I am new to the high road and I have a question. I have a new 9mm pistol and want to load for it. I have about 100 small pistol primers and about 900 small mag pistol primers. Is there a danger in using the small mag primers? Should I reduce load? I bought a Springfield Armory xdm elite compact in 9mm. I also bought a box of Missouri bullet 125 cone hi tek coated bullets any advice would be welcomed.
Small primer-v- small mag primer
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JJFitch
Member
The simple answer is, unless you are at max pressures you are safe and will see little to no increase in pressure or or velocity. In my testing 9mm, mid range velocity and mid burn rate powder I saw + 25 fps! Others using different powders have had a variety different results but none were extreme.
Your gun will tell you if the magnum primer cup is too hard.
Smiles,
Your gun will tell you if the magnum primer cup is too hard.
Smiles,
Here is a small test with various primers in 9MM. I didn't have any SP Mag primers, but did test some SR primers in 9MM, along with various SP primers.
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/9mm-primer-test.840256/page-3#post-10905312
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/9mm-primer-test.840256/page-3#post-10905312
bullseye308
Member
A few years ago I got some primed brass mixed up that had equal amounts of regular and magnum primers and they got loaded the same to see if I could tell the difference. Shot my normal 25 yard group and none felt different or sounded different. I only load midrange loads for accuracy, and I couldn’t tell the difference. If you load near max you may see something, just drop your load by .2-.3 grains and work back up.
bullseye308
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Welcome aboard by the way. Glad to have you here. The search feature is helpful and if you don’t find just what you are looking for, don’t hesitate to ask.
vaalpens
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Are you new to reloading, or just new to 9mm reloading? What powders do you have available? Are you just looking to load some plinking ammunition?
To play it safe you will have to use up some of your limited number of primers to work up some loads. Planning is going to be important to ensure you get the most out of your bullets and primers.
SnowBlaZeR2
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You should be fine loading them up. Biggest concern will be whether your firearm sets them off reliably or not.
Ignore anyone who tells you to sell your firearm because it won't set them off.
Pat Riot
Contributing Member
This is very close to the advice I was given. I was loading .38 Special and my friend said .1-.2 grain reduction, but your advice for 9mm makes more sense as it is easier to go over pressure with the smaller 9mm case.
I have stock of Federal Magnum SPP that I use to load practice ammo for my tuned .38Spl revolver.
When I've chronograph them there was very little difference. The only noticeable difference was that some wouldn't go off on the first primer strike; they would always go off when re-struck. My solution to the issue was to ensure that all the magnum primers were seated below level and the feet of the anvil set (more than just touching) I'm using a Forster CO-AX Primer Seater
When I've chronograph them there was very little difference. The only noticeable difference was that some wouldn't go off on the first primer strike; they would always go off when re-struck. My solution to the issue was to ensure that all the magnum primers were seated below level and the feet of the anvil set (more than just touching) I'm using a Forster CO-AX Primer Seater
The reality is it depends on the efficiency of the powder of the load you're using.
If your using a powder like bulleye or titegroup that has 100% burn you'll never see any meaningful increase in pressure or velocity.
Now if your using a load with a 70%/80% powder burn, then YA!!! You'll see an increase in pressure/velocity simply because you made the powder burn more efficiently (85%+). More powder burns ='s higher pressure/higher velocity.
Myself I use nothing but small rifle primers in all my 9mm reloads. This insures I'm getting the "max" performance out of my loads.
If your using a powder like bulleye or titegroup that has 100% burn you'll never see any meaningful increase in pressure or velocity.
Now if your using a load with a 70%/80% powder burn, then YA!!! You'll see an increase in pressure/velocity simply because you made the powder burn more efficiently (85%+). More powder burns ='s higher pressure/higher velocity.
Myself I use nothing but small rifle primers in all my 9mm reloads. This insures I'm getting the "max" performance out of my loads.
Thanks for all the responses. I am not new to reloading but I have always followed the written instructions on load data. These days I am not able to purchase much of anything component wise. I have titlegroup, bullseye and universal.
I really appreciate the advice and directions.
I really appreciate the advice and directions.
