Webley 38 S&W Primer piercing?

[DonMountain]

I have been working up loads for some 200 grain boolits I bought from "Matts Bullets" designed for the old English Webley and Scott top break WWII revolvers using the 38 S&W cartridge. I am loading new R P-38 S&W brass using No. 1-1/2 Small Pistol Primers and 2.5 grains of Unique powder. They shoot well and I am getting a reasonable group with them and this load, but the hammer is piercing the primers about 20% of the time with powder soot showing around the strike hole in the primer. I was wondering if I could substitute small rifle primers for the small pistol primers with the intent that they may be made out of thicker metal that may reduce the piercing I am getting with the pistol primers? I found dimensions of the two primers and I believe they are the same size? Anybody help me with this?

[Frank46]

Go to winchester small pistol primers. And check the firing pin on your webley for pitting caused by the pierced primers. Haven't used rp small pistol primers since they gas cut the firing pin on my baretta 92fs. Frank

[44Vaquero]

I have just always called it positive ignition! LOL My Webley .38 S&W War finish does the same thing at about the same rate. I have never much worried about it too much. Try swapping out primer manufactures and see if it makes a difference. I tend to get less pricings with Federals.

[Old School Big Bore]

Check your firing pin tip for roughness?

[DonMountain]

I have just always called it positive ignition! LOL My Webley .38 S&W War finish does the same thing at about the same rate. I have never much worried about it too much. Try swapping out primer manufactures and see if it makes a difference. I tend to get less pricings with Federals.

I have two of these Webley revolvers and both of them do the same thing to the primers. Its obvious they were all built the same way with a heavy spring and longer primer punch on the hammer to make sure the round gets fired. But I prefer not to do anything to modify this original punch. So was looking for primers that might reduce or eliminate the deep hole punched into the primer. I tried looking for Federal small pistol primers but evidently they don't make them anymore since they seem to be unavailable at all of my local suppliers. That's why I thought Winchester small rifle primers might work instead to reduce the problem of the piercings without much effect on the loadings I am using.

[Outpost75]

The Federal 200 "small rifle and magnum pistol" primer has a heavier cup, and is similar in construction to military 9mm primers or the .30 M1 carbine primer. It is the primer they use for factory loads in the .357 Magnum and 9mm +P and +P+

[9.3X62AL]

Good to know, Outpost.

I've had no primer piercings using Win SP and CCI SP primers in my Webley-Enfield revolver. FWIW.