Q&A

How deep should I seat primers?

How deep should I seat primers?

The ideal seating depth is just below flush. As you gain experience in loading, the feel to accomplish this will become familiar. It is best to use your finger to test every primed shell case. If the primer is above flush it can be run through the seating operation again to push it below flush.

Does primer seating depth affect accuracy?

Does Primer Seating Depth Affect Accuracy? This is where the magic comes in. Even further, the same goes for primer pocket uniformers. If your primer pocket depths vary, then you will see inconsistent results before seating your primers.

What happens if a primer is not fully seated?

Trying to seat the primers deeper on a loaded round is extremely dangerous. You can cause that round to go off and if it does when it’s not contained by the chamber the case will rupture turning it into a brass grenade.

What size primer does 9mm take?

What Size Primer Does A 9mm Use? A 9mm bullet typically uses a small pistol primer. However, since these primers are usually always out of stock some gun enthusiasts experiment with using magnum pistol primers.

Can you reseat a primer?

Quote: Common sense is now telling me it’s not wise to try to reseat a high primer on a loaded round. It’s not wise – to put it very mildly. The chances of a detonation is rare.

Do 9mm use small pistol primers?

Primer size (large, small) Some cartridges require a large pistol primer (45acp, 44 special, 44 magnum, …) while others require a small pistol primer (9mm, 38 special, 357 magnum, …). Depending on what cartridge you are reloading, you need to buy the proper size primer for that application.

What primers should I use for 9mm?

I’ve used Remington primers exclusively, all types, for over 20 years without a single problem. Medium burning rate powders such as Alliant Power Pistol Hodgdon HS-6, Alliant Herco and AAC#7 are, IMNSHO, the best powders available for the 9MM AND the 38 Special. AAC#5 and Hodgdon Universal are quite good as well.

Why are there no large rifle primers?

It’s no secret that the demand for firearms and ammunition has reached record levels due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the civil unrest in cities around the United States, and the prospect of an anti-gun president on the horizon. Hence, primer production is the bottleneck in ammunition production process.

Do primers affect velocity?

Primer selection can have a significant effect on the velocity and the extreme spread of your load. Always reduce your powder charges when changing primers, then increment back to your maximum velocity. Changing a load by one grain of powder can cause a difference in velocity of 50 fps.

Can you decap a live primer?

Just don’t slam the pin in to the primer and it will be fine. I have punched well in the hundreds of live primers and never set one off. The worst thing I have done is hit the primer with the pin too hard and bulged the primer making it unusable. Reuse the primers – they will still be good.

What’s the minimum depth of primer for seating?

Maximum primer depth is -0.006″ and minimum is -0.002″. Upon inspection, any cases with high primers will be corrected before loading. Aside from improving ballistic uniformity, ensuring the primers have proper compression upon seating also helps reduce possible misfires.

What’s the minimum primer depth for a rifle?

Here at the USAMU, we ensure our rifle primers generally run -0.003″ to -0.005″ below the case head. Maximum primer depth is -0.006″ and minimum is -0.002″. Upon inspection, any cases with high primers will be corrected before loading.

Is it safe to sit primer below case head?

The first concern is for safety: for that reason, primers should be seated below flush with the case head. One primary cause of “slam fires” (which includes catastrophic failures from firing out of battery) is “high,” or protruding primers.

What’s the best way to measure seating depth?

Each Wednesday, the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit publishes a reloading “how-to” article on the USAMU Facebook page. Yesterday’s post covered primer seating depth. This article offers many useful tips — including a clever way to measure primer seating depth with ordinary jaw-type calipers.