EricBu
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pffft, ever since my first primer shortage ('92), I only buy small pistol mag in bulk, and run it in all small pistol guns. From .32 acp, to .357 mag. I've had some striker fired guns that won't punch the harder cups (glocks,SA XD's), but all my "real" guns with hammers run just fine.
Rock185
Member
jmuv, Like some of the other guys, I have used Magnum small pistol, and small rifle primers in 9mm, and .38 Super/Super Comp, etc. I've used mostly medium to slow powders in these cartridges. I've not observed any significant changes in chronographed velocities or pressure signs. Velocity changes have most often been within about 25 FPS either way. Sometimes the SPM or SR primers produce velocities lower than standard SP primers. May seem counterintuitive, but that's what the chronograph indicates. I've not changed powder charges, regardless of the primers used, and have not run into any difficulties.....YMMV
JJFitch
Member
Here's the link to everything you ever wanted to know about primers. It's lengthy and complete!
http://www.sksboards.com/smf/index.php?topic=56422.0
Smiles,
http://www.sksboards.com/smf/index.php?topic=56422.0
Smiles,
I ran into this recently when I realized I had 10000 Tula SPM stashed away. They shoot great in my 226, 229, and 239. In my two 320's I noticed that if they get seated deep then they will not go bang, drop it into one of my others and it fires perfectly. Striker fired pistols do seem to be more finicky about stuff like that.
Thanks again for the very helpful information! I think that the general consensus is that using the small mag primers in my 9mm reloads is not dangerous or outside of acceptable reloading practices. My other learning is that to ensure primer ignition I should not try to bottom out the primer. So long as it is seated deep enough to be safely handled. I hand prime so I should be able to control the depth. I have a couple pounds of titegroup so that will be the powder choice. I will use a charge between 3.5 and 3.9 grains. I will be using Missouri 125grain cone hitek coated bullets and seat them to a oal 1.125. I do have a partial bottle of bullseye and a partial bottle of universal. I kinda wanted to keep the bullseye for my 45 auto pistol. I will at some point try the universal when I find good data for that powder.
Thanks to all for the information and advice!
Thanks to all for the information and advice!
Can you point out which post (#) that advice appeared in. That goes against everything I've ever read or heard about seating primers
I was not quoting any single post. I thought that from what I read that as long as I seated the primer properly and didn’t try to over do it I should be ok. I don’t want to cause myself problems by using components not published for proper use in reloading. I sought advice on this forum to try and get a better understanding. Do you think I shouldn’t use small mag primers that are properly seated to a safe depth in my 9mm reloads?
SingleActionAndrew
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I believe the point is that ... you should "bottom out" as in fully seat the primer. You do not want to Compress the primer, but if it isn't seated all the way in the pocket then your first firing pin strike may be used up seating the primer instead of igniting it (i.e. no kaboom). You Do want to "bottom out" the primer, but if you apply excessive force once it's there you may have similar problems to not pushing it in all the way.
Blue68f100
Member
The harder cap on the Mag primer is going to require more energy to set it off. If you don't fully seat he primer, on impact it will move forward till it bottoms out in the pocket. Depending on FP energy there may or may not be enough energy to set it off. Fully seating the primers gives you a better chance of it working. Just remember if your using a striker fire pistol, some have problem with mag primers.
I wasn't trying to jump down your throat. If that is how it read, it was certainly not my intent. I was trying to pin down, if it existed, who was putting out bad information on this forum...we try to avoid that.
I don't, as a general rule. use small mag primers, but only because some of my pistols won't consistently set them off. With the current shortages we are experiencing I have been using them for practice ammo...got a good price of them a while back and bought 10k. I save my regular/match Federal primers for my competition ammo...only have about 5k left.
Primers need to be seated firmly all the way to the bottom of the primer pocket, otherwise you're inviting the occasional failure to ignite. Due to how my revolvers are tuned, I do seat to the bottom and than "set" the primer feet with additional pressure...I'm using a bench priming tool
Agreed, it's simply wrong. Primers should be fully seated, which means the cup to the bottom of the pocket, which loads up the anvil.
I read that post, but let it go as a striker reach issue.
Any success leaving primers less than fully seating and getting better ignition was fully coincidental.
If seating the primers all the way causes misfires because the striker cannot reach it well, then you have a gun problem, and were lucky it set them off when not fully seated.
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