Choosing Primers

[glockadict]

I have been reloading for a little while now, and I have always tried to stay close to recipes, to stay safe. I always use small pistol primers for standard loads, magnum primers for magnum load...ect. I have read people using rifle primers in some of there competition loads, or even small magnum primers. What is the advantage to doing this? Thanks in advance.

[revchuck]

Most of the folks who do that also shoot Open and/or 3 gun, and want to simplify logistics by using the same primer for everything. Shooting standard loads in a .40 S&W, there's no need to use other than small pistol primers.

[Jaxshooter]

I use small rifle primers for 38 SC and 40 S&W so I only have to buy one small primer. I use large pistol primers in my other press for 45 ACP.

[bayoupirate]

If you are shooting a glock, an you have or intend to alter the trigger in any way, you should shoot primers that are known to be made of softer material. Most of the Glock Shooters who have lightened their triggers strongly recommend Federal small pistol primers. They claim, and I too that the experience, that federals are easily ignited and will go boom with a less than optimal strike. Winchester ran fine in my glock about 98% of the time. While Federals made 99.9%.

Hope that helps.

[bayoupirate]

If you are shooting a glock, an you have or intend to alter the trigger in any way, you should shoot primers that are known to be made of softer material. Most of the Glock Shooters who have lightened their triggers strongly recommend Federal small pistol primers. They claim, and I too have had the experience, that federals are easily ignited and will go boom with a less than optimal strike. Winchester ran fine in my glock about 98% of the time. While Federals made 99.9%.

Hope that helps.

Edited October 27, 2006 by bayoupirate

[kevin c]

A bit of history:

The power factor to make major in Limited used to be 175. At that same time, people were experimenting with very fast powders and very heavy bullets (Clays and 200 to 220's, for instance). This combination led to some very high pressure loads, and primer flow was a common problem. The higher than normal back pressure on the primer as the pistol round ignited would force the soft brass of the primer into the firing pin hole in the breechface, sometimes shearing bits of metal off into the FP channel and causing malfunctions. One way of dealing with this was to use a primer with a cup made of harder brass, such as a rifle primer, which is designed for the much higher pressure of a rifle round. The downside is that a rifle primer's harder cup needs a good hard strike from the FP to set it off, and not all setups for light triggers will do that reliably (I'm not a revo shooter, but I understand DA trigger jobs for revolvers can be especially picky as far as primers go).

The PF is lower now, at 165, and somewhat slower powders and lighter bullets are more common, but many folks still use the rifle primers, some out of habit or convenience, some because they feel the rifle primer burns hotter and gives them more velocity for the same powder charge/bullet/OAL, (although there isn't universal agreement on that). And some folks with light hitting trigger jobs go the opposite way and use soft cupped primers.