primers

[colorado kid]

Hi Everybody

 I have a Thompson contender 223 with a 14in barrel. The question i have is that i was talking to a guy at the shooting range and he told me that when he reloads he uses hand gun primers in his 223 cases.  IS there any truth in this statement.

[beemanbeme]

What reason did he give for doing that??  I'd just stick to the formulae that are in the books.  That info is backed up by a whole lot of very smart folks that know what they're doing.  Not that your guy isn't but I can't see what gain he would get from doing that.

[LaOtto222]

Unless you are going to shoot reduced loads, the pressures that you get in a 223 can pierce a pistol primer. Stick to reliable loading data and small rifle primers. I have used pistol primers in a 22 Hornet, but they do not develop the pressures that a 223 does. Good Luck and Good Shooting.

[351 power]

and i like your call sign. the "colorado kid" has a ring to it. sort of L'amourisk. i'm curious does the contender recoil much?

[jhalcott]

  There is NO excuse for using pistol primers in the .223! It could lead to some nasty results. I use only small rifle primers in my .22314" contender. I have heard this before,there was an injury at a shoot some years ago. The shooter was using a 30-30 with pistol primers. I am not sure of all the details,but there were 2 people injured. One seriously enough to need medical attention. I am NOT saying it can't be done but you need to know what YOU are doing. In certain loading conditions you may be able to swap pistol for rifle primers.Like when using light or very light loads with CAST bullets.
  351 ,the .223 contender is a very mild recoiling gun. It is usually quite accurate to boot!

[lakota]

Sounds like a good way to get a face full of hot gas from a pierced primer!

[colorado kid]

thanks for the info, i am glad that i didn't take the guy at the ranges advise.  I will use small rifle primers.  351 power i grew up in colorado. and the Thompson doesn,t have that much recoil. thanks for the info

[Graybeard]

The ONLY primers I use in my .223s are CCI Benchrest primers for small rifles. Off the top of my head I believe that is the BR4. I have used other brands but ONLY small rifle primers. Never ever use pistol primers for bottle neck rifle cartridges unless you find a recipe in a reputable reloading manual for such. I doubt you'll find one in there as pistol primers in general are not made to take the kinda pressures rifles generate.

Be VERY WARY of reloading advice you get from other than reputable reloading manuals put out by powder or bullet makes or the few companies like Lyman who do pressure testing of their loads. Lee and the One Cartridge manuals just copy and use data from the above manuals. Basically I prefer to stick to the orginal data not copied versions.