Picked up a box of the Lapua 6.5 Creedmoor brass yesterday knowing that it had small primer pockets.  My question now is will I need to use magnum primers to ignite the larger powder column?  I will be using the rifle for long range plinking in the summer, but it's primary purpose is as a hunting rifle.  Here in Idaho the temps can get pretty cold during hunting season and I read a couple comments that people have had problems with other rounds with small primers misfiring when it was cold.

Thanks!

CCI-450's are a known as GTG. BR4's a close second.

What does Lapua themselves recommend? That's who I'd be asking...

And what other rounds are you talking about that had misfires? If those other rounds are not 6.5 CM using Lapua brass, then that's sort of apples to oranges. I'd be interested to see where you read that and what calibers/primers were used, because calibers using SRPs (both mag and non-mag) have been proven to work down to very low temps. If they didn't, military units across the world would not be using them...

The usual cut line when cases are developed when deciding on a small vs. large rifle primer is whether you'll be igniting 35 or more grains of powder. 35 or more grains almost always gets a large primer. Lapua makes a .308 small rifle primed case (Palma) and as you have discovered 6.5 Creedmoor does as well. A little more pop doesn't hurt, neither does the thicker cups when it comes to hold pressure.

I'm loading 6.5x47mm Lapua and use CCI-450's because that's what has been recommended. www.accurateshooter.com has an extensive archive of posts on their forums and their Daily Bulletin is something I try to look at every day. I have found that Remington 7.5's and Russian kvb-5,56m (magnum) small rifle primer are tough and hold pressure well. The Russian is on the weak side when it comes to pop, the Remington is hot.

You might also consider CCI-BR4's or their military primer, CCI-#41. They hold pressure well too. I have 6.8SPC brass that has large rifle primers as well as 7.62x39mm and for the life of me I don't understand why they chose that style for such small cases.

H4350 is relatively easy to ignite and is a top pick as far as powders are concerned for your round.

From Lapua:

Hi Russell,

Given that we developed this case specifically for competition shooting, which normally takes place in considerably warmer weather, I would definitely recommend using a magnum primer. This is especially true if you're wanting to use a ball powder, as they tend to be harder to ignite. This may sound like odd advice coming from a sales department, but I'd seriously consider using some other brass, specifically something that utilizes a large primer. The large primers generally don't give as fine accuracy as the milder, small rifle primers do (which is why we chose to use them), but in the extreme cold, that's not that much of a tradeoff to ensure consistent ignition in very bad conditions. But yes, at the very least, use magnum primers for this application. Warm summer days on the competition range, the smaller standard primers are no problem at all. Just have to match the tools with the conditions.

I hope this answers your question, but if there's anything more that we can do to be of service, please don't hesitate to let us know. As always, we'll be glad to help.

Sincerely,

Kevin Thomas
Sales Manager

It won't hurt, but probably won't make a big difference.  ball powders usually need it, but i can't think of any acceptable powders that you would use for the 6.5 that aren't extruded.