Stocking only magnum pistol primers?

I personally have never used a magnum pistol primer; and I reload both 357 and 44 mag.
So alas I can’t offer insight into this.

I do have some in both L and S on hand I got in various trades.

But I have never used 110/296 either, being satisfied with Unique, Universal, RD and a few others

I guess I don't see keeping a few different primer types separated and organized as a problem or as clutter. But do what brings you peace of mind.

I keep mine in a lockable chest cooler in my attic where my gun room is. I just deposit them in different rows and cycle through from oldest to newest. Same with my powder.

I'm pretty much the other-way-round. I have some magnum primers from the last banic and that was all I could get, but I otherwise run all non-mag primers since all the powder I use don't require them.

I only use magnum primers with H 110 or 296 and lately I just don't feel the need to run full house loads

That's not a good idea if you load for small volume rounds like 9mm, 380, 40 ..... A lot of times these primers are so explosive that they will dislodge the bullet before the pressure builds.

I use only mag primers in my pistol reloads (45/44/40/357/38/9). I ran chronograph test years ago to see the difference between mag and standard primers. Mag primers gave me a average of 25 fps more. When I run out of standard rifle primers I am going to mag primers only.

Been using mag primer when loading 38 special and 357 magnum for many years. No problems..
The thicker mag primer cup produce less (no)pierced primers.

Blue68f100 said:

(magnum) these primers are so explosive that they will dislodge the bullet before the pressure builds.

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Its possible.http://www.shootingtimes.com/editorial/ammunition_st_mamotaip_200909/100079#

The #41 rifle primer moves the bullet out of the 5.56 round, before powder has a good start. This is with 35 lbs bullet pull. https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a622138.pdf

I use both varieties and have never had a problem with storage. I don't store them on my bench. I have a separate area for primers and another for powder. I get what I need for each reloading session and put it back when finished. Nothing get mixed up with this method and I have no need to back off maximum if I wish to go that high with my loads. Truthfully, I've always achieved better accuracy with below max loads.

NoirFan said:

Any drawbacks to stocking only SPMs?

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It's a great line of thinking until you find that you have a finicky gun. The real question is: Have you tested SPM loads in your guns for accuracy and function? I'm not saying don't buy SPM's if you find a great deal. I'm still working off my pres#44 SPM's when I couldn't get SPP's. That said, I learned the hard way and have some reloaded SPM primered ammo that works great in some guns, but won't fire 100% in other guns. Just make sure to test before you purchase in quantity.

Like Cougar said, the magnum primers have a thicker cup and some guns just wont' set them off reliably. I use SPP only for all my handguns but like Walkalong, I use 2400, AA9 or Lil-gun because they don't require a magnum primer.
As far as storing primers I have 4 rows of them on my loading bench and when I load I make sure I read the box everytime, like I do the powder container. The small pistol magnum primers I have left are White box Winchester primers from the 1990s. That's how long it's been since I used one.

Agreed the problem will be a weak firing pin spring in a pistol or two that will be unreliable. FWIW I have never had a problem with a revolver setting off a magnum primer yet and that is what I use the most of when loading my revolvers. Had a couple cheap pistols one 9MM and one 380 that would misfire more times than not with mag primers, regular primers were A-OK.

I use standard pistol primers in just about everything. Never had any issues with H110. I need a little more powder for full power, but I don't consider that a problem.

I do use magnum primers in rifle loading.

I read a couple of articles related to the use of magnum primers with powders that do not require magnum primers. One of the powders specifically mentioned was 2400. The article stated that with 2400, max pressure would be reached much sooner than with a regular primer, and with a lower velocity as a result. So, to get maximum performance, regular primers were recommended. Supposedly this information was backed up by someone at Alliant. I'll see if I can find the articles.

Regardless, to be safe, work your loads back up when changing primers.

I will just copy and paste again.


Correct primers for 38 and 357

Reloading data lists these primers to be used with the 357 magnum. CCI 550 Mag., WSPM, FED 200, REM 5 1/2 Reloading data lists these primers to be used with the 38 special and 38special +P. CCI 500,Rem 1 1/2, Fed 100, WSP, Speer list the CCI 550Mag primer for Alliant 2400. This info is available at all primer manufacture websites. Other threads on the subject.> http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=5724195 And more>http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=382053

Found it:

According to Pearce: “In magnum revolver cartridges, such as the .357, .41 and .44, the powder should be determined before selecting a primer. This is important, as many magnum revolver cartridge powders perform better when ignited with a Standard primer rather than a Magnum primer. This has been proven in several ballistic labs, not to mention my own testing and experience. In one lab test, .44 Magnum loads containing 2400 increased 11,000 psi when capped with a CCI 350 magnum primer versus the same charge capped with a CCI 300 standard primer. As a result, the powder charge must be reduced to stay within SAAMI pressure guidelines, which likewise reduces velocity."
Sometimes this slips by the reloading manual people. A good example is the 1994 #12 Speer manual where CCI magnum primers were used in 2400 data. When Pearce told Speer's Allan Jones about this, at first he was skeptical. Then he re-shot the 2400 data using standard primers and confirmed Pearce's claim was correct. The data was corrected in the #13 manual with the significantly better performance of the standard primer published.

