I finally found the Unicorn primers – CCI #41’s. Maybe my luck or timing was just bad but I literally haven’t seen a #41 primer in a LGS since late 2012. At that time, I lived in California and was just getting back into shooting (and loading) – after a virtual hiatus of about 22 years (two or three range trips a year, compared to three or four range trips a month).
In late 2012, I remember going to my LGS (Sportsmen’s Warehouse) to restock a bunch of my supplies when I saw these odd white CCI boxes with the “no. 41” on them. At the time, I didn’t even own any rifles and had no idea what they were. Not that I gave it much thought, but kind of assumed that they were some sort of bargain version of the “good” primers – being in the generic white box and all. Like I said, I didn’t give it much thought. I knew they weren’t CCI 300’s or 500’s, and that’s all that mattered at the time.
Then the Sandy Hook / Obama shortage of 2013 hit. The shelves went empty for several years; at least, in northern California where I lived. But even after the shortage eased, primers were still a bit difficult to find. And I never saw any #41’s anywhere – not that I was in need of them. Then I got my AR’s and started load work ups using CCI 400’s. Before I got far with that, California put a virtual ban on “real” AR platform rifles – so I moved to Idaho
.
Here in Idaho, I resumed my load workups when I learned about slam-fires. Now I am still using 400’s (almost out) and have yet to have a slam-fire (I always chamber in a safe direction – with any semi-auto). Anyway, I got a brick of CCI 450’s in the absence of #41's – believing that they have thicker primer cups than 400’s (have only loaded 12 of them, and zero shot).
I have a LGS here that’s a small independent outfit – nice folks. Every Thursday after closing, they stock all their new inventory and then post a video to FB showing all their new stuff that’ll be available the next morning. This last Thursday, they showed #41's as part of their new inventory – they had four bricks. The next morning, I showed up at opening time, intending to buy one brick. It didn’t matter to me if they have a purchase limit. If there’s only four on the shelf, I’m going to leave the rest for others. Well, when I got in, it turns out that there were four boxes hiding behind the four I saw in the video. I asked if it was okay to buy two and the clerk said yes. So, I got two bricks of Unicorn Primers.
I guess I’m going to do my work ups using my 450s’ to start (supposedly, the same load data is used). When I get close to where I want, I’ll do the switchover for the fine tuning. I noticed that the anvils are different in the #41’s – they’re more tapered, leaving less of a “valley” in the center. Definitely different looking. They’re also not nickel plated. Interesting.
So that’s my long, boring story. I was curious if others have had such a hard time finding #41’s specifically (I know primers in general are a beast to find). Or was I just unlucky, not as much as seeing one in over eleven years.
And oh, I know many want to ask how much were they: They were $115 a brick. I’m sure that’s a lot. I suppose somebody out there knows where they can be found for less. Frankly, I don’t care. This wasn’t about money.
In late 2012, I remember going to my LGS (Sportsmen’s Warehouse) to restock a bunch of my supplies when I saw these odd white CCI boxes with the “no. 41” on them. At the time, I didn’t even own any rifles and had no idea what they were. Not that I gave it much thought, but kind of assumed that they were some sort of bargain version of the “good” primers – being in the generic white box and all. Like I said, I didn’t give it much thought. I knew they weren’t CCI 300’s or 500’s, and that’s all that mattered at the time.
Then the Sandy Hook / Obama shortage of 2013 hit. The shelves went empty for several years; at least, in northern California where I lived. But even after the shortage eased, primers were still a bit difficult to find. And I never saw any #41’s anywhere – not that I was in need of them. Then I got my AR’s and started load work ups using CCI 400’s. Before I got far with that, California put a virtual ban on “real” AR platform rifles – so I moved to Idaho
.Here in Idaho, I resumed my load workups when I learned about slam-fires. Now I am still using 400’s (almost out) and have yet to have a slam-fire (I always chamber in a safe direction – with any semi-auto). Anyway, I got a brick of CCI 450’s in the absence of #41's – believing that they have thicker primer cups than 400’s (have only loaded 12 of them, and zero shot).
I have a LGS here that’s a small independent outfit – nice folks. Every Thursday after closing, they stock all their new inventory and then post a video to FB showing all their new stuff that’ll be available the next morning. This last Thursday, they showed #41's as part of their new inventory – they had four bricks. The next morning, I showed up at opening time, intending to buy one brick. It didn’t matter to me if they have a purchase limit. If there’s only four on the shelf, I’m going to leave the rest for others. Well, when I got in, it turns out that there were four boxes hiding behind the four I saw in the video. I asked if it was okay to buy two and the clerk said yes. So, I got two bricks of Unicorn Primers.
I guess I’m going to do my work ups using my 450s’ to start (supposedly, the same load data is used). When I get close to where I want, I’ll do the switchover for the fine tuning. I noticed that the anvils are different in the #41’s – they’re more tapered, leaving less of a “valley” in the center. Definitely different looking. They’re also not nickel plated. Interesting.
So that’s my long, boring story. I was curious if others have had such a hard time finding #41’s specifically (I know primers in general are a beast to find). Or was I just unlucky, not as much as seeing one in over eleven years.
And oh, I know many want to ask how much were they: They were $115 a brick. I’m sure that’s a lot. I suppose somebody out there knows where they can be found for less. Frankly, I don’t care. This wasn’t about money.