depending on the type of ammunition, with large rifle and pistol primers being the largest in diameter. When fired, the firing pin strikes the primer cup, compressing the material and causing it to explode, sending a flame through the flash hole to ignite the propellant.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    Primer

    On forensic ballistics

    Primer - is an igniter used to initiate the burning of a propellant. Small arms cartridges are
    classified as centerfire or rimfire depending on the location of the primer. In centerfire
    cartridges, the primer is located in the center of the base of the cartridge case. There are
    two types of primers for metallic cartridges, Boxer and Berdan.American centerfire rifle and
    pistol cartridges have boxer primers,(blazer ammunition is the exception)A boxer primer
    consists of a brass or gilding-metal cup, a pellet containing a sensitive explosive, a paper
    disk, and a brass anvil. These component parts are assembled to form a complete primer.
    The boxer primer has a single large flash hole in the bottom of the case.

         European metallic cartridges traditionally are loaded with Berdan primers. The Berdan
    primer differs from the American boxer primer in that it has no integral anvil. Instead, the
    anvil is built into the cartridge case and forms a projection in the primer pocket. Berdan
    primers have two flash holes in the primer pocket.

         Shot-shell primers are a variant of boxer primer used in metallic cartridges. The main
    difference is that the shot-shell primer has its own supporting cup, the battery cup, which
    encloses the anvil, the paper disk, the priming mixture, and the primer cup. This battery cup
    primer is inserted in the base of the shotgun shell.

         Primers made for rifles and pistols differ in construction in that the cups of pistol primers
    are made with thinner metal. The riffle primer also has a mixture that burns with a more
    intense and sustained flame.

    Primers come in five sizes. They are


    1. Large rifle
    2. Small rifle
    3. Large pistol
    4. Small pistol
    5. Shotgun
     
    The large primers measure .210 inches in diameter, the small is.175 inches and shotgun
    primers are .243. Magnum primer (either rifle or pistol) produces a more intense and
    sustained flame which is necessary for better ignition in magnum cartridges.

         When a weapon is fired, the firing pin strikes the center of the primer cup.compressing
    the primer composition between the cup and anvil and causing the composition to explode.
    The vents in the anvil allow the flame to pass through the flash hole into the cartridge case
    and thereby igniting the propellant.

         Primer compounds originally were made of fulminate of mercury. On firing, free mercury
    is released. This amalgamated with the brass of the cartridge case, making it brittle and
    ruining it for reloading. In addition, storage of ammunition containing mercury primers for
    long periods of time led to the deterioration of the brass because of the mercury. Mercury
    compounds were then replaced with chlorate compounds. Unfortunately, on firing, these
    break down to chloride salts, causing severe rusting of the barrels.
     
         All primers currently manufactured in the U.S. use chemical ingredients that are non-
    mercuric and non-corrosive.The compounds that are used vary, lead styphnate, barium
    nitrate, and antimony sulfide are most commonly used. Most centerfire primers of either
    U.S. or foreign manufacturer contains all three compounds. The detection of these
    compounds constitutes the basis for tests to determine whether an individual has fired a
    firearm. Blound industries (CCI), Remington, Federal, and Winchester now manufacture
    some centerfire pistol ammunition that does not contain lead in the primer.

         Rimfire ammunition does not contain a primer assembly. Instead, the primer composition
    is spun into the rim of the cartridge case with the propellant in intimate contact with this
    composition. On firing, the firing pin strikes the rim of the cartridge case compressing the
    primer composition and initiating its detonation. The priming mixture used in .22 rimfire
    ammunition manufactured by Winchester and CCI are compounds of lead and barium and
    antimony. Remington rimfire ammunition used to contain only lead compounds but now
    uses compounds of lead and barium. Some Mexican manufactured rimfire ammunition uses
    only lead compounds in the primer

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