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.

 

[Zivadog]

Hi guys,

I'm new here and signed on the forum because of this thread. I know that the message is pretty old but I also purchased some Rem 5 1/2 primers by accident and want to use them. Only loading light loads of .380 and 9mm in cast lead for target shooting.

Whats the verdict ? Use the the thicker cup 5 1/2's if they work ok? I even asked the local reloading shop the question and they have been selling 5 1/2's as small pistol primers....

Zivadog - Chris

 

[Texas1911]

I ran a few 5 1/2s through my very first batch with 4.2 grains of Titegroup behind a 115 gr. bullet at 1.135" to 1.150" OALs with no pressure signs. My gun, a Glock 19, had a number of light strikes on the primers since it has a softer striker spring, so I switched to Federal SPPs.

The Remingtons are more than likely just thicker cups, which helps the primer to hold up and not backflow into the firing pin channel, which can induce malfunctions.

If you are worried, just start about the mid point in the book and work your way up or down. I think starting soft is a good idea for a particular known load, but the middle is best with primer issues as both an undercharge and overcharge are dangerous.

 

[Zivadog]

Thanks Texas,

I took some advice from here and elsewhere and called Remington on this, they verified that the 5 1/2's are not magnum primers and don't have hotter pellets in them, just thicker cups. In some light loads with cast bullets (.380 and 9mm) that I tested this last weekend, my experience was that some did not go off and part of those would not got off even if rechambered and fired again. This happened in both a model 84 beretta and ruger LCP in .380 and in 9mm the Spr XD and the Sig P239.

All of this seems to be verified by the statement on the box for 1 1/2 primers says not to use them in the more potent cartridges like .357 mag or something to that effect.

Looks like I have a buch of primers that aren't to usefull to me ...........

Need to shoot up some reloads and knock bullets out of the ones that didn't go bang.

Zivadog - Chris

 

[Texas1911]

Need to shoot up some reloads and knock bullets out of the ones that didn't go bang.

Call me paranoid, but if I got some struck or double struck primers, the last thing I want to do is go pull the bullets on them with a hammer puller. To me the $5.00 in bullets I'm losing is worth me not blowing apart my puller and possibly injuring myself.

 

[robin303]

This what I use when I did boo boos: Hornady Cam-Lock Bullet Puller - MidwayUSA

 

[Zivadog]

To me the $5.00 in bullets I'm losing is worth me not blowing apart my puller and possibly injuring myself.

Yep, I think you are right. I think that if left on the floor at the range they just cook em off in the incinerator.

I pick up plenty of 9m cases at the outdoor range but the .380's almost have to be bought. Every now and then I pick up a few behind the gals practicing with their little purse guns......

Oh well, live and learn to do it all again another day. Thanks for all the input.

Chris - Zivadog