Primer differences...

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Texasgrillchef

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Other then the obvious difference between small and large primers....

Whats the big difference between pistol primers and rifle primers? Size? as in height? or power of the "bang"?

Obviously magnum has more bang.
 
SR primers are the same diameter and height, differences are cup thickness/hardness and strength.

LR and LP primers are the same diameter, but LR primers are taller, plus what I said about SR/SP.
 
As I don’t load SR any longer I wound up with several hundred small rifle primers which I used up in 38 special loads. Fired fine in the N frame revolvers. Ditto large rifle on 45Colt.
 
I suggest you try several varieties, of course I am not talking about now but when we get back to normal, and try them to see what works for you. IMO I stay away from Winchester as they jam in my 3 different hand primer methods, I prefer CCI as they run smooth thru all of my primer applications. I am not good enough to determine a difference between them at the firing line.
 
Because of our shortage i was just wondering what the differences were if it were possible to use SR place of SP or even SP in place of SR. Same with exchanging LR/LP

I could see where some pistols might not cause a SR primer to ignite. or a LR to ignite but a rifle could easy ignite a pistol primer. Although my concern with using a pistol primer in a rifle cartridge would be the firing pin puncturing the primer and that might cause issues as well.

Although right now, i am in extreme short supply of either in small.
 
Although I have been reloading for 40+ years I have never tried that scenario nor would I recommend it. But there seems to be an abundance of very smart individuals on this forum so stand by.
 
I normally prefer to use pistol primers in pistol ammo, but this is not normal, nor was it normal during the runup to the last two national elections. I found that small rifle primers work just fine in hammer fired pistols. I am not so sure about striker fired guns, but the last one I tried was ok.
American rifle primers served me better than iron curtain pistol primers.
 
I am using SR in place of SP without any problems. I just lower the charge a tad or more to the lower end of the scale. But they shoot fine in three of my 9mm, one hammer and the two other striker.
 
.....and lets throw in the old Remington 6.5 small rifle primers misinformation that continues to travel throughout the world of the internet.
 
As far as small pistol primer usage for myself goes, they go into .380 and 9mm. I don’t use federal SPP in the 45 acp. I toss those back into brass recycling.

I have a hammer fired sig p238 for the 380, a Baretta 92fs Inox, Taurus G2C, and a Sig P365 for my 9mm. I’m sure the Baretta wouldn’t have an issue with the SRP as I have a heavy hammer spring on it. Not to sure about the Taurus and P365.

As far as the LPP goes... they are only used in my 45 acp, and 45 colt. My 45acp might be an issue... it’s a S&W M&P 2.0 45. I’m not worried about the colt 45, as those are used in the Henry “mares leg” which is now a NFA SBR, as well as in a Ruger Super Redhawk 454 Casull. The only LRP I use is for the 45-70. I haven’t started loading 50bmg yet. The only SRP I use is for the 454 Casull.

Like I said I am in extreme short supply of any small primers, for pistol or rifle. I still have a couple bricks of large pistol and large rifle primers.

I was just curious about size and power issues. Magnum primers go without saying of course obviously.

I also kinda wondered if the sizes weren’t kinda a marketing gimmick as well to make us buy more lol!

and why the hell did Dick Casull choose a dam small rifle primer for a 454 Casull! It sure makes switching from 45 colt to 454 Casull a pita!
 
Texasgrillchef said:
and why the hell did Dick Casull choose a dam small rifle primer for a 454 Casull! It sure makes switching from 45 colt to 454 Casull a pita!
Click to expand...

He picked the small rifle primers because a large rifle and large pistol primers don't interchange. Large rifle primers have a longer skirt and won't seat deep enough in large pistol cases.
Small rifle and small pistol primers do interchange. The skirt is the same length so you can use small rifle in heavy magnum 454 Casull or use spp for light loads.

When .327 Federal Magnum was introduced the only ammo on the market was from Federal and they used small rifle primers in the factory ammo due to the higher pressure of 45,000 psi, of the round and a primer piercing problems with small pistol problems.

Texasgrillchef said:
I also kinda wondered if the sizes weren’t kinda a marketing gimmick as well to make us buy more lol!
Click to expand...

There is too big of a pressure difference, there for a primer thickness difference between large pistol and large rifle primers to make them so they interchange.
 
Has anyone run a comparison of 9mm using SRP and SPP across the chrono to get a sense of what pressure differences might be?

I plan on doing that this weekend. I have a bunch of CCI 400 that I really don’t use for anything
 
Texasgrillchef said:
Because of our shortage i was just wondering what the differences were if it were possible to use SR place of SP or even SP in place of SR. Same with exchanging LR/LP
Click to expand...
I was reading about this on another thread recently. It strikes me as something experienced loaders might try, but probably a very bad idea for a beginner (like me).

Interesting information to file away for future reference, I suppose.
 
As far as SPP and SRP go... I think a lot would also not just depend on what ammo your loading as well as what firearm your using the ammo in.

for instance... a 454 Casull I load uses a SRP. I load pretty heavy. What’s the point of having a 454 if you can enjoy some good recoil! Lol The hammer on a Super Redhawk has one thump to it I am sure. Doubt it would actually be safe to use a SPP for a 454 Casull heavy load.

My SPP are for 380 and 9. I do load a few heavy loads on 9mm mainly in the rounds I use for SD. Target rounds and 147g rounds are loaded medium. Neither light or heavy. Borderline into the +P territory. But I have a heavy spring for the 92fs which uses a hammer. My other 9’s are use a striker. P365 and G2C.

Even though I upgraded the firing pin on my p365, I don’t know if it could handle SRP without taking some form of beating, the G2C would be a real crap shoot. I wouldn’t even want to try it.

I guess if we get desperate though, we will have to use what we have!
 
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