Major Screw-up... Wrong primers

[rfwobbly]

I may have loaded some moderately fast 9x19 rounds with Winchester small rifle primers. I'm not sure. I loaded the rounds and then was looking through the trash the next day and saw a [the ?] primer container. It was the only wrapper in there.

A search here revealed a lot of discussion on swapping magnum primers for standard, but nothing on swapping rifle primers for pistol. Is it kinetic hammer time?

 

[MifflinKid]

Oh yes. Break it out.

We've all done something like that one time or another.

 

[bensdad]

STOP!

Can't touch this.

Hammer time!

 

[ants]

There are senior members on this forum who have stated that they always use SR primers in 9x19, never pistol primers. One would hope that they read this thread and help you out.

You should list your specific load: Powder charge, bullet type and weight, and cartridge overall length. No one can advise you without specific information.

 

[rfwobbly]

The load...

• 4.1gr VV N340 under a Speer 147gr Gold Dot @ 1.130" (quantity 10)

• 4.2gr VV N340 under a Speer 147gr Gold Dot @ 1.130" (quantity 10)

Lifted from Lyman #49. These rounds should be approaching 960 fps.

 

[FredT]

How many did you load? Hot load or mild? Shoot a couple and look for pressure signs. If they are ok I would not hammer them. If not, hammer them!

 

[bensdad]

Gold Dot bullets? Them's pretty spendy. I'm assuming this ain't your 1000 rds of range ammo for April. That being the case, you want the best possible load, with the maximum possible reliability/dependability/consistency. Pull them apart and do the loads you intended to do.

 

[Mal H]

I assume the "(ten)" means you loaded 10 of each load. If it were me, I'd do the same as FredT suggested - shoot one from each group and inspect carefully for high pressure. Check the primer for firing pin flow-around (cratering), check the web for stretching, etc. If everything looks ok, I'd fire the group, and then reexamine my process, and perhaps the primer storage and selection so that I didn't do that unwittingly again.

 

[liljohn]

Don't pull them yet

If the primers seat flush, go bang, have no pressure signs after they are fired, and have a decent firing pin impression, they should be OK.

Small rifle primers don't necessarily have more "bang", but they do have a thicker cup. Therefore, the lighter firing pin strike of a handgun might not fire the primer, but it will likely work fine.

Flush seating is important. You don't want to risk a slam fire. Also, you likely won't get pressure signs on the primer, so look for others. With a 9mm, I would look for case head bulging and signs of rim stress (where the extractor engages the case). Rim stress indicates high extraction resistance, which could indicate high pressure.

 

[jcwit]

Check for pressure signs as the others have said, more than likely there will be no problem. Nothing wrong with using small rifle in small pistol, as long as the firing pin spring/hammer spring is heavy enough to set them off.

Problems lie in the use of small pistol primers in small rifle as the small pistol primers have a thinner cup and are not made to hold the pressures of rifle loads.

Also there are problems using large rifle in large pistol as the length of the large rifle primers are longer and are not likely to seat flush or a couple of thou. under flush, thereby possibly causing a slam fire. NOT GOOD

This length issue is only found on the large primers as the small primers are the same length.

 

[ants]

Well, he isn't going to get flattened primer signs. Those are rifle primers.

They don't flatten till they get 50,000 psi or more. He ain't never gonna get 50k in 9x19.

According to my 2009 VV manual, those are max loads or nearly so. And at minimum COAL.

Only 10 of each? As the gun owner, you have to make the call.
I have pulled 10 or 20 rounds apart without hesitation, more than once in my life.
But don't waste those primers, reload with 0.2 grain less powder and shoot them for practice.

 

[rfwobbly]

Thanks for all the helpful comments.

 

[krs]

I'm using small rifle primers, Federal 205's, in my .38 Special reloading without a single misfire or sign of a problem.

I only recently got back into handgun shooting after years of benchrest rifle. The small rifle primers were the mainstay of all of that shooting in both .222 and 6ppc and I've got a lot of them laid in.

So when it came time to start with the .38 I went back and forth after seeing the price of primers and the hazmat fee. I opened a thread here that had mixed resulting advise so I decided to just go ahead and try it.

Now with more than 1000 shot I think it's safe to say that so long as your hammer hits hard enough you'll be fine.

Pulling bullets almost always results in damaging some of them. No need to waste them because of this.


---Kenneth has spoken.

 

[VegasOPM]

All I can say is that everyone I know uses SR primers for loading 9mm Major loadings- and they all go boom just fine. The SR primers have a harder cup, but I can tell you for sure that STIs, SVs and GLOCKS will set them off just fine.

 

[redintex]

I think that as some others have stated, the big issue is if they seated as SP primers normally would. If so, try one of each as suggested. If you are going to reload that brass, just be sure to note how the SP primers fit after that. I'm sure there are more experienced folks than I about that, but that is just my thought on reloading them the next time(s)...

 

[Casefull]

You are fine...come on guys...all they are is an ignition device.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

The only problem I would have using a small rifle primer in a 9mm round is they are becoming scarce so I wouldn't hard to find so I wouldn't want to waste them in handgun rounds!! LOL

Like said above, they really aren't "hotter" than pistol rounds, the cup is heavier to withstand the higher pressures developed in rifle rounds over handgun rounds. That's why we use SRP in the .454 Casull, because of the pressures involved.

 

[evan price]

You should be fine. Those are near max for standard 9mm but not +P. Small rifle primers are heavier-duty to resist piercing in ARs for example. They work fine in 9mm or any small pistol application. Just don't make a habit out of doing it until you work up the load using those components.

I wouldn't break them down.

 

[cliffy]

My sorest subject: BAD primers

Actually no primer is BAD, just not right for the application. I site CCI 400 and 450 primers: 400s are great for .22 Hornet, .218 Bee, .219 Zipper, 222 Remington loads, along with .454 Casull loads for which they are intended.
.223 Remington and .222 Remington Magnum loads require 450 primers. WHY? Because they are .22 Centerfire MAGNUM loads. The cup on 400 primers is .020" thick, whilst the cup on 450 primers is .025" thick. The actual primer charge is not as important as the thickness of metal used in construction, to prevent firing pin piercing with hot .223 Remington loads. I suffered this malady two years ago and nearly went insane figuring out the difference. cliffy

 

[Jim Watson]

I have loaded 9mm P with small rifle primers. No misfires, no "signs of high pressure."
Velocity (and presumably pressure) with small rifle standard primers is less than with small pistol magnums.

The problem isn't the safety or usability of those 20 rounds, it is your general loading procedures. Small rifle primers aren't going to hurt a 9mm, but what might you inadvertently substitute next? 4.2 grains of N310 or Bullseye instead of N340 would not be so benign. Small pistol primers in a top .223 rifle load would be undesirable. Tighten up your QC and pay attention to what you are doing.

 

[rfwobbly]

Ahhhh! Thanks to everyone.

I continue to learn the many mysteries of reloading... the hard way. :banghead:

 

[kart racer]

I purposely loaded some with power pistol at near max loads and the rifle primers created no problems.It was loaded with winchester brass and zero bullets,124 grain.

 

[Walkalong]

The problem isn't the safety or usability of those 20 rounds, it is your general loading procedures.

Agreed. Check and double check everything. This little mix up was not major, but it could have been.

 

[rfwobbly]

Jim: The problem isn't the safety or usability of those 20 rounds, it is your general loading procedures.

Thanks, Jim. I had already come to that conclusion. I think I'm at that age where primers need to come in different color boxes !!!

 

[Mal H]

Agreed. CCI does use different color boxes (blue = regular, red = magnum), but Winchester doesn't, and they should.