My son and I were talking the other day and he said that Boxer primers were the ones with 2 or three holes, and Berdan primers were the American style with one centered hole. I had always thought the reverse was true. Which of us is right?
Boxer is European and has one hole and Berdan is American and has two holes. Berdan was an American and sold his idea to Europena makers and vise versa for Boxer.
Confusing? The Boxer priming system is the one in use in America today. Edward Boxer was an englishman.
Hiram Berdan was an American and developed the Berdan priming system (before the Boxer system). This is the one with the Anvil fixed in the case head which is difficult to reload without damage to the case.
Since we Americans are cheap, we went with the easily reloadable system. The europeans weren't so eager to re-use cases so they went with the easier to manufacture Berdan system.
