Small Pistol Primers - Question

[tx_headcase]

hay u all has any one reloaded 9mm and used remington no.5 1/2 small pistol primers i ask for primers to reload the 9mm glock at carters country and that is what they gave me being new to reloading i thought the old man that sold them to me new what he was doing . i reloaded about 100 rounds and fired them no problem . now i have read that i should use no.1 1/2 sm pistol primers.
help 1900 remington no. 5 1/2 small pistol primers left what to do now ? keep reloading with them or what, i am also using tiltegroup powe and 115 gr rn bullets

 

[TSU45]

The 5 1/2's have a thicker cup. If you didn't get any light strikes and your cases look fine you should be good to go.

 

[robocop10mm]

5 1/2's are Magnum primers. You should reexamine your load as they can create a significant increase in pressure over the 1 1/2's. You may need to decrease your powder charge a little, especially if your load was near max already.
Generally Magnum primers are less consistant than standard primers so you may see more velocity varience and a decrease in accuracy. OR, you may not notice any difference at all.

 

[MadMo44Mag]

5 1/2's are Magnum primers. You should reexamine your load as they can create a significant increase in pressure over the 1 1/2's. You may need to decrease your powder charge a little, especially if your load was near max already.
Generally Magnum primers are less consistant than standard primers so you may see more velocity varience and a decrease in accuracy. OR, you may not notice any difference at all.

Robo is dead on here.
Titegroup is way to fast burning to substitute a mag primer.
Either get std primers or change over to a slower powder like Aliant Power Pistol or Accurate #7
Both those work well with a mag primer as long as you back your charge down about 10 - 13%
I have been caught a few times when mag primers was all I could get and had to work a load up using them, so I know they work. You just have to use a powder that is slower burning but not to slow.
Just my 2 cents.

 

[ambidextrous1]

Good advice from all!

I'd like to add that a chrono is a valuable (if not imperative) accessory tool for evaluating new loads or changes in components. With the chronometer you can establish a baseline of velocity (average & extreme spread) and use this information to assess the effect of new or different components.

When in doubt, reduce your powder charge - or let a "friend" shoot the first magazine...

 

[TSU45]

The Magnum designation on the Rem 5 1/2 small pistol primers refers to the difference in cup thickness, not the priming pellet charge. As with all reloading manufactures, the designations are not uniform and in Remington's case magnum does not necessarily mean that it has a hotter primer pellet.

Remington designates their hotter primers with a "M" behind the standard designation. The Remington 9 1/2M is a hotter pellet than the Remington 9 1/2 standard. The 9 1/2M is a magnum primer in the sense that Robocop and MadMo are referencing. It can be confusing when manufactures do not use consistent terminology.

 

[MadMo44Mag]

The Magnum designation on the Rem 5 1/2 small pistol primers refers to the difference in cup thickness, not the priming pellet charge. As with all reloading manufactures, the designations are not uniform and in Remington's case magnum does not necessarily mean that it has a hotter primer pellet.

Remington designates their hotter primers with a "M" behind the standard designation. The Remington 9 1/2M is a hotter pellet than the Remington 9 1/2 standard. The 9 1/2M is a magnum primer in the sense that Robocop and MadMo are referencing. It can be confusing when manufactures do not use consistent terminology.

Thanks TSU I missed the Remington part of the op post

 

[robocop10mm]

Remington

• Small pistol = 1 1/2
• Small pistol magnum = 5 1/2
• Large pistol = 2 1/2
• Small rifle = 6 1/2
• Small rifle magnum = 7 1/2
• Large rifle = 9 1/2
• Large rifle magnum = 9 1/2M

So Remington does not make a hotter small pistol primer? The "M" designation is only used on large rifle primers (according to Chuck Hawks).

Remington lists their .357 mag, .40 and .357 Sig ammo as being loaded with 5 1/2 primers. All other small pistol applications use 1 1/2 primers. There is no such thing as a 1 1/2 M or 5 1/2 M so I am going with the presumption that the 5 1/2 is hotter as well as thicker.

 

[TSU45]

The 5 1/2s are recommended on the hot loads you listed because the thicker cups help mitigate flattened/pierced primers in high pressure loadings. The 1 1/2s are still necessary because some guns with weak strikes or insufficient firing pin depth have trouble with the 5 1/2s. Generally, there is no point in using the 5 1/2s unless you are pushing the pressure limits.

Remington 5 1/2s don't even say MAGNUM on the box. Manufactures,
Remington included, like to put that designation in big letters when it references a hotter pellet. Something about liability. Remington doesn't call them magnums in their description either.

You can call Remington's component plant at 501-676-3161 to clear up any "presumptions."

 

[TSU45]

So Remington does not make a hotter small pistol primer?

Not that I have seen or used.