I use Winchester small pistol primers for most loads and CCI mag primers for magnum loads. These two primers are different colors so identifying them is easy. For large pistol primers I use Winchester because they are suitable for standard and magnum loads.

Toprudder said:

According to Pearce: “In magnum revolver cartridges, such as the .357, .41 and .44, the powder should be determined before selecting a primer. This is important, as many magnum revolver cartridge powders perform better when ignited with a Standard primer rather than a Magnum primer. As a result, the powder charge must be reduced to stay within SAAMI pressure guidelines, which likewise reduces velocity."

Sometimes this slips by the reloading manual people. A good example is the 1994 #12 Speer manual where CCI magnum primers were used in 2400 data. When Pearce told Speer's Allan Jones about this, at first he was skeptical. Then he re-shot the 2400 data using standard primers and confirmed Pearce's claim was correct. The data was corrected in the #13 manual with the significantly better performance of the standard primer published.

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Back in 1994 labs only had copper plugs for testing chamber pressure. A copper plug only allows a single reading, and the lab really doesn't know if that reading occurred at the beginning or end of the powder burn.

After about year 2000/2001 labs converted to pressure transducers and computers that allowed many thousands of pressure readings throughout the entire powder burn. Overnight knowledge of how powder burned grew by 100X, and a slew of new manuals were published.

What I'm wondering is what are manuals published after 2001 saying about primers for 2400 ? Are any newer manuals still suggesting mag primers with 2400 ? That would be conclusive proof to me.

In my .38/.357 I only use Federal Primers. I have several revolvers with very light actions and they will not fire CCI consistently and I use Magnum for everything I load from Rabbit Fart Bullseye loads all the way to Barn Burner Hunting Loads. Like Frankmako said above it may make about 25fps difference in velocity but basically not enough to make any real difference. Some powders Like HS-6 perform much better with magnum primers even with mid range loads. I also have found that with magnum primers I get less spread on velocity than with standard primers but again maybe enough to notice on paper, but not enough difference to really matter. I try to keep at least 10k on hand because there are times that Federal primers can't be found anywhere. Another thing that has always baffled me is what is the difference in standard and Match Grade Primers. I've tried both and can see ZERO difference. When I tried to do some research on the difference, all I have been able to find out is the match grade are supposed to give more consistent ignition. That I can see possibly on match grade rifles where a tenth of a grain of powder can make a huge difference and you are also dealing with a huge difference in volume of powder. But in a handgun load I can't see it making a difference. One thing I found very interesting was I recently purchased 1k LPP primers to load up some 44 mag/special. The Local shop I was in only carried Winchester Brand and the box of LPP said for "Standard and Magnum Loads" or something like that. Is the Winchester a mid range primer, somewhere in between standard and magnum. I've used a few Winchester primers through the years, but never noticed anything like this?

I do this with every type of metallic primer. Less logistical problems

Toprudder said:

Found it:

According to Pearce: “In magnum revolver cartridges, such as the .357, .41 and .44, the powder should be determined before selecting a primer. This is important, as many magnum revolver cartridge powders perform better when ignited with a Standard primer rather than a Magnum primer. This has been proven in several ballistic labs, not to mention my own testing and experience. In one lab test, .44 Magnum loads containing 2400 increased 11,000 psi when capped with a CCI 350 magnum primer versus the same charge capped with a CCI 300 standard primer. As a result, the powder charge must be reduced to stay within SAAMI pressure guidelines, which likewise reduces velocity."
Sometimes this slips by the reloading manual people. A good example is the 1994 #12 Speer manual where CCI magnum primers were used in 2400 data. When Pearce told Speer's Allan Jones about this, at first he was skeptical. Then he re-shot the 2400 data using standard primers and confirmed Pearce's claim was correct. The data was corrected in the #13 manual with the significantly better performance of the standard primer published.

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Lane Pearce of Shooting Times? If correct, Which issue?

I use what the reloading manual ( which ever one I'm using) says to use. Primer boxes are so small that I don't have storage problems.