Substituting pistol primers with rifle primers

[Restricted]

I was told that it is possible to substitute small pistol primers with small rifle primers.
My question is, does anyone have first hand experience with doing this?

Thanks in advance for any insight.
Restricted

 

[sask farmboy]

it will work but the rifle primers take a little stronger primer strike to set them off

 

[Boolitcaster]

I was told that it is possible to substitute small pistol primers with small rifle primers.
My question is, does anyone have first hand experience with doing this?

Thanks in advance for any insight.
Restricted

I got 1000 small rifle primers for free a while back. I have used up about 500 of them in my S&W Model 439. I like to shoot mild loads with cast bullets so I did not have to reduce the powder charge to compensate for the hotter primers.

I also have never had a misfire. Maybe my pistol has a good strong firing pin?

 

[SKS50]

I know of only two that are interchangeable can't speak for any other brand or type.

According to Speer/CCI Technical Services - Both the CCI 550 Small Pistol Magnum and CCI 400 Small Rifle primers are identical in size. Both primers use the same cup metal and share the same cup thickness. Both primers use the same primer compound formula and same amount of primer compound. They can be used interchangeably.

 

[Ganderite]

I recently got a deal on small rifle primers and bought 20,000 of them. I am running low on small pistol primers, so loaded my last batch of 9mm with small rifle primers.

They work very well in all my 9mm pistols except a 3913, 639 and a pair of CZ75 with reduced power hammer springs. They get 30% to 80% misfires.

If your pistol has a full power spring you can use the rifle primer. Test a few primed cases first, just in case they won't fire.

 

[Longwalker]

I have used small rifle primers for loading .357 magnum in my Rossi carbine, but never used them in a revolver. No problems in my case.

 

[Restricted]

Thanks everyone.
Looks like I will be giving it a try for my 9mm Sig P226

Restricted

 

[577/450]

In revolvers sometimes the primer will drag on the back and not allow the cylinder to rotate. Had a s&w in .44 mag that I could use rifle primers, now with a ruger .44 the cylinder will not turn. Load up a dozen and try them out

 

[Canuck223]

In revolvers sometimes the primer will drag on the back and not allow the cylinder to rotate. Had a s&w in .44 mag that I could use rifle primers, now with a ruger .44 the cylinder will not turn. Load up a dozen and try them out

The small primers are dimentionally identical, but the large rifle primers stand taller than the pistols. I would tread very lightly if using them in a revolver.

For small rifle vs pistol primers in ammo, they work fine for most calibers if the ignition system is strong enough to light them off. The one caveat is you can't just swap them. The rifle primers are hotter and will increase the pressure. That's not a problem if you use them to work up a load. It can be a major problem if your existing load is near the top end of the pressure limit.

 

[Otto V]

In revolvers sometimes the primer will drag on the back and not allow the cylinder to rotate. Had a s&w in .44 mag that I could use rifle primers, now with a ruger .44 the cylinder will not turn. Load up a dozen and try them out

I had the same problem with CCI 400 (small rifle) in a S & W Model 66 .357 Magnum. I had to "assist" the cylinder by hand to get it to rotate.