Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Small Pistol Magnum primers in small Rifle cases?

I was wondering how they would work for 32-20,221 Fireball?

Huntz;
Good morning to you sir, I hope the day's looking to be a fine one in your part of the world and all whom you care for are healthy.

While I'm not a gun writer by any stretch, I've just had the following experience.

Awhile back a buddy who collected primer boxes gave me a bunch of the primers he'd taken out of said boxes.

One of them was I want to say CCI but when I'd researched the number it was for .22 Hornet type pressures. Sorry I can check later on as to what the number is as I believe I wrote it down in my reloading log.

Anyways, they showed flattening and the "traditional" pressure signs in a .223 much quicker than the BR4 or CCI 400 primers did.

When I've read up on it, some sights seem to indicate there's no difference between the Small Rifle and Small Pistol, so I'll be interested to see what others have found as well, but that's a tiny sample on a single application that I've tried.

All the best.

Dwayne

They will work in those cartridges. I have used them in both plus the 17 Fireball, 20 Vartarg . Have also tried them in the 223 and they worked but I suspect that if the powder capacity gets much larger they may not provide reliable ignition. Most of my testing was done just in
case we had a component situation like we have now and they were all I had on hand. As far as accuracy and speed in several cases I saw
no difference in them and the small rifle I normally used. Didn't have any pierced primers or other problems.

I called CCI about a month and a half ago and asked if their small pistol magnum primers and small rifle standard primers were the same as I had heard rumors on the web they were. The guy on the tech line said they were not. FWIW

Dimensionally, they’re the same. Cups and “load” are different. The ones Dwayne was talking about might be Rem 6 1/2s, which are supposed to be limited to .22 Hornet and the like, maybe .222 now.

Some use SRs in hot handgun loads, and some cartridges like the monster revolver rounds use SRs to make the cases stronger (smaller hole).

At least one of Mule Deer’s Gack books has a good chapter on primers.

For lighter pressure loads in the 223, I have used them with no issues... in fact most of the ones that I have used were just small pistol primers, non magnum. Blue Dot loads, Unique loads, and a few others that are faster than 4198...

They maintain accuracy also quite well.

Would you feel safe using small pistol magnum primers with your 223 blue dot loads using 55 grain bullets?

On the factory packaging "WARNING: Do not use 6 1/2 small rifle primers in high intensity rifle cartridges such as the 17Rem, 222 Rem, and the 223 Rem. I consider 50,000 psi and up to be "high intensity".

I believe that the 6 1/2 are rifle primers. Albeit for lower pressure loads. I use them in my 222. But I wouldn't use them in full power 204 or 223. I have a couple of cartons of 6 1/2 Primers. I didn't see that warning you're writing about Craigster. I'll have to look. As it is, my 222 works fine with the 6 1/2 primers in my loads.

In general, pistol primers have a softer cup than rifle primers. If you want to use them in full pressure loads, you'll have issues, I'm sure.

My understanding is that the pistol primers have a thinner cup so you should not use them in any cartridge that has over 50,000 psi or so. You could get by with them in the 32-20 or reduced loads in other rifle cartridges.

I’ve used sp primers in 22 H for years. But it’s a lower pressure round. I have not and don’t plan to try them in other rifle cartridges.

I have used regular Small Pistol primers in the past in Blue Dot loads with the 55 gr bullets... but with several caveats
1. Obama era primer shortages, was the only reason they were being used at all.

2. Blue Dot loads develop pressure different than regular rifle powders., max load with a 55 gr bullet, I list as 13.5 grains of BD powder, with the small pistol primers, max load I would use was backed off a grain to 12.5 grains or less. a small pistol magnum has a little thicker cup, so it would add a little more toughness over a small pistol primer. Pressure was in the 40 to the 45 K range.

3. The only reason being used, was primer shortages under DemocRats. A small pistol primer will still go bang, vs nothing goes bang with no primer. I always made sure I was wearing safety glasses with them, as the occasional pierced primer happened once in a while. its a choice of the shooter, and one has to protect their eyes, " just in Case".. Do I recommend it for the novice? not really... but it is a personal choice of the reloader, and they and only they are ultimately responsible for their own safety. If anyone has any doubts, then don't use them. The more powder used, the more pressure in the case, the less powder used, the less pressure... and pressure is what is going to pierce a small pistol primer.. its not that hard to figure out.

if one is not sure about something, then don't use it or do it. One's own safety is their own responsibility.