Pistol primers for reloading rifle cast boolits?

[Hang Fire]

Just curious, but does anyone use pistol primers for reloading low pressure cast boolit rifle loads?

Reason I ask is, I have several thousand large pistol primers, which doubt will be used up in my hand guns.

[looseprojectile]

About 40,000 PSI or CUP is my limit with pistol primers. Easier to read in lower pressure loads.
Also use rifle primers in the .357 upper limit loads.
Pistol primers have also worked well in smokeless loads in the large rifle calibers such as 45 70, 40 65 and such.
My rule is if you are using pistol powder use pistol primers. Have not had any problems because of the shorter large pistol primers. Seems that black powder likes pistol primers also. Some smokeless powder is harder to light and you might need/use magnum pistol primers.
Life is good

[35 Whelen]

Just curious, but does anyone use pistol primers for reloading low pressure cast boolit rifle loads?

Reason I ask is, I have several thousand large pistol primers, which doubt will be used up in my hand guns.

I have LOTS of large pistol primers, especially magnum, but no use for them as the only thing I can load them in is my 45 ACP. So, I use them in my cast bullet rifle loads. Yesterday I fired an 80 round High Power match with my Swiss K-31. My load consists of a 154 gr. PB bullet and 8.0 grs. of Red Dot.
Hardly a day goes by that I don't fire at least one of my milsurps with cast bullet loads and I use pistol primers. Frankly, the loads I use I can't see 5¢ worth of difference between LP, LP Mag, and LR primers.
35W

[BruceB]

There are a lot of us here who use pistol primers in cast-boolit rifle loads.

One reason is simple convenience, which neatly answers your question.

More important, I believe, is a school of thought which tends to believe that a gentler ignition pulse is desireable with cast loads, and this school believes that a gentler ignition is in fact delivered by the pistol primer.

It's pure serendipity that the theory allows us to use primers for other than their intended use, while also allowing us to indulge a pet theory without any penalty at all.

I've been using Large Pistol primers in cases that normally use Large Rifle primers (for cast-bullet loads only) for a couple of years now, and can report my general satisfaction with the results. THis practice does NOT apply to such purposes as loads for the semi-auto M1A Rifle, which only sees CCI #34 RIFLE primers for safety's sake.

As long as the pressures are moderate, LP primers will work fine. I've less than ten thousand left, so I'd best buy some more!

[Hang Fire]

Good to hear this, thought plausible, but before trying, decided to get some input from knowledgeable people. I have a little over 12,000 LP Mag primers, so will save the LR ones for condom loads.

I will pop off a few dry runs to make sure the striker (FP) does not pierce the LP primers.

THX all for the info.

[Willbird]

On the large primers, if you seat them to the bottom of the pocket they will be quite a ways below the case head won't they ??

Bill

[oso]

On the large primers, if you seat them to the bottom of the pocket they will be quite a ways below the case head won't they ??

Bill

Not any further down the hollow than I can holler.

[R.C. Hatter]

I have used large pistol primers in REDUCED loads for rifle calibers for over 40 years with no difficulty whatever, in conjunction with the faster powders, i.e. Unique, Herco, #2400 etc. One
advantage to such use is less case shoulder setback in repeated firing, which usually occurs when
using large rifle primers with such REDUCED loads.

[docone31]

I once loaded 50 30-06 loads with full tilt IMR3031. The next day I realized I had used Large Pistol Primers!
I was a little nervous my first few rounds, but I saw no negative primer signs. I fired them off and they targeted as well as my Large Rifle Primers. I had many more rounds to fire in anything to go to even get 6" groups back then so I have no idea of what effect they might have had on accuracy.
They held that pressure and if I had not known they were not rifle primers I would never have known.
I do not reccomend it however. Today, I just get rifle primers for rifles, pistol primers for pistols.
I feel better about my loads that way.

[yodar]

There are a lot of us here who use pistol primers in cast-boolit rifle loads.

One reason is simple convenience, which neatly answers your question.

More important, I believe, is a school of thought which tends to believe that a gentler ignition pulse is desireable with cast loads, and this school believes that a gentler ignition is in fact delivered by the pistol primer.

It's pure serendipity that the theory allows us to use primers for other than their intended use, while also allowing us to indulge a pet theory without any penalty at all.

I've been using Large Pistol primers in cases that normally use Large Rifle primers (for cast-bullet loads only) for a couple of years now, and can report my general satisfaction with the results. THis practice does NOT apply to such purposes as loads for the semi-auto M1A Rifle, which only sees CCI #34 RIFLE primers for safety's sake.

As long as the pressures are moderate, LP primers will work fine. I've less than ten thousand left, so I'd best buy some more!

115 thousandths tall for large pistol. large rifle is 128 thousandths tall

large rifle primers are taller, have deeper cups to seat in. A short large pistol primer in a too deep cup may result in misfires unless your firing pin is long enough to make up the difference

We're talking thirteen thousandths

yodar

[44man]

On the large primers, if you seat them to the bottom of the pocket they will be quite a ways below the case head won't they ??

Bill
.010" lower, no problems at all.

[3rptr]

I have read the excellent post regarding primer brisance and perhaps understand how that could affect ignition.

In some situations, that might be desirable. I like gallery loads even w/ Jword.

Recently I've discovered I have a large supply of magnum pistol primers stored for a revolver that has been sold for a number of years. I'd like to use them.

I haven't seen any reports of pierced primers here on the thread.
Are pistol primers not thinner?
Isn't a rifle firing pin strike heavier than a revolver?

Thanks

[felix]

The primer cup quality is always at stake, for whatever reason. Wrong alloy, wrong thickness, etc. Just have to try them in THAT gun with THAT load. If they puncture, either smooth off the firing pin, or change primer LOT, not necessarily brand or type. If the load is experimental, then it is much simpler to change the load before any other change. ... felix

[Hang Fire]

The primer cup quality is always at stake, for whatever reason. Wrong alloy, wrong thickness, etc. Just have to try them in THAT gun with THAT load. If they puncture, either smooth off the firing pin, or change primer LOT, not necessarily brand or type. If the load is experimental, then it is much simpler to change the load before any other change. ... felix

Good points all Felix.