Primer question

[bucnball]

I believe primers are made in  2 sizes - large & small, right ? So is it possible to use small rifle primers in a small pistol cartridge ? Could you enlarge the "flash" hole to compensate for the power difference ? Or is it too dangerous ?

[Raoul]

1 hour ago, bucnball said:

I believe primers are made in  2 sizes - large & small, right ? So is it possible to use small rifle primers in a small pistol cartridge ? Could you enlarge the "flash" hole to compensate for the power difference ? Or is it too dangerous ?

If you're not loading a full charge you should be able to substitute small rifle for small pistol primers.

[deerslayer]

Lots of folks are using small rifle primers in small pistol cartridges, mainly due to the shortage of small pistol primers.  Some Open division USPSA shooters use small rifle primers in their major power factor 9mm and .38 Super loads anyway.  Small rifle primers will work, but are harder and may cause light strikes and ignition issues with handguns that aren't hammer-fired (and some that are).  Also, I don't remember the specifics, but some rifle primers are slightly taller and may not be seated as deeply as pistol primers.  

I would not mess with the flash hole.  

Edited May 29, 2021 by deerslayer