Well now that I have caught the T/C bug and got myself a G2 Contender and will be getting more barrels, (got 22lr match and 17HMR with it) I got me a question about which primer should be used when I work up loads.
Of course with pistol rounds, 357 and 44 I will use pistol primers. My question is when I get into what is considered a rifle cartridge, 222 or 223 which should I use?

Thanks all,
Smedley

ALWAYS,ALWAYS use the primer recommensed in your manual for the cartridge you are loading. Small Rifle in this case.

Smedley,
Welcome to the "Contender Shooting Fraternity"--your life may never be the same! The 22 LR and 17 HMR should get you off to a very good start. As to your question--I've always used rifle primers for the bottle neck, rifle-type loads that I handload for Contenders, Encores, and Strikers. The one exception to that is the 250 Savage I'm shooting in a Contender. For a 222 or 223, I'd use your favorite small rifle primer. As I understand it, one of the differences between the two primers are that pistol primers are "softer" than rifle primers so will show signs of excessive pressure at lower chamber pressures than will comparable rife primers. The 250 Savage can be a tricky one to safely handload for the Contender ; given it's relatively large case head diameter, one can reach chamber pressures that are too high for the Contender before the typical rifle primer has begun to show signs of excessive pressure. I haven't shot the Savage yet w/ rifle primers so can't tell you yet what kind of effect the difference in primers has on accuracy. For a small case head diameter round like the 222/223, a rile primer would be fine. Gary T.

It is my understanding that pistol primers have a thinner "cup" than rifle primers, so they are easier to ignite with the relatively light strike of a pistol firing mechanism. But as a result, they are also less physically strong.

If you are going to load to rifle PRESSURES, regardless whether the firearm is short-barreled enough to be called a pistol or not, ALWAYS use rifle primers. To do otherwise is to invite a face full of powder gas and tiny pieces of primer cup. God only gives you one "master eye", so one error can be too many in that area of handloading.

Rifle...

Thanks everybody,
Of course I will follow the load books, I just know they do have out there loads just for the firearms like the contenders and encores.
The biggest reason I brought this up was firing pin in a bolt as compared to a hammer. Wasn't sure if that was the reason for the "softer" cups on pistol primers.
This is a new adevnture for me. I have done a lot of reloading for my rifles and handguns. I am excited about what I can come up with in 222


Thanks again all,

Smedley

PS Great website Steve, have found it helpful and informitive, thanks.

I'd like to clarify my explanation in reference to Contenders. Depending on the round being loaded (more specifically the case head diameter), max safe loads for the Contender may be less than, or greater than, typical "rifle pressure" loads. For example, the small case head 223 Rem can safely be pushed to rifle pressures w/o worry of stretching the frame or other problems from excessive pressures. On a relatively large case head such as the 250 Savage, typical "rifle pressures" would be unsafe; what I'm really loading to w/ my 250 Savage is the older, non +P type loads that are safe for the Contender. Some long-time Contender shooters also recommend using pistol primers w/ wildcat rounds based on the 444 Marlin case, depending on the availability of good, pressure tested reloading data. Of course, none of this applies to the Encore which is designed for typical "rifle pressure" rounds, including the 300 Win Mag case head diameter.
Gary T.

quote:

Originally posted by smedley:
...The biggest reason I brought this up was firing pin in a bolt as compared to a hammer. Wasn't sure if that was the reason for the "softer" cups on pistol primers...

Hey Smedly, You are "almost" correct. Most of the older Pistol/Revolver cartridges were simply designed to operate at Pressures "lower" than Rifles. This allowed the chambers to be thinner and thus have a lighter overall weight.

And you also had Double Action revolvers and some of the older pistols designed with less Striker force. In the Double Actions, it allowed an easier Trigger Pull and allowed less Mass in the overall Striker mechanism.

So, thinner or softer Primers work to that advantage.

If you have a Manual that lists MAX Pressures(CUP or PSI), look through the Magnum Pistol/Revolver cartridges that recommend Pistol Primers. You should notice their Pressures are all "relatively lower" than the Pressures created in most modern rifle cartridges.

An exception would be the line of Revolver cartridges which specify Rifle Primers like the 454 Casull. These cartridges are designed to function at higher Pressures, so they need the Rifle Primers to hold it.
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That said, I occasionally use Pistol Primers in some Reduced Loads for my rifles. And Pistol Primers in the 22Hornets I wrestled with for 35 years helped their accuracy and stability a good bit.

So, they can be used in some rifle cartridge situations, but the Pressure needs to be held down.