Next rookie ? .45 ACP small primers or large?

[TheDomFather]

Ok so today I was prepping to load for .45 ACP for the first time. I changed out the Primer feed system in Hornady LNL AP for large primers and as I was sorting my cases and inspecting them I realized half my cases (Speer and Blazer) had small primer holes in them and the rest a mix of (PMC, Winchester and Federal) had large primer holes in them. I always thought .45 ACP only used large primers, no biggy I have plenty of both primers, However how will a small primer vs. a large primer affect a specific load? ie: same powder same weight of grains same bullet but different case and primers?

Much appreciated for the guidance,
Dom

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Load them with the same data.

 

[Dog Soldier]

The small primer .45 ACP is the "Green" loads. They are intended for indoor ranges to improve air quality.

http://www.starlinebrass.com/articles/Small-Primer-vs-Large-Primer/

 

[bbqreloader]

Shot both, no issues. Load away!

 

[ArchAngelCD]

What is written above is correct. There is no difference in either brass. Use your favorite recipe without worries.

 

[9mmepiphany]

The small primer .45 ACP is the "Green" loads. They are intended for indoor ranges to improve air quality.

I think you might have confused the use of SPP with the NT (Non-Toxic) loadings

 

[entropy]

Like the song says, "You gotta keep 'em separated", at least when priming, the large primers just don't want to fit into small primer pockets.

Other than that, I've used the exact same data for loading, haven't noticed any differences.

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

Wish they all had small primers. 45 ACP is the only round I need standard large pistol primers for. It is also the only large primed round I load on my progressive. I also have fewer feeding issues on my press with small primers. I'd bite the bullet and switch if I didn't have so many loaded rounds of 45 large primed.
I load small prime brass the same and use it when it's unlikely I'll recover the brass.

 

[Blue68f100]

I've crony both. The SP will have about 25 fps less than the large. I do not adj my loads for either. If your loading for PF you may need to bump up the charge on the SP by 0.1gr to compensate.

 

[Hokie_PhD]

The only benefit I see to having both size primers is that it reduces being stuck during a shortage. For instance here in SW Va small pistol primers are still hard to find even though all others are now pretty easy to get.

 

[kerreckt]

I have loaded, shot and chrono'd both small and large primer 45acp loads, of the same powder and amount of powder. I witnessed no difference in velocity that was outside the SD range for either load. In other words, I would not have been able to tell which I was shooting by looking at the velocity. They were all within the range of each other.

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

I have loaded, shot and chrono'd both small and large primer 45acp loads, of the same powder and amount of powder. I witnessed no difference in velocity that was outside the SD range for either load. In other words, I would not have been able to tell which I was shooting by looking at the velocity. They were all within the range of each other.

My experience as well.

 

[ReloaderFred]

Small pistol primers have been used in the .45 acp for many, many years in other parts of the world. I have one in my collection dated 1954. In the U.S. they became more common during the switch over to Non-Toxic priming compound, which is made up of Diazodinitrophenol, or DDNP for short. The standard Lead Styphnate priming compound has a slower brisance than DDNP, and the higher brisance of DDNP pushed the primers out of the pockets at a faster speed, resulting in primer flow and extremely flattened primers before the pressure from the burning powder charge could push the brass back and reseat the primer. This occurs no matter which priming compound is used, but it's timed to interact correctly, and the DDNP priming compound messed up the timing. The speed of the primer backing out needed to be slowed down.

Several different cures for this were tried. Among them were 1/8" flash holes, crimped primers, and going to small pistol primers. All these worked to some degree, but since the low pressure and small volume of the .45 acp never really required a large pistol primer in the first place, some manufacturers decided it was a good time to switch some of their production over to small pistol primed brass, using both Lead Styphnate and DDNP primers. You'll find Small Pistol primed brass from Federal, Speer, Blazer, Winchester and RWS, just to name a few. A small pistol primer doesn't necessarily mean it's a NT primer. Most NT primed cases will have it in the headstamp from the factory, but I don't know for sure that all of them do.

On the practical side, you just load them both the same and I've yet to find a target that cared which primer was used, since the bullets go to the same point of aim with either size.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[RussellC]

I generally use LP .45 cases, but I do have a bunch of SP .45 cases I keep....have been through shortage times before. That way I can load some .45 with which ever I can find. I notice no difference.

Russellc

 

[TheDomFather]

Wish they all had small primers. 45 ACP is the only round I need standard large pistol primers for. It is also the only large primed round I load on my progressive. I also have fewer feeding issues on my press with small primers. I'd bite the bullet and switch if I didn't have so many loaded rounds of 45 large primed.
I load small prime brass the same and use it when it's unlikely I'll recover the brass.

I only bought large primers because I thought that was what was used in 45. Now I have about 1300 lg primers so I am going to use them. I have probably 7000 small primers stocked up so going to keep both for now as a backup plan in case there are ever shortages!

 

[Sunray]

.45 ACP did only use large primers until Winchester came along with their NT ammo(the 'NT' meaning Non-Toxic.). A few other companies jumped on their wagon. Winchester also said, at the time, the NT cases were not reloadable. They are, but Winchester had no intention of marketing the NT primer.
The only it matters is when a guy is reloading and doesn't notice. A LP primer might go bang in the press. It's also why part of the reloading process is inspecting your brass. Otherwise, just keep 'em separate or trade the small ones off or pitch 'em.