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CCI 500 vs CCI 550 primers


Bench

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From the searching that I've been doing both in this forum and elsewhere it seems that CCI Small Pistol primers (500) and CCI Magnum Small Pistol primers (550) can be used in 9mm.  My question comes with regard to faster vs slower powders ie. Titegroup/CFE Pistol. Any disadvantage to using 550's  with fast vs slower powders with the understanding of not starting out on the max load  data?

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46 minutes ago, michael.flitcraft said:

You won’t notice anything


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I was hoping not, especially after the beep goes off and the COF is underway.

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2 hours ago, WarrenZ said:

I use them interchangably in my loads.

 

2 hours ago, WarrenZ said:

I use them interchangably in my loads.

That certainly seems to be the story across the board so I'm forging ahead. Thanks!!

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7 hours ago, zzt said:

The 550 will give you 2 to 4 additional PF for the same powder charge, depending on the powder used.

Can it be related to faster vs slower powders vs any specific powder. I've been loading with Titegroup lately.

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27 minutes ago, BigMoneyGrip said:

The only thing I noticed was a tighter ES and SD. As far as velocity, the change wasn't worth noting. I use the 550's in all of my 9mm and .38 spl loads.

Looking forward to getting the 550's in the next round of reloads and not worrying about it anymore. Thanks!!

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2 hours ago, Banacek said:

+1 as well as using CCI 400 primers when I run out of 500.

Since they are small rifle primers and from what I understand a bit harder cup will they fire in both hammer and stryker fired pistols?

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Bench, CCIs are the hardest primers I know of.  You may have problems with 400s if you don't run a heavy enough mainspring, or you use a Ti firing pin.  CCI 500s can be found almost anywhere, at reasonable prices.  CCI 550s are rarer, and often more expensive, so I don't see any reason to use them.  If you can get 550s for the same price, you will use about 0.1gr less powder than you would using 500s.

 

BTW, I consistently get better SDs with Winchester small pistol primers than I do with CCI.

Edited by zzt
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51 minutes ago, zzt said:

Bench, CCIs are the hardest primers I know of.  You may have problems with 400s if you don't run a heavy enough mainspring, or you use a Ti firing pin.  CCI 500s can be found almost anywhere, at reasonable prices.  CCI 550s are rarer, and often more expensive, so I don't see any reason to use them.  If you can get 550s for the same price, you will use about 0.1gr less powder than you would using 500s.

 

BTW, I consistently get better SDs with Winchester small pistol primers than I do with CCI.

I found the 550's at a reasonable price and there were no 500's on the shelf. I'll give those Winchesters a try after about 1200 rounds of primers that I have now.

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Since they are small rifle primers and from what I understand a bit harder cup will they fire in both hammer and stryker fired pistols?

 

Maybe. Gun and primer dependent- my Beretta will light off S&B small rifle with 90% reliability, P226 more like 60%, probably less with a striker.

 

 

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3 hours ago, michael.flitcraft said:

 

Maybe. Gun and primer dependent- my Beretta will light off S&B small rifle with 90% reliability, P226 more like 60%, probably less with a striker.

 

 

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Thanks. That was my general understanding. I have one hammer fired and one stryker fired but looking for 100% in each.

 

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20 hours ago, Bench said:

Since they are small rifle primers and from what I understand a bit harder cup will they fire in both hammer and stryker fired pistols?

Factory springs yes, I did do a Glock aftermarket trigger and I had problems when I used the lighter springs.  

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57 minutes ago, Banacek said:

Factory springs yes, I did do a Glock aftermarket trigger and I had problems when I used the lighter springs.  

Thanks for the confirmation.

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3 hours ago, Banacek said:

Factory springs yes, I did do a Glock aftermarket trigger and I had problems when I used the lighter springs.  

My Sig needs an extra power hammer spring (reboudning hammer) - my Beretta could have benefitted from one if I was going to keep it around.  Using a different brand that was softer would likely have made for 100% compliance with the Beretta (which is interesting, since they usually light off ANY primer)

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1 hour ago, michael.flitcraft said:

 my Beretta could have benefitted from one if I was going to keep it around.

So off topic a bit now...which Beretta are you thinking of sending down the road?

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On 4/17/2018 at 6:09 AM, michael.flitcraft said:

 

Maybe. Gun and primer dependent- my Beretta will light off S&B small rifle with 90% reliability, P226 more like 60%, probably less with a striker.

 

Striker guns hit far harder than a hammer-fired DA/SA gun does in double action.

 

I shoot CCI 550s intermixed with S&B and Winchester small pistol primers. An M&P and a Walther PPQ / Q5 with stock striker springs will eat the 550s like candy.

 

My heavily trigger-jobbed tanfoglio needed an additional pound of hammer spring in order to run 100% on CCI 500 & 550s.

 

Edited by MemphisMechanic
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2 hours ago, MemphisMechanic said:

 

Striker guns hit far harder than a hammer-fired DA/SA gun does in double action.

 

I shoot CCI 550s intermixed with S&B and Winchester small pistol primers. An M&P and a Walther PPQ / Q5 with stock striker springs will eat the 550s like candy.

 

My heavily trigger-jobbed tanfoglio needed an additional pound of hammer spring in order to run 100% on CCI 500 & 550s.

 

Thanks Memphis Mechanic, previous posts have indicated Winchester small pistol primers are a good choice too. Thanks for the confirmation. I'm running a lighter spring job in my Beretta 92 so I"ll need to run a bunch of this next reloads (550's) to check for 100%.

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30 minutes ago, Bench said:

Thanks Memphis Mechanic, previous posts have indicated Winchester small pistol primers are a good choice too. Thanks for the confirmation. I'm running a lighter spring job in my Beretta 92 so I"ll need to run a bunch of this next reloads (550's) to check for 100%.

 

In a similar DA/SA (Tanfoglio Stock 3) gun I could run a 13lb spring with absolute reliability, even in double action.

 

For CCI primers (500 or 550) I needed to use a 15.5-16 pounder.

 

I assume you’re aware that double action doesn’t hit nearly as hard as single, since the hammer doesn’t come back as far.

 

Edited by MemphisMechanic
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56 minutes ago, MemphisMechanic said:

I assume you’re aware that double action doesn’t hit nearly as hard as single, since the hammer doesn’t come back as far.

 

Yes, that's my understanding. What I don't fully understand is how far a trigger/hammer job such as with the Wilson Combat would go toward getting the hammer farther back in double action. Any background with this?

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