Small Pistol Primer for 9mm major

[Wilfred]

Hi,

I just want to know if i can use Small Pistol Primer on 9mm Major ammo. Whats the Pros and Cons.

Thanks

Any input is appreciated.

[yoshidaex]

Should be good to go.

I use the following for 9 Major:

SPP, SPM, SRP, SRMP

[OpenDot]

Yes but they will probably flatten or leak. I use Small Rifle Primers

[Sarge]

Yes but they will probably flatten or leak. I use Small Rifle Primers

Ditto. I used them initially but they were getting kind of flat. Small Rifle still look nice and rounded.

[twodownzero]

I'd rather have flat and sealed than round and leaky, myself, but I don't load 9mm major.

Nearly every .357 Magnum round I've ever loaded has completely flattened the primers (and so do factory magnum rounds).

If it was flowing into the flash hole or something, that'd be a different story.

I know a lot of guys use rifle primers in pistol, but I would avoid it unless it's not practical to get pistol primers to work.

The cartridges for which SR are designed are generally quite a bit above the 9mm Luger pressure limit.

[Sarge]

I'd rather have flat and sealed than round and leaky, myself, Who said anything about leaking? SPP's will get holes in them, smear pretty bad, etc with the right loads. SRP's won't. AND they don't leak. They are plenty sealed up.

but I don't load 9mm major.

You said it.

[gng4life]

Hi,

I just want to know if i can use Small Pistol Primer on 9mm Major ammo. Whats the Pros and Cons.

Thanks

Any input is appreciated.

I have no problems with SPP in my 170 PF loads and no pressure signs.

[Tino2212]

I always use small rifle primers in my 9 major loads .

[Desmo412]

I use Federal Small Rifle primers in all of my 9-major loads. I'm sure you could get away with small pistol in some applications, but I want to make sure I burn as much of the powder charge as possible. I have not tried any SPM primers, but I would imagine those would work as well

[Wilfred]

I may try 10 rounds and see what happens

Thanks

[shooter995]

I use FED SPP with 9 Major, about 172ish PF with no issues at all!

[Whoops!]

I never had any issues with Federal (!!!, yes, the softest of the small pistol primers) SPP and HS6 when I loaded major 9. In fact, I was WELL above major on 115 grains without any substantial catering and definitely no piercing, just a damn flat primer.

Your mileage may vary though.

[orangeman711]

I use nothing but SRP and have not had any problems or issues. I use them for all my small pistol needs.Good luck.

[twodownzero]

I'd rather have flat and sealed than round and leaky, myself, Who said anything about leaking? SPP's will get holes in them, smear pretty bad, etc with the right loads. SRP's won't. AND they don't leak. They are plenty sealed up.

but I don't load 9mm major.

You said it.

Nobody in this thread has said anything about leaking, but I've seen threads over the years about breachface erosion and primer leakage.

If your load's pressures are high enough to smear, do you really want to load that load in 9mm brass designed for 9mm pressures?

I understand that 9mm major is not for the faint of heart, and is typically on the warm side to say the least. But with the use of slow powders, the pressures should not be extreme in the sense that they should not deviate substantially from that which would be safe in most other 9mm pistols. I know we all think that the pressures are extreme, but I suspect that most 9mm major loads with their long COALs and slower powders, really aren't that far from textbook 9mm loads, just hot rodded a bit.

I admitted that I do not load 9mm major but I am not against the idea. I do think that if the only way to make a pistol load safe is to use rifle primers, that it may not be a load that I'd want to use.

I have heard of people using rifle primers in pistols for years, and many of them will not do any damage to their pistols. I don't think it follows that we should just assume that loading for a 9mm major open gun automatically means loading something for which pistol primers would not work or would be unsafe.

This is just my thought and they're your eyes, your hands, and your guns. I've been loading long enough to recognize that one of the skills of reloading is to learn to understand how COAL, powder choice, etc., work together so that you can develop loads even in the absence of book data. I'm just saying that there are limits to everything, and even if everyone else on the forum was doing it, I'd draw the line very conservatively unless I'd very carefully developed a load.

[ziebart]

I started with CCI SRP in my 9 major loads (8gr hs6 & 124 berrys). It worked fine, but I had a couple of light strikes so I tried Fed 200. Primer isn't flattened at all, cratering is hard to judge as its a Glock. Only thing is I seem to have lost a dozen or so FPS. Not a big deal as I was 175+ last time I chronoed but it was 105 degrees in the shade. I will need to monitor it as it gets cooler here.

[Flatland Shooter]

For years I used Winchester SRP for 9 Major and 9 x 21 Major. A switch to a new gun and a different powder resulted in some breach face erosion in under 5000 rounds.

Switched to Winchester SPM and problems seem to be solved.

Its just a case of matching the right primer with the right gun and load.

Bill

[67ls7vert]

So what is the difference in the construction between SPP, SRP, SPM primers?

[Aircooled6racer]

Hello: Some powders are harder on the primers than others. My 3N37 load with 115's flattens Winchester small rifle primers more than I like but works fine with 121's. With HS-6 and 115's I can use Winchester small pistol magnums or even small pistol primers. I mostly use WSPM and WSR primers with 115's. The cup material on the primers is different for the three different types. Thanks, Eric

[yoshidaex]

So what is the difference in the construction between SPP, SRP, SPM primers?

There's a link in this post that has primer construction info.

[gunther]

i have always used small rifle primers for 9mm minor, 40sw, 38super for 15yrs never had any issues, never even considered using small pistol primers.

[Steve RA]

One advantage of using SRPs for everything (that uses small primers ) is that you only have to stock one primer for rifles and handguns. If you develop your loads with the SRP then it's no problem.

[sidnal]

I've used Winchester Small Pistol w/ IMR 7525 for a couple of years. No problems.

[ziebart]

Small rifle primers may not fire in striker fired guns. They didn't work 100% in my stock G34. I would have liked to stock just one small primer.

[twodownzero]

I use only magnum primers in my ARs anyway (ball powder + the risk of slam fires), so I'd be stuck either way.

[gunther]

If you use a lightened firing pin (or titanium) with a light firing pin spring in a glock it won't ignite s.r.p. 100%