Primer mix up

[straightShot]

The last couple of nights, I trimmed over 1000 .223/5.56 cases and primed them. Tonight, I inspected and trimmed about 400 more and then I primed them with the hand primer that I always use for my rifle loads. When I got done and was putting things away, I realized that the blue Winchester box that I had grabbed was labeled WSP and not WSR!

I know better than to not read the box, or at least I thought I did. I also thought that it was odd that I remembered having 30 primers left in one sleeve from last night and that the others were full 100 ct. sleeves, but when I started tonight, each sleeve had 100 in it. I thought that I must have remembered incorrectly and didn't trust my own recollection. I was wrong, and since I wasn't dropping powder and seating a bullet, I didn't write down any reloading notes in my notebook as I normally do. (I write down and detail every reloading session but not when cleaning brass, priming, or other such things.)

Using a flashlight and shining into the cases, I inspected what I had done tonight and saw that the primers were colored red. I compared these to the ones that I had done the last two nights, and those were green, not red, indicating that they were indeed small rifle primers. The red ones were small pistol primers!

I will deprime these last 400 from tonight and then try and reuse the small pistol primers on .38 spl loads.

I really, really feel stupid, and I'd like to think that I know better, but all that I can do now is sit here and shake my head. If you've read this far, don't ever follow my dumb lead. Remember to read everything. I tell others to double-check things, and I didn't even follow my own advice!

Stay safe!

 

[gamestalker]

Hey, you still did good IMO, considering you caught the mistake before pulling the trigger on one.

Now as for how it slipped by you, it seems you've already figured that out and corrected the matter.

GS

 

[witchhunter]

Good catch!

 

[ksimons]

Safety shield and go slow on the depriming.

 

[FROGO207]

We all make a mistake now and again but I REALLY try to avoid this when reloading. Just push the primers out slowly and all will be OK. Using the primers will not be a problem. I have reused hundreds of primers after removing them and all went bang in blasting ammo over the years. Just use them for plinking not for hunting or SD loads. Figure out how the mistake happened and take steps to keep it from happening again. FYI I keep my primers in different areas----Rifle with the rifle propellants and handgun with the handgun propellants. Separate shelves but loosely associated so I have no chance of a mix up.

 

[straightShot]

I got all the old primers out. A couple were tough, but it all worked. I'm glad that I had a Forster co-ax press and a Lee Universal Decapper. I didn't have to cram each case into a shell holder. All that I had to do was to put each case between the shellholder jaws and pull the handle. I did dump the primer jar after depriming every 15 - 20 cases, and the decapper worked flawlessly.

When I was done, I put the primers back into the primer sleeves Next, I'll reprime my .223 brass with WSR primers and use my Dillon later to load some .38spl with the reclaimed primers, unless the decapped primers end up being slightly deformed and get hung up in the priming tubes...If this proves to be the case, I'll knock them off on the single stage...

 

[Twiki357]

Just an FYI that you can take it or leave it. I don’t reload for .223 and don’t know what powder you use, so….

I’ve been using small rifle primers for 357 Mag with 13.5 grains of 2400 and 158 grain cast SWC since the 1960s. With the recent shortages, I loaded the same load with small pistol primers. At the range, the only difference was the label on the box. I couldn’t tell the difference between the SP and SR primed rounds.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

Yea, I was wondering if you really needed to go through all that, but think of it this way, you won't make that mistake again. We all make mistakes and you caught yours. That's the best we can do.

Good luck and don't beat yourself up to badly over this.

 

[billybob44]

Slight Hijack..

Just an FYI that you can take it or leave it. I don’t reload for .223 and don’t know what powder you use, so….

I’ve been using small rifle primers for 357 Mag with 13.5 grains of 2400 and 158 grain cast SWC since the 1960s. With the recent shortages, I loaded the same load with small pistol primers. At the range, the only difference was the label on the box. I couldn’t tell the difference between the SP and SR primed rounds.

Kind of the same here..I have found more than several .223/5.56 New Reloaders that have bought Remington 6 1/2's by mistake..Says on the box "Not for High Pressure loads like the .223 Remington"?

I have bought 6 or 7K of these primers from the Noobs (at a GOOD DISCOUNT)+used them for .357Mag. and .40 S&W loads...Works GREAT...Bill.

 

[John C]

I’ve been using small rifle primers for 357 Mag with 13.5 grains of 2400 and 158 grain cast SWC since the 1960s. With the recent shortages, I loaded the same load with small pistol primers. At the range, the only difference was the label on the box. I couldn’t tell the difference between the SP and SR primed rounds.

For pistol rounds, I agree. I've used SR in pistols, but never SP in rifles. SR primers have thicker cups than SP primers, to contain the higher pressure. Using pistol primers in rifle rounds can lead to primer piercing and gas blowback.

 

[John C]

Kind of the same here..I have found more than several .223/5.56 New Reloaders that have bought Remington 6 1/2's by mistake..Says on the box "Not for High Pressure loads like the .223 Remington"?

I have bought 6 or 7K of these primers from the Noobs (at a GOOD DISCOUNT)+used them for .357Mag. and .40 S&W loads...Works GREAT...Bill.

I did something similar. I bought a bunch of old Herter's 6 1/2 small rifle primers from an old reloader's estate for a song. Not being sure of the relative strength of the cup, I just loaded them up in .38 spl plinking rounds. They worked great.

If I reloaded small rifle primed cartridges, I'd seriously consider stocking only SR primers, and load all my brass with these. It would simplify the logistics.

 

[clearcut]

I read somewhere that If you use sp primers in a semi auto rifle you run the risk of slam-fire because the pistol primers have thinner cups.
CC

 

[Potatohead]

deleted smart remark