Accidentally loaded some 308 rifle rounds with pistol primers.

thump_rrr

thump_rrr

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
35   0   0
Location
Montreal Qc.
I accidentally loaded some .308 rifle rounds with Winchester large pistol and magnum primers.

Would there be any risk firing them in a bolt action rifle?
The rifle on question is a Savage 10BA.

It's a max load with 41.7th of Varget over a 180gr SMK.

I'm
On my way to the range when I realized this.

I only have another 21 rounds beside the ones with the wrong primers.

This is the first day that I have a chance to try the rifle outdoors but I won't use the rounds if they pose any danger.

Thanks in advance
 
best case scenario:

uneven ignition from round to round, maybe even hang fires.



worst case scenario:

pistol primers will/might pierce and you'll get some "burned cheeks" or worse even ...
 
Last edited:
Pistol primers are supposed to be softer so I wouldn't chance a piercing, just get a $25 rcbs hammer style bullet puller and pull all the ones that are suspect.

Then either push the pistol primers out on resizing or fire them to discharge them and start over.

Just my 2 cents
 
Don't shoot them, pull the loads. You don't want a squib load going off and causing a bullet to become lodged in the barrel or a pierced primer with blowback causing other problems.

Pull the bullets and powder. If you wear the proper safety gear and take your time, you can slowly deprime the cases with the pistol primers. Just don't rush things. Then give them a squirt of WD-40 to neutralize them. Safest bet is to pull the bullets/powder and squirt them with WD-40. Wait. Then deprime the now deactivated primers. With a little TLC to get rid of the WD-40, you can re-use the brass later.
 
Depriming live primers is not a problem. You can reuse them if you wish.
Assuming that WD-40, oil, whatever, will kill primers isn't a good idea. Might or might not.
 
I'm on my way back from the range now.
I'll pull them when I get home.
I'm dying to measure one of my groups.
It's probably less than .5" @ 100 yds.
A penny covers all 3 shots completely.

I've never shot outdoors before so when you're used to shooting at 50m 100 and 200 look very far away.
I may also need to bring the scope further back
 
I would shoot them, unless there are a lot of them.

They should work just fine. Check the primer for the first few and make sure they look ok.

The only downside is that the load data will be for a milder than usual primer. If you have a large number if SMKs invested in this project, it would be better to pull the bullets and deprimes as usual.

If just a few rounds (20 or so), I would shoot them. I predect the primers will look normal and the groups will be excellent.

Part of the reason I would shoot them is because of the way the Savage handles gas excursions. I have blown primers in Savages many times and it is well designed for this.
 
Is there a significant difference in Material strength between pistol and rifle primers? I do know rifle primers work well in pistol primers, but one must be very careful doing so with large rifle in large pistol as the large rifle primers may be too long for the primer pocket, which may cause them to stick out passed the base of the casing. When this happens and the bullet is turning in the cylinder of a revolver the primer could possibly strike the frame of the revolver causing ignition and consequent catastrophe. If the primer metal is the same between pistol and rifle primers I can see no reason why they would not work in large rifle cases. A quick call to the primer maker might answer the question once and for all.

I don't think the chamber pressure is the concern as much as the impact from the firing pin is. Load a dummy round with just a primer, fire it and if it doesn't pierce the primer, I would be willing to bet they will work just fine, without any concern for blowing out a primer, or worse suffering an injury from equipment malfunction. Just another cyberpinion.
 
Pistol primers are of the same diameter as rifle primers (the depth varies as noted) but they are made of much softer material because pistols generally don't snap them with the same strength. Every manufacturer explicitly warns against using pistol primers in rifle reloads.

"It's probably safe," is always bad advice. You only get one set of eyes, one set of fingers. Make them last.
 
Eagleye said:
Use Large Pistol primers all the time in my 30-30 with cast. Never had an issue.
Eagleye.
Click to expand...

is yours a maximum load?

his is...

I accidentally loaded some .308 rifle rounds with Winchester large pistol and magnum primers.

Would there be any risk firing them in a bolt action rifle?
The rifle on question is a Savage 10BA.

It's a max load with 41.7th of Varget over a 180gr SMK.
Click to expand...
 
A few years ago I picked up some magnum CCIs at WSS and went home to loading up my proven load for my hunting rifle. I did not check the primers before loading but they turned out to be Magnum pistol primers. EVERY SINGLE ONE PIERCED! Took a while to figure out where the problem was, after double checking everything else the real problem was discovered.

Just thought I'd add my experience here. Enjoy.
 
ATOM said:
Pistol primers are of the same diameter as rifle primers (the depth varies as noted) but they are made of much softer material because pistols generally don't snap them with the same strength. Every manufacturer explicitly warns against using pistol primers in rifle reloads.

"It's probably safe," is always bad advice. You only get one set of eyes, one set of fingers. Make them last.
Click to expand...

I know 1 guy that did it and had the gun slam fire it was a semi that just emptied it self...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom