SMSgtRod
Professional
The primer... you know, the little thing that makes the big bang!!
They come in Small/Large.... Pistol/Rifle....Shotgun....
I'd like to cover only the Pistol and Rifle here for now.
They both come in Standard and Magnum versions.
Follow your load data for which to use until you become expert
enough to work up your own loads.
One thing to understand is the difference in the Rifle and Pistol primers.
As rifle usually has the higher pressure, the primers are thicker cased.
If I run out of one, can I substitute the other? Well, maybe, but I wouldn't.
Rifle primers with the thicker case may not fire in the pistol.
Pistol primers in a rifle most likely won't hold the high pressure and
can blow out of the case.
The large Rifle Primer Pocket is deeper than the large pistol pocket.
Using a Large Rifle primer in a pistol case will result in the primer seating
beyond the case, not flush.
My opinion, you run out of the primer called out in the data, take a break
until you get resupplied.
Should you have to take a round apart, how do you handle the live primer
still in the case? Put it in a gun and pointed in a save direction fire it off.
Yes, put on the eyes and ears first as it is noisy and does flash a bit.
Nobody recommends decapping live primers.
Have a small bottle with oil in it so that if you have questionable live
primers (found on floor and can't identify) drop it in there. After a few
days they will be safe.
Don't handle primers with the fingers. Use tweezers or needle nose.
Body oils can damage the primer charge and cause corrosion over time.
Save all your decapped primers. They are brass like the cases and can
be recycled with your defective cases.
Shotgun primers are steel, keep them separate.
Store your primers in a cool dry place.
I leave you with this one quirky thing. 45ACP they are the same but different.
Federal uses small pistol primers and Winchester uses large. I had a
thousand Winchester and 50 Federal mixed in to reload and was not aware of
the Federal difference.
Got a little crazy when I started priming them. Stupid primers wouldn't
fit in the case. Of course a quick search and I got the education.
Should I have missed something or you disagree please leave a comment as all are appreciated.
They come in Small/Large.... Pistol/Rifle....Shotgun....
I'd like to cover only the Pistol and Rifle here for now.
They both come in Standard and Magnum versions.
Follow your load data for which to use until you become expert
enough to work up your own loads.
One thing to understand is the difference in the Rifle and Pistol primers.
As rifle usually has the higher pressure, the primers are thicker cased.
If I run out of one, can I substitute the other? Well, maybe, but I wouldn't.
Rifle primers with the thicker case may not fire in the pistol.
Pistol primers in a rifle most likely won't hold the high pressure and
can blow out of the case.
The large Rifle Primer Pocket is deeper than the large pistol pocket.
Using a Large Rifle primer in a pistol case will result in the primer seating
beyond the case, not flush.
My opinion, you run out of the primer called out in the data, take a break
until you get resupplied.
Should you have to take a round apart, how do you handle the live primer
still in the case? Put it in a gun and pointed in a save direction fire it off.
Yes, put on the eyes and ears first as it is noisy and does flash a bit.
Nobody recommends decapping live primers.
Have a small bottle with oil in it so that if you have questionable live
primers (found on floor and can't identify) drop it in there. After a few
days they will be safe.
Don't handle primers with the fingers. Use tweezers or needle nose.
Body oils can damage the primer charge and cause corrosion over time.
Save all your decapped primers. They are brass like the cases and can
be recycled with your defective cases.
Shotgun primers are steel, keep them separate.
Store your primers in a cool dry place.
I leave you with this one quirky thing. 45ACP they are the same but different.
Federal uses small pistol primers and Winchester uses large. I had a
thousand Winchester and 50 Federal mixed in to reload and was not aware of
the Federal difference.
Got a little crazy when I started priming them. Stupid primers wouldn't
fit in the case. Of course a quick search and I got the education.
Should I have missed something or you disagree please leave a comment as all are appreciated.
