Can I Use Small Rifle Primers in a Pistol

Here are three expended cartridges of the aforementioned 9mm load.
Two were loaded with SPP. One is SRP. Can yous tell the difference?

Tin I use small rifle primers in a pistol cartridge? The simplest respond is "no," so that's what I usually tell people.

I asked a specific question to my contacts in the ammo industry: "If a person only had minor rifle primers, could they safely load handgun cartridges?" Near every one of them told me "No" correct abroad, followed by, "That'southward the official answer."

Before I go further, I'one thousand going to tell you it is irresponsible for anyone to interchange load components, period. I tend to use what's in the Lyman, Speer and Hornady reloading manuals because they can exam loads at a higher adequacy than I can.

Having said this, I have lots of small rifle primers (SRP) and a dwindling supply of small pistol primers (SPP). With gun, ammo and component sales at record levels, don't await the ammo and primer supply to catch up anytime before long.

CI No. 400 and 500 primers look substantially the same to the unaided eye.
When Lindsey looked at them under a microscope, there weren't actually any
clues distinguishing them.

Architecture

Pocket-size pistol primers (SPP) and small burglarize primers (SRP) are 0.175″ in diameter; big pistol primers (LPP) and big rifle primers (LRP) are 0.210″. There is a loving cup height deviation in LRP and LPP primers, then the question of interchangeability is a "No."

Boxer primers consist of a relatively soft brass circular loving cup with a pressed-in anvil, normally of a slightly harder brass. Between the base of the cup and the anvil is the priming compound. Most modernistic primers are non-corrosive, usually containing atomic number 82 styphnate (an bear on sensitive explosive), or other compounds.

The anvil is a concave dish-like device that looks similar an upturned stool with a domed summit. If it appears the "legs" of the anvil, which bespeak toward the bullet, are not affluent with the rim of the primer cup, they aren't. The deed of seating the primer should squish the anvil into the pellet slightly when the primer is seated flush in the cartridge.

SPP and SRP don't really appear unlike dimensionally, or even regarding the amount of priming chemical compound inside. However, SRPs are by and large made of a thicker textile than SPPs. This is a proficient argument for not working up loads with SRPs. If yous were gauging the efficacy of your load past primer deformation, using a cup with thicker or harder brass may ship your loads past safe levels.

Earlier I go further, let me reiterate. Using SRP in handgun applications, unless information technology is specifically listed in a published reloading manual, is not recommended. Using loads I've tested over and once more, I loaded the same cartridges with SRP. Like many (un)scientific endeavors, I kept everything else the same: same dimensions, same load, bullet, temperature and loading method. In most cases, I was able to utilise the exact brass caput stamp. I tested dozens of cartridges likewise what I shared with you and used load densities that were at least effectually fourscore%.

I know it sounds exciting, only testing loads means long days of
firing bullets through a chronograph and logging the results.

Findings

Using an SRP in a handgun does not result in unpredictable velocities. Given the same load, using an SRP did non necessarily issue in college velocity.

Wolf SPP gave a much lower standard difference than I predicted.

This is a no-brainer, just the lower the standard deviation, the more probable the circular is accurate.

If the cartridge cycled well with SPP, information technology cycled well with SRP besides.

The chart shows some of the loads I tested.

Just considering I tested some loads and they worked fine, it does non prove all loads volition have the same caste of success. The but thing I have proved hither is the guns I used to test a few loads were robust enough to contain the rapid expansion of the loads tested. That'due south the official answer.

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