Small pistol Magnum primers

[VA Shooter]

I'm not at my bench now so I have no way to look this up do any of you use small pistol magnum primers for 38 spl I can get 1000 for $25 new Thanks for your help

 

[Jimbo357mag]

I don't, but you can use them. Just start a little lower and work up to what you normally load and make sure they don't change anything.

 

[lipofsky]

I used them and had no problems at all, used 4.2 grains of Unique with a 158grn LRN did not have a chrono but they worked great and I ended up with a 2nd place finish in our postal league for my first time shooting center fire from a 6.5 in Black Hawk

 

[dougader]

Buy! That's a bargain now. Only real concern is when you are running max loads, and that's easily remedied by backing off a few tenths of a grain.

 

[AGE Ranger]

I use the small pistol magnums if I can't get regular small pistol primers. I haven't seen any real difference but I generally load towards the middle of the data.

 

[WESHOOT2]

OTHER THAN Winchester Small Pistol Magnum, you'll be fine.

 

[Rick Courtright]

OTHER THAN Winchester Small Pistol Magnum, you'll be fine.

Hi,

Latest printed data from Winchester I have shows their WSPM for exactly ONE app: .357 Mag w/ 296 (where they work great!) I've never used them for anything else after reading Weshoot2's note years ago about the pressure differences w/ that particular primer. If you're shooting .38s in a .357, perhaps you'll be ok, but in a plain .38 Spl I'd suggest an extra dose of the appropriate cautions used w/ any component change.

Rick C

 

[mikld]

Drop back to starting loads and work back up to an accurate load...

 

[Jimbo357mag]

OTHER THAN Winchester Small Pistol Magnum, you'll be fine.

Hi,

Latest printed data from Winchester I have shows their WSPM for exactly ONE app: .357 Mag w/ 296 (where they work great!) I've never used them for anything else after reading Weshoot2's note years ago about the pressure differences w/ that particular primer. If you're shooting .38s in a .357, perhaps you'll be ok, but in a plain .38 Spl I'd suggest an extra dose of the appropriate cautions used w/ any component change.

Rick C

If you go to the Hodgdon website and check 357 magnum and you hit the print button (you don't have to print) you will see that they used WSPM primers for all their testing with all their powders. They must work ok.

http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp

 

[Rick Courtright]

If you go to the Hodgdon website and check 357 magnum and you hit the print button (you don't have to print) you will see that they used WSPM primers for all their testing with all their powders. They must work ok.

Hi,

True, that's what they SAY...

But that adds yet another question to my list of things that makes me more careful of using Hodgdon's data than some:

--The MFR of a primer says to use it w/ only one powder, the DISTRIBUTOR says it's ok w/ all of those they sell.

--The MFR of that primer has also made that one powder in the past (not sure who's actually MAKING what there today), and has cautioned for decades "DO NOT REDUCE THESE CHARGES", the DISTRIBUTOR says it's ok to reduce 'em up to 3%.

--Most powder MFRs have listed their pressures in PSI in most of their recipes for quite a few years (though Alliant doesn't seem to post their pressures at all lately) while Hodgdon's sticks w/ CUP for a much larger percentage of recipes. Not that CUP isn't valid--it IS--but one might wonder why it is the guys who SELL so much powder haven't put a few bucks into upgrading their test equipment?

All in all, I've used (and like) a lot of Hodgdon's powders. Haven't used as much of their data. It all may be just fine--in SOMEBODY's gun--but personal experience in MINE leads me to remain cautious about it...

Rick C

 

[Jimbo357mag]

I think Hodgdon used magnum pistol primers in all the 357mag loads to reduce the possibility that someone might substitute one in a load that called for a regular primer and get an increase in pressure. We know that for some loads substituting a magnum primer for a regular primer can raise the pressure considerably. This might also explain why some of their velocities seem rather optimistic when you try and duplicate them.

 

[mikld]

If you go to the Hodgdon website and check 357 magnum and you hit the print button (you don't have to print) you will see that they used WSPM primers for all their testing with all their powders. They must work ok.

Hi,

True, that's what they SAY...

But that adds yet another question to my list of things that makes me more careful of using Hodgdon's data than some:

--The MFR of a primer says to use it w/ only one powder, the DISTRIBUTOR says it's ok w/ all of those they sell.

--The MFR of that primer has also made that one powder in the past (not sure who's actually MAKING what there today), and has cautioned for decades "DO NOT REDUCE THESE CHARGES", the DISTRIBUTOR says it's ok to reduce 'em up to 3%.

--Most powder MFRs have listed their pressures in PSI in most of their recipes for quite a few years (though Alliant doesn't seem to post their pressures at all lately) while Hodgdon's sticks w/ CUP for a much larger percentage of recipes. Not that CUP isn't valid--it IS--but one might wonder why it is the guys who SELL so much powder haven't put a few bucks into upgrading their test equipment?

All in all, I've used (and like) a lot of Hodgdon's powders. Haven't used as much of their data. It all may be just fine--in SOMEBODY's gun--but personal experience in MINE leads me to remain cautious about it...

Rick C

Perhaps, but when the manual recommended component is unavailable (like primers today), and you must replace with a similar, but different component, going back to start load level is common practice (among both new reloaders and those of us with 30 years experience).

 

[Rick Courtright]

Perhaps, but when the manual recommended component is unavailable (like primers today), and you must replace with a similar, but different component, going back to start load level is common practice (among both new reloaders and those of us with 30 years experience).

Hi,

No arguments: you're preaching to the choir there...

I've only been at this about 47 yrs now, and consider myself, after only about a quarter million handloads, a rank amateur compared to some of the guys here who can count theirs up into the millions! Just pointing out some things that make ME cautious...

BTW, I do keep a broken gun around as a reminder of when I wasn't so much, and WHY I am today!

Rick C

 

[VA Shooter]

Thank you for your help I will start low and work my way up to mid range

 

[rdf009]

I also have used them from time to time (when I goof up and buy the wrong ones). My usual load is 4.1 grains of Unique with a 158 grain cast bullet, and I've never noticed any difference.