SP vs SR Primers in 9mm.

Cherokee

Medina, Ohio
Having an overabundance of Small Rifle primers, I decided to test to see if I could use them in my 9mm loads and conserve my Small Pistol primers.
Primed 100 Federal once fired cases with CCI SR primers. They seat fine just like CCI SP primers.
Loaded 100 of my standard practice load of 120TC Lee and 3.9 gr WST in the SR primed cases.
Went to the range with my XDM 9 match and Canik 5" Red Dot 9mm pistols.
Ran 30 rounds through the XDM, 3 failures to fire but good looking primer strikes, 1 did fire on the 4th try.
Ran 70 rounds through the Canik, 7 failures to fire but good looking primer strikes, 1 did fire on the 4th try.
Ran 30 rounds of my standard SP primed load through the XDM to make sure the gun was working correctly, 100% function.
On the plus side, the SR primed rounds were as accurate as my standard load. I did notice slightly more recoil and blast noise from the SR load.
My conclusion from this limited test is to stick to the Small Pistol primers. The Pistols don't have the power to reliably set off SR primers with their harder cup.
Not surprised at the results, just now I know for sure.
Oh, when I pulled the CB's from the 2 FTF's, the bullets still measured .357" on the body and base.
 

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
Ruger Blackhawk revolvers will ignite Rem #6-1/2, CCI 400, and WSR primers just fine. My 30 Carbine and 357 BisHawk examples were happy to oblige. Like Cherokee, I wanted to try this out for the same reason people climb mountains--Because It Is There. The 30 Carbine Eardrum Drill will labor on using the 6-1/2s, all of the 357s get either CCI 500/550s or WSP because the data specs those spark plugs.
 

Cherokee

Medina, Ohio
I know the 30 Blackhawks will set off SR primers, do it all the time, in fact all off my Ruger SA's have plenty of impact for rifle primers.
 

Joshua

Taco Aficionado/Salish Sea Pirate/Part-Time Dragon
A timely thread for me. I’m down to 700 SPMP and 300 SPP. However I have bought four thousand SRP. Now I need to see what pistols they will function in.

I’ve got twenty rounds of 40s&w loaded and ready to try. I reduced that load by three tenths of a grain.

Next will be some middle weight .357 loads for my Security Six.

Josh
 

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
Good information for those that have both SP and SR primers. I never got curious, since I own nothing that takes SP primers.
 

358156 hp

At large, whereabouts unknown.
I've had good results with SRP in revolvers, but must admit that I haven't tried them in striker-fired 9mms yet. I wonder if they'd do better in a military grade hammer gun like the Beretta 92. Has anybody here tried this yet?
 

Tomme boy

Well-Known Member
I use sr all the time in 9mm. I have never had one that failed to fire. CCI and WIN. G19, G26, SAR B6P, Sig 365, Browning HP clone, ruger sp101 + Match champion. As long as they are seated right they should work.
 

Mitty38

Well-Known Member
Winchester and Federal small rifle, both work every time in my Taurus 66, in single action. But if I do not cock the hammer, about 1 out of 7 fail to fire.
Have tried them in the Ruger 380 acp Gen. 1, no problems. But that old girl has ate everything I have ever fed it.
 

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
Primer shortages seem to be endemic to this hobby field. Like every other "consumable" we depend upon, the makers of same seem to have a 20 Year Plan in place that they utterly refuse to stray from, come what may. The two primer types I use the most of--std. small pistol and small rifle--are stocked in some depth for these drought sequences. I am still plowing through my portion of CCI mega-purchase in 2008 that took a year to the day to finally arrive. There have been a few supplements since that time--a sleeve of WSPs here, 2K of Rem #6-1/2s there. But I'm in fair shape for a while, at least.
 

Cherokee

Medina, Ohio
I stocked up years ago and maintained a good reserve, but my shooting habits have changed and I am overstocked on SR and will need SP a year or so sooner than I had anticipated.
 

Cooperwin

New Member
I have tried CCI 41(Military Spec) in my Ruger .30 carbine. Most did not fire. They are fine in a Ranch Rifle with a cast bullet load. This is response to entry by CZ93x62 & Cherokee. I previously had used Rem 6 -1/2 in my Blackhawk .30 Carbine, but generally only CCI SR or SPM are used because of availability.
 
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Jeff H

NW Ohio
Judicious substitutions between SRP and SPP was what led me back to fiddling with the tiny things at all. I had previously determined that I would limit my uses to LPP and LRP only, but the 223 is the bug in that ointment. Given the ubiquity of the 38/357 (and versatility, economy, etc.), I added that into the battery in place of some other things. Then, along comes the last famine and SPP/SRPs were impossible to find, which reinforced the idea of substitutions.

