primer question

barsik

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running down my stash of primers faster than I thought. I thought a few thousand small pistol primers would keep me plinking for a couple of years but it's just too much fun and the ammo bag empties out much too quickly. I don't shoot rifle since the ban and have a fair supply of components for small rifle so maybe I'll try using the small rifle primers for the pistol. anybody have real life experience with small rifle primers in a pistol with fast burning powder like tite group?
 
I suspect we will see more and more guys want to try stuff they had not previously tried. Not going to find a maker agree with what you propose, but like you, I am interested to hear comments from people who have successfully or not, tried to do that... Will be lots of opinion and theory - likely want to watch for replies from people who have actually tried to do that, and what they discovered - whether it worked or not, or how results were or were not different.
 
Myself and others have covered this many times. Even very recently (look down...) Most are fine, some will present occasional or constant light strikes. Avoid Magnum, military, and Remington 7.5 primers, maybe a few others and you will be fine. All I have bothered to buy for years now are SR primers. Usually Winchester or Federal. Across over 40 pistols and a dozen PCCs I have never had a single issue.
 
I have a couple bricks of S & B primers; they are labeled "For Rifle and Pistol"; and they work fine in all my handguns.
 
During the shortage in 2008 I made the switch to small rifle primers for pistols. Since then I have strictly used small rifle primers in all of my pistol loading with the exception of a few tuned revolvers. I typically shoot around 35,000 rounds per year through my pistols and have seen absolutely no reason to go back to small pistol primers.
 
If you are willing to share, in what manner of shooting are you going through 35,000 rounds of pistol per year? I partake in our local Bullseye League (540 per year plus practice), PPC League (~2000 per year), 2-gun and 3-gun events (IDK guessing 1200 per year - many of them are now PCC so lots of 9mm), and IDPA matches (~600 per year) so roughly 4,000 pistol primers. I believe I am one of the more active shooters at my club, but even if I doubled what I shoot, I'm still at maybe 8,000 pistol rounds per year. I am having a hard time coming up with shooting 35,000 rounds per year, or roughly 100 per day on average.

I think I'm jealous, but not sure I could afford that much. Some days I'm not sure I can afford what I'm currently shooting!

Thanks

During the shortage in 2008 I made the switch to small rifle primers for pistols. Since then I have strictly used small rifle primers in all of my pistol loading with the exception of a few tuned revolvers. I typically shoot around 35,000 rounds per year through my pistols and have seen absolutely no reason to go back to small pistol primers.
 
Why can't we buy primers? Has anyone heard from a supplier if they are shipping the same amounts or not? Just frustrated with needing primers...
 
The demand is still outstripping supply. What is so hard about this for some people??

Because it doesn't add up. Across the country, people are shooting less ammo per day overall due to the 1.5-3x price increase in cost per round. And yet the supply chain keeps claiming that demand is vastly higher than it was pre-2020. I call BS on this.
 
Because it doesn't add up. Across the country, people are shooting less ammo per day overall due to the 1.5-3x price increase in cost per round. And yet the supply chain keeps claiming that demand is vastly higher than it was pre-2020. I call BS on this.

Who is shooting less? The silly folks whining about not having the forethought to have stocked up when times were good? I haven't slowed down at all. I learned from the last panic and I'm glad I did. Demand is still incredibly high whether you believe it or not.
 
Why can't we buy primers? Has anyone heard from a supplier if they are shipping the same amounts or not?

They are definitely not shipping the same quantities, they are shipping far more. Every munitions plant in the USA has been working extra shifts since 2020. I seem to recall Vista Outdoors saying they shipped 20% more primers in 2021 than they ever had before.
 
Because it doesn't add up. Across the country, people are shooting less ammo per day overall due to the 1.5-3x price increase in cost per round. And yet the supply chain keeps claiming that demand is vastly higher than it was pre-2020. I call BS on this.

Unprecedented sales of handguns in Canada and the ammo sales that come with it, factories didn't produce primers during COVID, a war in Europe... what's not adding up?
 
Maybe I'm getting old and I'm not "with it" anymore. But I'm fairly confident that I can say that every shooting sport in the Saskatoon area, and I dare say all of Saskathewan, has drastically decreased in participation and with it the ammo usage it accounts for.
 
If you are willing to share, in what manner of shooting are you going through 35,000 rounds of pistol per year? I partake in our local Bullseye League (540 per year plus practice), PPC League (~2000 per year), 2-gun and 3-gun events (IDK guessing 1200 per year - many of them are now PCC so lots of 9mm), and IDPA matches (~600 per year) so roughly 4,000 pistol primers. I believe I am one of the more active shooters at my club, but even if I doubled what I shoot, I'm still at maybe 8,000 pistol rounds per year. I am having a hard time coming up with shooting 35,000 rounds per year, or roughly 100 per day on average.

I think I'm jealous, but not sure I could afford that much. Some days I'm not sure I can afford what I'm currently shooting!

Thanks

LOL no problem. I used to shoot 2-4 matches per month in the US plus training here at home. While matches did not really eat up that much ammo, training here at home as well as introducing new shooters to the sport did. I make it a personal challenge to bring 1-2 new shooters to the range every month. On average I shoot twice a week and typically burn up around 300 rounds per outing. Having said all this, between covid, having my first child and the shortages, I have not been shooting as much. I am still probably in the range of 18-20k per year currently.

What makes it affordable to me is the following
- Sourcing powder and primers from select businesses to avoid the ridiculous mark ups (pre and post covid/shortage)
- Hoarding lead and casting my own projectiles.

Casting my own projectiles saves me an absolute fortune per year. I can cast 1000 9mm projectiles and powder coat them for around $5. I also bought enough powder and primers to last me 8 years (stored at a few houses as its too much to have at my house). Based on what I paid for primers and powder, my cost is around $68 tax in per 1000 loaded. Yes, it takes time to cast and I did shell out quite a large amount of money to secure the components I have but, it makes it very affordable in the long run. Less my time, my dollar cost for 35,000 9mm is $2380.....
 
Small pistol works in place of small rifle.
Small rifle works in place of small pistol but some say the cup is harder.
Neither of the large primers. Pistol or rifle are compatible
 
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