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Basic Primer Question

7K views 23 replies 15 participants last post by  SteveM 
#1 ·
Newbie reloading question. I'm prepping to start reloading .380 ACP and .40 S&W. Before buying supplies, I seen references calling for both calibers to use Winchester Small Pistol primers. Today I went out and bought bullets, primers and gunpowder (cases already on hand) and when checking references for the gunpowder, seeing that it calls for Winchester Small Pistol primers for the .40 S&W, and CCI 500 primers for the .380 ACP. I wouldn't image these small pistol primers are interchangable, are they?

Any info would be appreciated...

J.D.
 
#3 · (Edited)
..... I wouldn't image these small pistol primers are interchangable, are they?
Yes they are! Graf and Sons has a decent primer cross reference chart suitable for printing out..... https://www.grafs.com/catalog/tech-resource/technicalResourceId/6

When I joined the forum, several folks recommended buying not just one reloading manual but several. At first I thought they were nuts but now see why they recommended several manuals. One manual will work up a load and and call out a particular primer while another manual will work up almost the identical load but use a different brand of primer.

You will soon see that there are basically small and large handgun primers and small and large magnum handgun primers and that the CCI primers have their Federal, Remington and Winchester equivalents. Just follow the load data and you'll be fine. As an example, when a load calls for a small pistol primer you can choose any of the following: CCI 500, Federal 100, Remington 1 1/2, Winchester WSP or Wolf WONCSP.

But NEVER just take someones advice including mine, reading through any of the reloading manuals, Speer, Hornady, Lymans, Nosler, etc will likely tell you the same thing.
 
#4 ·
After you resize your 40's, make sure they drop in your chamber ok (or headspace gage). Some of them may not pending what they were fired in. You may need to run them thru a bulge buster (see you tube). The FL sizer doesn't get the whole length. The bulge at the base may need sized as well hence the fcd buster concept. I forget who, but one of the guys here made a bulge buster using the Lee FCD with guts and top out. Then stuck a bottle above the fcd to capture the 40sw brass as it pushes out the top. He used a 223 in the shell holder to push the 40sw brass thru the fcd.
 
#6 ·
Newbie reloading question. I'm prepping to start reloading .380 ACP and .40 S&W. Before buying supplies, I seen references calling for both calibers to use Winchester Small Pistol primers. Today I went out and bought bullets, primers and gunpowder (cases already on hand) and when checking references for the gunpowder, seeing that it calls for Winchester Small Pistol primers for the .40 S&W, and CCI 500 primers for the .380 ACP. I wouldn't image these small pistol primers are interchangable, are they?

Any info would be appreciated...

J.D.
The primers aren't completely interchangeable, they're close in terms of performance, the physical dimensions are the same. If you're loading max levels with one brand of primers, and you switch brands, it's a the safe thing to back off the load to minimum levels and work your way back up. It's especially important with something with the small boiler room like the .380, where small changes can make big increases in pressures.
 
#7 ·
For all intents and purposed, yes, you can use Winchester when the book says CCI. First, the data in reloading manuals isn't hard/fast formula. It is the results of what a particular test facility found when they used the specific components, in specific testing equipment (some use universal receivers, some use real guns), at a specific time. If you use "normal reloading safety methods", like starting at the starting loads, the little difference in primers will not be noticed...
 
#8 ·
The biggest difference you will find in different primer brands are their sensitivity. CCI has the hardest primers (least sensitive) Federal has the softest (most sensitive) and everything else is in between.

Guns with lightened/weak springs often require (or are recommended to use) Federal primers as they don't require as solid of a strike by the firing pin to set them off. My philosophy is to keep my guns running with CCI primers, that way I don't have to worry about what brand ammo is available after the next school shooting.
 
#12 ·
as has been said. for all intents and purposes, a small primer is a small primer. a large primer is a large primer. and then you need to see if it is rifle or pistol, and magnum.

any time you change a component.. you start over at the bottom and work up.