Most of my 357 shooting is through a carbine. Even my heaviest loads are still safe for handgun based on established load data from the manuals, so SPP will work just fine. However, the carbines I've used to date in 357 (H&R Handi, Ruger 77/357, Rossi 92, TC Contender Carbine) would fire SRPs (even the heavier/harder ones meant for ARs) with utter reliability.

I have tested many revolvers with SRPs, and with one exception - a new 3", 5-shot Charter Bulldog Pug - would fire the SRPs reliably. This Charter came from the factory with an amazingly smooth and light DA pull and would not reliably ignite the SRPs meant for ARs. I don't have an AR, but I bought SRPs and SPPs when I could get them and took what I could get.

I have used SPPs in the 222 with cast, but you have to pay attention to the pressures in the manuals, because a lot of the low-velocity "pistol-powder-loads" for cast still hit some significant pressures. I saw no advantage here and stick to SRPs for rifle cartridges and the 357 Max and save the SPPs for 38 and 357 loads in the revolvers.

I do not own pressure-testing equipment and am not advising or condoning such substitutions - just saying what I've done without loosing fingers/eyes.

I've been through enough of these ammo/component famines to have learned one thing for certain - you really can NOT have too many small rifle or small pistol primers. I can get 1k loads from a pound of Unique shooting seven grains in several different cartrdiges - meaning that I can stretch powder consumption, but it still takes a whole primer for every shot, whether it's a powder-puff "squirrel load" or a full-tilt magnum load with a case full of powder.

Interesting to hear people using SRPs in auto pistols. I assume that some will do OK and some will not. I've only had ONE revolver balk at SRPs, but it's a small frame gun with small springs too.
 
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Cherokee

Medina, Ohio
I have primed some 357 Mag and some Super 38 cases with CCI SR primers to test in the near future. Found SR to be tight in the Starline Super 38 comp cases, but slipped into the Fed 357 cases fine.
 

Mitty38

Well-Known Member
I Now have a good stash of SPP primers and have went to shooting some of my less used guns with ammo stock piles, of late.
Got home from work this morning, could not get to sleep. Off the next few.
So just for sheets an giggles.
I have an extremely good quality drill press with less than .0003 chuck wobble. So I tried something, this morning.
I had a box of estate sale msc. drill bits. Found one that would fit kinda' loose in a large 45 ACP primer hole. Softened it with heat, then ground and filed the end flat.
So set up Hornady Critical defense 380 shell on the press. Used a smaller drill bit to line everything else up. Then put the modified drill bit in the chuck and drilled down into the primer pocket hole. Drilled till depth was .124 locking the stop at that. Basically bottoming out on the existing hole.
Did more of the same. Only ting I really had issues with was the cheap holding vice I had crushing me brass. So after 18 of them I got 10 that looked good. Left the flash hole alone.
Then took my Lyman primer pocket tool and finished forming the pockets by hand. 3 had been too big, and out of round. The hand reamer would not make solid contact all the way around. Just finished reaming the survivors.
Going to throw some large primers in the surviving 7 out of 18 and see how they work with a starting load.
Will be trying those in my $50 privet buy, Hi Point. In a vice using a string to fire.

Not planning on ever doing this again, Way too muck work!
But if it works, at least I will know I have an option for my what if file.
 
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Jeff H

NW Ohio
@Mitty38 , I have just under twenty old 357 Mag cases with large primer pockets.

They are part of the last ditch stuff I've laid back "just in case." There isn't a bunch of them, but there's a few, and I could keep shooting my carbine and revolver if I ran flat out of SMALL primers.

If someone would render a batch of LPP 357 Mag cases, I'd lay back a small pile (250?) and feel even more "ammo secure" in the future.
 

Mitty38

Well-Known Member
@Mitty38 , I have just under twenty old 357 Mag cases with large primer pockets.

They are part of the last ditch stuff I've laid back "just in case." There isn't a bunch of them, but there's a few, and I could keep shooting my carbine and revolver if I ran flat out of SMALL primers.

If someone would render a batch of LPP 357 Mag cases, I'd lay back a small pile (250?) and feel even more "ammo secure" in the future.
If I had a mill or a lathe I might be game. But with my current equipment, and work space, it has ended up being a long tedious wasteful process.
I would have too much in waist and labor per case.
Well ,l primed the 380 acp. They all took primers all seated good.
 
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nicholst55

New Member
I shot up a bunch of SRPs in my .40 S&W Glock 22 during the last primer shortage without any difficulties. At least in that Glock, they ran flawlessly. I was tipped onto this by a USPSA action shooter, who said that this is a common practice in that discipline.
 
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Tomme boy

Well-Known Member
CCI confirmed that the SPM primers are the 400 primers but put in a SPM box. Cup, compound, is exactly the same.