Pistol Primer for Rifle - Not a Good Idea

Status
Not open for further replies.
Load Master

Load Master

Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2016
Messages
573
Location
Michigan
Have you ever wondered about using pistol primers in rifle? Well, this is something I would never do on purpose, but it happened. Some how a pistol primer managed to get mixed in with rifle. Good thing, it was only one. After thought I remembered how it got in. Won't do that again. Can you tell which one is the pistol primer?

26540289480_2c0a2c9165_c.jpg

26812538085_44f1b4baef_c.jpg
 
Thanks for sharing, Load Master! I have a strong preference for learning from OTHERS' mistakes, so I'm always grateful when someone will step up and share.
 
ATLDave; said:
Thanks for sharing, Load Master! I have a strong preference for learning from OTHERS' mistakes, so I'm always grateful when someone will step up and share.
Click to expand...

Thanks Dave!
 
Yep, with the thinner cups in pistol primers it can be a problem. Glad you figured out how it happened so you can avoid it in the future. That is good reloading. Make a mistake, figure out how it happened, change your routine.

Been there, done that. Things happen and all we can do then is refine our procedure. :)
 
Should have been no clue that anything was different until he visually inspected the casing. The rifle pressure was too much for the pistol pressure rated primer.
 
Good thing it only "pooched out" rather than blow a hole through the primer cup. When I started reloading waaay back pre-web, I tried some pistol primers in my .223 loads. My Handi-Rifle has some burn marks/slight pitting on the receiver face...:(
 
So how is this different when you have people posting to use certain primer makers.. I think it's Winchester maybe Federal.. with lightweight firing pin/springs?
 
I don’t believe anyone has recommended using small pistol primers in a rifle, regardless of the brand. Federal primers are more sensitive than most, but rifle primers should be used in a rifle not pistol primers, again regardless of brand. I have used small rifle in some pistols. providing the pistol will reliably set them off. Large rifle and large pistol primers are slightly different in height and should not be interchanged.
 
Alec said:
What did that sound/feel like?
Click to expand...
I had ear/eye protection on and really didn't notice anything out of the normal. I'm load developing so my shooting rate was slow and I normally look at the fired case and put it back in order it was removed from the case. This allows me to compare to the chronograph data. My battery died before this round was recorded. I would have like to have had the data just to see what might have been different. I'm thinking, based on looking at the above cases, that the pistol primer round had less over all pressure. Looking that the difference in primer to primer the CCI on the right looks much flatter to me. The other primer on the left is a S&B.

Here is a photo of unfired primers.

25919389462_bbe2671b97_c.jpg
 
Thanks for sharing that little experience. While not unusual to use small rifle primers in handgun it does not work the other way around. I use small rifle in 38 Super as an example. Thanks again for the post.

Ron
 
Thank you for sharing in your experience.
I too have used small rifle in sp .45 cases. For no other reason than to try it. (Steel slide, steel frame).

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk
 
I use rifle primers (SPP) in some of my pistol loads and pistol primers in my 458 socom loads (LPP) but thats about it.
 
What about, say the .45 Colt shot at 14kpsi in a revolver and 45kpsi in a 92 action rifle... Use rifle primers in the rifle, or are pistol primers still ok? What is the pressure limit on pistol primers?
Gil
 
IMO I would go with SR for pistol calibers in rifle. The firing pin will strike the primer more forcefully in the rifle than the pistol it's chambered for. Risk of a punctured primer I would think. I will have to look up pressure limits on primers.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk
 
gilgsn said:
What about, say the .45 Colt shot at 14kpsi in a revolver and 45kpsi in a 92 action rifle... Use rifle primers in the rifle, or are pistol primers still ok? What is the pressure limit on pistol primers?
Gil
Click to expand...

Since .45 Colt takes a large pistol primer using rifle primers really isn't an option. Use standard primers for the 14k loads and magnum for the 25k+ loads and you'll be fine.

Large rifle primers may not seat below flush and would give you all kinds of problems you don't want to deal with.

It's only the small rifle and pistol primers that have the same dimensions.
 
I've used pistol primers for .30-30 in the past without issue (the rifle had a weak hammer spring wouldn't always work with rifle primers but the pistol primer ammo was 100%).

But .30-30 is pretty low pressure for a rifle. I wouldn't try it in a higher pressure cartridge...
 
years ago cci told us that there small pistol magnum primer and the small rifle standard are the same primer. Identical in every way and come off the same assembly line. Only difference is the packaging. I used 1000s of them in ar15 during the ammo shortage and never saw one single bad incidence using them. I have 5 different 5.56 ar15s they were shot it. Now I don't know if this is still the case with cci but like I said they sure worked just fine for me. Please don't take it for granted that fed or rem or win does the same.
 
Lloyd Smale said:
years ago cci told us that there small pistol magnum primer and the small rifle standard are the same primer. Identical in every way and come off the same assembly line. Only difference is the packaging. I used 1000s of them in ar15 during the ammo shortage and never saw one single bad incidence using them. I have 5 different 5.56 ar15s they were shot it. Now I don't know if this is still the case with cci but like I said they sure worked just fine for me. Please don't take it for granted that fed or rem or win does the same.
Click to expand...
That recently came up and is not true. I took the t time to call CCI and they never made such a statement and I also emailed them and got a reply saying the same. I suggest anyone remotely believing there is any truth to it call and email CCI. The cups are not the same and the cake mix is not the same and never was.

Mailing Address
CCI Ammunition
2299 Snake River Avenue
Lewiston, ID 83501
(800) 379-1732

http://www.cci-ammunition.com/general/contact_us.aspx

Ron
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

74man
PRIMER QUESTIONS???
Replies
23
Views
854
Jonesy814
Jonesy814
D
  • Locked
Will pistol primers work in rifle brass reloading
Replies
19
Views
3K
Walkalong
Walkalong
4
  • Locked
primer substitution
Replies
2
Views
522
40 rod
4
American_Fusilier
  • Locked
Using wrong primers (SP where SR is needed, etc). What happens?
Replies
16
Views
2K
243winxb
243winxb
Bulletski
  • Locked
Small rifle primers in lieu of small pistol primers
2
Replies
38
Views
2K
docbrown
D
Back
Top