IE. If I was loading 30-06 and using win LRP, and switched to another brand LRP, i'd start my loading back to minimums and work up, ..

even if you run out of powder and switch to a new jug or keg of the same powder from the same lott. I always start over and work up again...
 
#13 ·
For me the main difference between Winchester and other primers is that Winchester primers are brass color and the other brands are nickel. I agree with Jesse about sensitivity of different brands. CCI is my favorite brand, but in a few of my guns Federal or Win. works better. I am NOT a fan of the way Federal packages their primers.
 
#17 ·
They are Ginex primers from Bosnia and Herzegovina they stopped packaging them like that about 3 years ago and are now sold on the usual 100 primer trays.

They are very cheap (20 eur/1000, half the cost of Federal) and very hard but reliable.
 
#19 ·
vassago:

Boy, is that ever dangerous! Each of those primers, unlike smokeless powder, contains a pill of an explosive. That kind of packaging is never used on commercial available primers in the USA! Each primer is usually in its own little cell where it can not touch another. In this box of primers if one goes off the whole of the box may go off with devastating results.

LDBennett
 
#22 ·
Good point, watch out for that "Glocked" brass. I use the Lee bulge buster along with my Wilson case gauge for 40 S&W. Also, Lee's instructions states not to use brass ran through the bulge buster tool back in a Glock 40 S&W.
Okay, I bought a Lee Budge Buster and Lyman .40S&W gage and ran 1050 pcs of brass through both. I bought this brass from my local range and only 50 or so actually had any stiff resistance going through the budge buster. I suspect those 50 went through my Glock 27 (I picked up the brass afterward). A few questions:

1) Besides Glock saying not to use reloaded ammo, and now the Lee Budge Buster saying the same thing, do I need to worry if this brass easily slides into/out of the gage?

2) Is this language just legal coverage in case accidents occur or is their a real risk involved? 95% of the ammo I've fired in my Glock was purchased reloads from the range. I asked the last time I was over there and they said they don't use a budge buster.

3) Also, another 50 or so pieces of brass wouldn't stay up in the budge buster die after pushing it up with the press? Should that be a concern (i.e. cartridge is too narrow)? I've previously resized and deprimed the cartridges so they should be a standardized diameter

4) I've watched several Youtube videos on using the Budge Buster. Some show the cartridge opening facing up going into the die (as listed in the instructions), and others turn them face down covering the spindle. While I did it the way the instructions state, it seems logical that you would want it inverted to push the budge toward the opening rather than toward the primer base.

Inquiring minds... :)

J.D.
 
#23 ·
I have no idea about the Bulge Buster, but I will say that most every semi-auto says not to use reloads. I think this is mostly a boilerplate liability thing. However, Glock uses polygonal rifling which doesn't like lead bullets.

From what I've heard lead is OK in them but the issue get worse when you shoot a bunch of lead, causing buildup in the barrel, then shoot jacketed bullets before cleaning. I just replace my Glock imperfection barrels with Lone Wolf barrels. Then I don't have to worry about unsupported cases or anti-lead rifling.
 
#24 ·
I doubt that your G27 is to blame for the bulged ones as they are a 4th generation product and the "Glock belly" is from the older Glocks. My G27 and my other 40 S&W will put a slight bulge in the side with mid range loads or higher, but these are easily removed with a normal die set. The "Glock belly" brass are deformed with an abrupt edge that forms the shape of a smile that is still visible after resizing. The brass is permanently altered and I would not and do not use them.

1) I wouldn't use the bad belly/smile brass. I can provide a photo later if needed.
2) Mostly legal CYA, but you have to inspect your brass and throw out if in doubt.
3) Probably not a problem as long as it headspaces fine.
4) Never used a bulge buster and have no desire to since a standard die set properly sized all but a handful of brass out of 1500+ once fired range brass that I purchased.
 
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