Figuring someone onboard knows or has tried I haven't measured the height and diameter of each yet to see if they should seat properly but can small rifle primers be substituted for small pistol primers safely ?
With an adjustment to power, folks have done it safely
Yep. Work up your load like you normally would.
For the guy who is thinking, wondering if that would work for large rifle-large pistol, no. The large pistol primer is shorter than a larger rifle primer. Large will seat too deep in a rifle pocket and a rifle primer will stand proud in a pistol pocket.
That's black and white. The gray is sometimes....
Of course start over with your load and work up.
That's black and white. The gray is sometimes....
Of course start over with your load and work up.
Some rifle primers are harder to put a dent into and make them go off. Thicker primer cup and possibly a bit more space from anvil to the end of the cup.
You should test a few rounds for ignition before you make up a bunch of them.
Your firing pin may not strike them hard or deep enough.
You can also use the small pistol primers in a rifle.
I have done it in .223 with the CCI 550 primers.
Now the same caution but this time a small dink can set some brands of pistol primers off in a rifle when chambering.
Called slam fire.
When I tested CCI 400, 450 and 550 in .223 the 400 pierced and cratered more than the 550 and the 450 never pierced.
Yes I was testing to fail point for my own knowledge on primers I had on hand. And testing for best accuracy.
You should test a few rounds for ignition before you make up a bunch of them.
Your firing pin may not strike them hard or deep enough.
You can also use the small pistol primers in a rifle.
I have done it in .223 with the CCI 550 primers.
Now the same caution but this time a small dink can set some brands of pistol primers off in a rifle when chambering.
Called slam fire.
When I tested CCI 400, 450 and 550 in .223 the 400 pierced and cratered more than the 550 and the 450 never pierced.
Yes I was testing to fail point for my own knowledge on primers I had on hand. And testing for best accuracy.
Thanks fellas.
I have shot over 100,000 of rounds of 40 S&W loading only with small rifle primers, also loaded a boat load of 9mm with SRP. I used Winchester and Federal and never had to adjust a load. I gave up on buying Small Pistol Primers long ago.
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Thanks for taking a moment to chime in with your personal experiences of interchanging the two primers @KurtM.
Be careful if you are loading really light loads. .40SW and 9mm are fine as they generate some real pressure, but low pressure loads can be low enough to not seal good. The result is breech face erosion and it only takes a few rounds to ruin a slide or recoil shield (revolver). Other than that load 'em up.
