Did I mess up?

[battleop]

I loaded a batch of 300 9mm Hornady 115g HAP using 5.4g of Power Pistol.   As I'm cleaning up I see I've got two empty packs of 100 Winchester Small Pistol Primers and one empty pack of 100 Winchester Small Pistol Primers for Magnum loads.     I have no real way to figure out which ones are which without pulling every bullet.   The Hornady manual lists 6.4g of Power Pistol as the max load so I'm a good ways from the max.

 

This is just plinking/practice ammo so should I shoot them or pull them?

[Dolomite_supafly]

You will be fine.

[Caster]

You should just fine but don't shrug this off. Take it as a very good lesson. What if instead of primers it wa powders you mixed up? That 5.4g of power pistol is all good but if you'd picked up Titegroup by mistake you'd be in a lot of trouble.

I'm not trying to berate you like some arm chair interwebz expert, mind you. We've ALL made some mistakes along the way, myself included and anyone who says different is a liar. BUT, just understand the gravity of it all. Things can get bad FAST.
Good job catching it BTW before it made it to the gun.


I would shoot them though and not worry about it. Maybe! Nows a good time for a little test. Segregate (if you can) the two different primers and watch for changes in point of impact and how they "feel". They may not do squat but they may surprise you how different they perform.

[battleop]

I don't ever recall buying Small Pistol Magnum primers so I wasn't looking for that.  I've got a system for powder that I'll just adapt for primers.   I've got a small ledge on my reloading bench and there is a sticker that says "Current Powder".   When I put powder in the hopper the powder goes on that ledge and a card goes in the hopper with the powder's name as well.   All other powders are on a shelf on the opposite side of the room so I don't end up with the wrong powder on the bench.  

 

When I'm done with a session I recheck my recipe against what's on the bench (that's how I found this) to make sure the components on the bench match up.   I don't throw away primer trays until I'm completely finished.   Once I'm done I through them in a bucket that I dump in the trash at work.  I won't dump anything gun related in the trash at home.  Some criminals are smart so why give them any clues.

[Jonnin]

Shoot them.  I can't tell the diff between mag and not mag primers in most loads .... and  9mm is particularly forgiving if the gun is +P rated and you are using normal pressure data.

 

Yea I don't label it but the only stuff on my bench is current production, the rest stored in another place.  Its worked so far.  

Edited August 4, 2015 by Jonnin

[battleop]

I'm shooting it through a Glock 17 and 34 so I think ill be ok.

[Jamie Jackson]

You'll be fine. I use mag sm pistol primers in 9mm when for certain ammo/loads...there is negligible difference in fps when I chrono them. I prefer them using Unique 9mm 124 gr fmj fwiw.

 

But heed Caster's warning and suggestion. Sage words! :hat:

[Clod Stomper]

Yep. You'll be fine this time. And what Caster and prag said. It was an inexpensive lesson. I've had them. All experienced loaders have.

I didn't mix up powders, but I accidentally bumped up a near-max load by five grains. Fortunately, it was H110. A slow, forgiving powder. I fired them in a Ruger Redhawk. There were breech-face markings on the case heads. But the Ruger, being the beast it is, didn't blow up in my face. I was fortunate that time.

[battleop]

Football practice was canceled this evening so it took off the CRC and ran through those 300 and another batch of 300 I had loaded earlier. I didn't take my chrono so I don't know if there was much of an FPS difference but there was no difference in recoil. I could not really see a difference in grouping either. The only thing that maybe a little different is about half my brass landed on the counter in the same general area and the other half was on the ground about missing the counter by a foot or so. Probably not far enough to mean anything.