Anyone had experience with these Russian SPP?

[stonebuster]

I will be receiving these Russian SPP soon to reload 38spl using HP-38 & 125gr Hornady XTP. The little I've read about lead free Russian primers says they loose a little velocity vs CCI. I plan on trying them with the same load data(Hodgdon/38spl) I've successfully used with CCI primers. This would be 4.5gr HP-38 under 125gr XTP. The starting load is 4.3gr hp-38 per Hodgdon data. I don't want to use the start load because with the loss of velocity I may have a squib. The max load for 38spl is 4.9gr (HP-38 using 125gr XTP) and +P is 5.3gr so I've got a good cushion on the upper end and will be using a 38+P rated revolver. I've only been reloading about eight months so I may be missing something. Does anyone have experience with these primers and is my plan sound?

 

[earlthegoat2]

Well, I can’t tell you a thing about them but I also have some. About 5000. They seemed sketchy to me since I bought them at a swap meet and had never heard of them before. But hey, primers baby. I don’t remember what size they are. I figured I would use them for low pressure loads of some sort.

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Plan sounds good. No idea about the primers but there are guys out there using cap gun caps to "reload" primers and those seem to work so I don't see a squib in your future even with 4.3gr. of HP-38. As long as they ignite the powder, you're good.

 

[stonebuster]

Thanks, I'll let you know how they work out.

 

[AJC1]

I may brake traditional practices if your normal load is a pinker. Make up 3 test rounds and test them. I would not do this with max or plus p rounds but middle of the road loads with only changing the primer will give you a good and very usable data point. Load a small batch large enough to satisfy your velosity sd and es comparison. If you dont track that the 3 should provide a good function test.

 

[Blue68f100]

If you have a crony, run a test comparing them to the CCI and see what the difference is.

 

[BrotherMaynard]

The logo indicates they were made by Murom:

http://www.mpzflame.ru/production/primers/

who apparently sell under multiple brand names.

I have some PMC Green primers from 2008 that were made in Russia and the box is an almost exact match for the heavy metal free ones made by Murom (including the warning and 25-year shelf life assertion). It is not conclusive but if they are the same manufacturer, I would have no qualms about them. I have used about 600 out of the 1k I bought and, except for a handful of failures due to excessive seating force, they have all gone bang.

 

[LiveLife]

During two component shortages ago, I bought some Russian non-toxic SP primers made under PMC brand.

They had a small "E" stamped on the primer cup (Maybe for "Environmental"?) and required .2-.3 gr more of W231/HP-38 for my 9mm/45ACP loads. The brass cup was softer than Winchester/CCI and has been consistent with no failure to go bang.

 

[GHinNH]

I know I won't win any popularity points for this...

I converse with a man in Moscow occasionally on GRT (Gordons reloading tool) Discord about these exact primers. He is one of the regulars, highly knowledgeable, and a competitive shooter (like most of them there).

Like all the other "green" primers, they are very sensitive to moisture and not especially reliable or repeatable in performance. Whatever the package says is something of a stretch as they all can begin to degrade in as little as 5 years and useless within 7-10. All of this holds true for all Diazodinitrophenol primers.

But wait..there's more... They also leave a gritty residue behind in the barrel, I knew about the other things, but the residue part I did not know until my acquaintance from Moscow contacted Murom himself and reported his findings from them.

As far as I am aware of, Murom and PMC are the only places that make them so brand difference does not mean much.

I looked into them some time ago to find out what the deal was before I bought any and did a hard pass. If you have some you might want to put them in a sealed container with some descant packs.

 

[stonebuster]

I know I won't win any popularity points for this...

I converse with a man in Moscow occasionally on GRT (Gordons reloading tool) Discord about these exact primers. He is one of the regulars, highly knowledgeable, and a competitive shooter (like most of them there).

Like all the other "green" primers, they are very sensitive to moisture and not especially reliable or repeatable in performance. Whatever the package says is something of a stretch as they all can begin to degrade in as little as 5 years and useless within 7-10. All of this holds true for all Diazodinitrophenol primers.

But wait..there's more... They also leave a gritty residue behind in the barrel, I knew about the other things, but the residue part I did not know until my acquaintance from Moscow contacted Murom himself and reported his findings from them.

As far as I am aware of, Murom and PMC are the only places that make them so brand difference does not mean much.

I looked into them to find out what the deal was before I bought any and did a hard pass. If you have some you might want to put them in a sealed plastic container with some descant packs.

Thanks for the warning. I will try them in my least favorite well worn Model 10 38+P. I've read some people have had reliability issues with them, maybe due to being improperly stored. These primers are supposed to be @ 20 yrs old. I appreciate the information whether it's positive or negative regarding these primers. I'll keep an eye on the bore for signs of the grit you mentioned and hope it's not abrasive.

 

[GHinNH]

FWIW... now that I'm on the waking end of a sleep cycle, I did a bit of digging to find the important bits of the conversation I mentioned.

The subject started around Fort Smith branded lead free primers and progressed from there.
Still leaves the question of whether the "grit" forms while shooting or sometime after stopping, so a bit more digging is in order. I might maybe, sorta kinda, be talked into trying a sleeve sometime to test for myself as long as the "grit" forms only AFTER shooting and not during so it can be cleaned out.

I cannot provide a direct link because Discord does not work that way unless you are signed up, so here is copy/pasta.

"Murom has confirmed a very short shelf life and abrasive residue that forms after lead-free primer usage. At this very moment Murom does not manufacture lead-free primers due to some technological issues. I'd definitely not use them when I have another option. I don't like sand inside the barrel."