Question / clarification on Tula small rifle primers at Midway

[Kiba]

Quick sanity check on Tula small rifle primers, these are going to be used in either my AR or my 223 bolt gun...

Based off searched I've found the following:

The regular SR primers are a bit soft in the cup and should be avoided. I run these in my .38 Supercomp open blaster since they're tougher than pistol primers and they work just fine but I don't use them in my rifles.

The KVB223M primers have the same charge as the SR primers but have a stronger cup and are preferred for just about every .223 load.

The KVB556M primers have a hotter charge and a stronger cup and are suggested for .223/5.56 near-max loads with ball powders.

Midway has a bunch of Tula primers in stock right now on sale and I want to pick some up for my AR running N133 & 53gr Vmax as I'm on my 7th load and while the brass looks great my usual 7-1/2 primers are starting to seat a little soft. The Wolf/Tula primers usually run a little larger so that should allow me to get a few more loads out of the brass before tossing it.

Based on searches it seems the suggestion is to run KVB223M primers but unfortunately Midway doesn't seem to list the complete Tula part number for some of the variants...

They have Tula "small rifle magnum" primers-- which I assume are the KVB223M primers but they don't directly refer to that part number or show it in the label picture.

They also have "small rifle magnum lead free" primers which are KVB223EM-- no question there (the "E" in the part number is for environmentally friendly / lead free) but I can't find much feedback on the performance of the newer lead-free version.

They do have the KVB556M primers and show the label as such-- no question there.

Think the "small rifle magnum" primers are the KVB223M primers and I should get those, or would you recommend the KVB223EM or KVB556M?

Thanks!

 

[FLIGHT762]

KVB556M would be the ones you would run in autoloaders.

 

[itwillis]

Your info is all correct. However, the 556m is not much more horsepower than the 223m and I use 556m exclusively now. The 223m is probably the better match for N133 but if you load several favors of 223 as I do then just go with the 556m, they are very consistent and versatile. And yes they are snug in the primer pockets.

 

[Drifter™]

Quick sanity check on Tula small rifle primers, these are going to be used in either my AR or my 223 bolt gun...

I haven't tried Tula primers in my bolt rifle, but when using CCI 41's, I have ~5% fail-to-fire rate due to the thicker and /or harder cup. (No such issues in my AR's.) Just something to consider...

 

[Kiba]

I haven't tried Tula primers in my bolt rifle, but when using CCI 41's, I have ~5% fail-to-fire rate due to the thicker and /or harder cup. (No such issues in my AR's.) Just something to consider...

It is something to consider... which is why I asked what would be a good match for both my bolt rifle and AR. I would hope my bolt gun can ignite the 556Ms reliably. I'd rather just stock up on one primer that will work for both rifles.

The only powders I use for my .223s are N133 for the 53gr Vmax and Varget for the 77gr Sierras or Hornady 75gr HPBT.

Has anyone run both the KVB223M and KVB556M and can comment on any appreciable ES/SD differences between the two?