John, I hold the SAAMI standards book in my hand. The large rifle primer cup height standard is 0.123" to 0.133", the large rifle primer pockets standard is 0.125" to 0.132". However, it should be noted that the primer height as measured includes the protrusion of the anvil legs past the cup by several thousandths of an inch. Once a primer is seated, the cup and anvil come together as the anvil slightly compresses the pellet; thus, even a maximum primer and a minimum pocket will come together nicely. Perhaps if someone was looking only at a table of dimensions he wouldn't see this, but the accompanying drawings make it clear. The other cup/primer standards are similar (large/small, rifle/pistol). For what its worth, in measuring thousands of primers and pockets, I have never run across such a combination of extremes.
SAAMI is often unjustly maligned in forums of accuracy shooters, but it provides an immensely valuable service. While we may not love some of the allowable dimensions (as in the .308 above) those rifles were never intended for our purposes. On the other hand, aren't we all glad that when we buy a piece of .308 brass from one manufacturer, a die from another, a shellholder from a third and a rifle action from a fourth that all the bits fit together nicely?
