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Head Scratcher-Rifle primers in a pistol cartridge?

1K views 5 replies 6 participants last post by  JLA 
#1 ·
Howdy Folk's, Got the latest Hornady reloading manual & looked up data for the .327 Magnum. It calls for small Rifle primers. I figured it was a typo & called Hornady technical assistance. The tech. told me the info in the manual is correct when using their bullets. I said OK , you guys surely know more about it than I do and thanked him. Anybody else heard of this ? Safety is my first concern-Thank's, Dave
 
#3 ·
Start low and build slow. Only problem I have seen with this is some revolvers will not strike rifle primer hard enough to ignite. Going the other way pistol primers in rifle cartridges is more problematic as "softer" pistol primers can be pierced by firing pin in rifles.
 
#5 ·
The reason why the .327FedMag uses rifle primers is because of the pressure that it operates at.
SAAMI spec max pressure for the .327 is 45,000psi, which is about twice as high as the .32H&RMag and around 125% of the max pressure for the .357 or .44Magnums (those two are 35,000-36000psi).

If you're running max loads in the .327 you will perforate small pistol or small pistol magnum primers! At the very least they'll be seriously flattened & cratered.
If you're just running .32H&RMag level or lighter loads you can use small pistol primers with no problems.

The .454Casull and the two big monster S&W Magnums, .460 and .500, run around 60,000psi and also require small rifle primers for max loads.
There might be a few others out there too, but these are a few that stick in my head.
 
#6 ·
Exercise common sense when developing loads. Know the facts. Rifle primers are generally harder then pistol primers, rifle primers are also generally hotter as well. Only rifle primer that wont fit in a pistol pocket is large. Itll go in but wont seat deep enough because Large pistol is a few thousandsths shallower pocket than large rifle. That said some magnum revolver rounds (.500 Magnum) are designed to use large rifle primers and loading them with a large pistol primer will result in an excessively deep primer and possibly a misfire due to light strike.

Always start low and work up. And always doublecheck your information. Youre doing just fine Azleite.
 
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