primer type boxer vs berdan

golferboy426

February 02, 2009 06:18

How do you tell which is which?

Comments

4 comments

iwannausername

February 02, 2009 06:28
Number of flash holes - berdan has 2, boxer has 1.
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nononsense

February 02, 2009 06:31
golferboy426,

If you can't see the construction or the deprimed case, you have to ask, read the label or check an online resource to know for sure.

Berdan uses two flash holes and the Boxer uses one flash hole.

Best.
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golferboy426

February 02, 2009 06:52
nononsense

Great pictures thanks
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jonk

February 02, 2009 07:58
90% of what you will encounter can be judged by the flashholes yes; however the true answer is as suggested in nononsense's second picture- the anvil and flash compound picture.

Berdan has an anvil built into the brass upon which the priming compound is struck. Boxer has that anvil built into the primer itself.

USUALLY the Berdan primer has 2 offset flasholes on either side of the anvil. I have however also seen 1 flashole on 1 side, 3 arranged in a triangle, and one single flasholed drilled through a center 'teat' instead of the usualy small center post in berdan cases. So just because you look inside and only see one hole doesn't necissarily mean it is boxer, it just means it is likely.
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