I was picking up my first ever supply of primers and powder the other day and the guy at the counter tells me i can substitute rifle primers for pistol but i need to reduce my powder by 1gn thus saving powder. Is this a viable option? I dont plan on doing it but it made me wonder.
Small pistol primers vs small rifle primers
- Thread starter Riven
- Start date
The only reason i would consider it is because he has apparently done it for several 1000 rounds in his .40 with no issues.
Im just asking as im new to reloading but not interested in playing the game "What happens if i try this..."
I will NOT be doing it my self!
Im just asking as im new to reloading but not interested in playing the game "What happens if i try this..."
I will NOT be doing it my self!
Hey Riven, you and I might be neighbours. 
Years ago I tried reloading some .357 Mag cases with CCI 400 (small rifle primers) but I could not get the primers to seat flush. No problems with CCI 500 or Fed 100 (small pistol primers).
Years ago I tried reloading some .357 Mag cases with CCI 400 (small rifle primers) but I could not get the primers to seat flush. No problems with CCI 500 or Fed 100 (small pistol primers).
They are also "hotter" than pistol primers in that they have more compound in them.
Small rifle primers will work for pistol reloading given the following:
1. You have done your load development with rifle primers, rather than simply substituting them for pistol primers in the same recipe
2. Your pistol does not have any difficulty igniting them
This is actually a pretty common practice in IPSC.
Like he said.
I loaded a batch of 9mm ammo with small rifle as a way to test my ignition. Two of my guns would not fire the rifle primer reliably. That was good to know.
I have loaded rifle primers on occasion when I ran out of small pistol. They don't work in revolvers that have been tuned to lighter hammer weights.
In the primer shortage of '94, magnum small pistol primers made a good substitute for small rifle primers, though softer cup (ie: caution about the potential for slam fires in semis). I used to run magnum small pistol primers in .38 Super and the belief at the time was that the magnum small pistol primers had the advantage of about 0.5 gr of powder over the regular small pistol primer - as compressed loads were the norm, it helped to make major in IPSC. Looking at the OP, the advice might be reasonable and as other have said here, start small and work up some test loads.
heavenIsAlie
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its common but only in the high pressure loads (9mm major ect). the reason being is being they are harder they dont flatten or flow like pistol primers would. however because they are harder when used with regular loads (minor pf 9mm, sometimes major .40, .45) there is sometimes not enough pressure to seal it properly in the primer pocket and you can have little jets of gas escape causing breech face pitting/erosion/cutting. Its actually pretty common if you search online, lots of it going on with the primer shortages.
anyways, its really not a good idea to use rifle or even magnum primers in rounds that are neither magnum or rifle rounds.
some striker fired pistols have an issue with small rifle primers. But to give you an idea, many ipsc shooters have been using SRP in their pistol loads for over 20 years. Technically speaking, the only difference is the harder c-cup. Even in my 9mm loads, there is no velocity difference between using SRP and SPP.
