So, will a Berdan primer be efficient in a Boxer/single hole shotshell case?
Kind Regards,
Raimey
rse
Most modern shotshells use what is called a battery cup primer which is neither Boxer nor Berdan. "IF" you had a Berdan having the same diameter as the cup from the battery cup you could reprime by pushing out just the cup & re-inserting the anvil, some target shooters used to reload this way but not with actual Berdan primers, they just bought the cups. It was a lot of fuss & time for only a small savings.
Some of the early paper shotshells were actually loaded with a Boxer style primer. As stated the anvil is integral with the primer si once deprimed, even if the Berdan is of a size compatible with the pocket, there is no anvil for the compoun d to be crushed against, so mis-fires would be Guaranteed.
You can distinguish a Boxer from a Battery Cup from the outside. On the Batterycup the primer cup itself is inserted into a flanged tube which contains the anvil. This assembly is then inserted into the head. Thus if you look at the head you will see the primer cup in the center, surrounded by the flange of the battery cup & then the case head. On either a Boxer or Berdan you will simply see the primer cup (with no flange) in the head of the case.
Both the Fiocchi & Magtech all brass hulls using Berdan primers took a 6.45mm (.254") dia primer, but the height of the built in anvil is different between the two brands so they are not directly interchangable. As I recall the old Fiocchi Berdan # which fit their brass hulls was 645P.
