Got in a Range day this morning. First time this year. The day was a Challenge.
Gathered all the range equipment together an loaded into the Jeep after shoveling snow off it and from around it. Jeep has sit for 3 months “Snowed In”. Most years I drive it once or twice a week all through winter; not this year. Battery was dead, so go to the Tractor to get it to “Jump Start” the Jeep. Tractor has one front wheel that starts to roll; then binds. It only turns 270 degrees instead of 360 degrees – I suspect it has a 1/moon key or some other piece that has broken/shifted; or worse yet an axle problem. Oh well, 3 to 6 weeks and I’ll take it to the John Deere Dealer. Was able to jump the jeep from the Car, but battery is gone/dead/dead. Guess that week of minus 32 degrees temps killed it since I did not have a Trickle Charger on the battery. Started driving to Costco for a new battery and the steering felt funny; so stopped, got out, and looked up front on the Jeep; One front tire is Flat. Get the Jack out and put on a spare. At Costco buy a new Battery and install. Drop by and have the Tire Store repair the flat. Then on to the range. Once there – Discovered I left my sunglasses at home; Range is covered in ~ 20 Inches of snow so some difficulty in shooting caused by brightness due to snow reflection
A couple of months ago I started wondering about using Large Magnum Pistol Primers in place of Large Rifle Primers since I have not been able to buy LR’s for more than 2 years. The Large Rifle Primer is “Taller” (about .128 inches tall) compared to the Large Pistol primer (about .120 inches). Both primers were seated into Federal .308 Win Brass (shot multiple times), fully seated to bottom pf primer pockets. Visually obvious that Large Pistol Primers were seated deeper than the Large Rifle Primers. The obvious concern will be if the Firing Pin in a particular rifle will have sufficient travel to ignite the seated Large Pistol Primers.
I wanted full house loads to compare the Large Rifle and Large Magnum Pistol primers in this effort. Rounds were fired in a Remington 700. Load data follows:
The first test was with the Large Rifle Primers:
Rifle: Remington 700 ADL Varmint .308
Barrel Twist: 1 in 12
Wind: 5
Temp: 35 degrees F.
Bullet: 175 Grain, Flat Base 8S nose swaged from 5/16 Copper Tubing
Ballistic Coefficient: 0.546
Brinnel Hardness (Core): 9.8
Core Alloy: 96% Lead, 3% Antimony, 1% Tin
Powder: IMR4895 42 Grains
Primer: Remington 9 ˝ Large Rifle Primer
Case: Remington .308 Winchester
OAL: 2.800 Inches
Distance: 100 Yards.
10 Shot Group Size: 2 & 1/8 Inches
The second test was with the Large Magnum Pistol Primers:
Rifle: Remington 700 ADL Varmint .308
Barrel Twist: 1 in 12
Wind: 5
Temp: 35 degrees F.
Bullet: 175 Grain, Flat Base 8S nose swaged from 5/16 Copper Tubing
Ballistic Coefficient: 0.546
Brinnel Hardness (Core): 9.8
Core Alloy: 96% Lead, 3% Antimony, 1% Tin
Powder: IMR4895 42 Grains
Primer: Federal GM155M, Gold Medal Large Magnum Pistol Match Primers
Case: Remington .308 Winchester
OAL: 2.800 Inches
Distance: 100 Yards.
10 Shot Group Size: 2 & 1/4 Inches
Observations:
1. Groups for each of the two strings were almost identical in size.
2. No Flattening or piercing of Primers observed in the Pistol Primers.
3. ALL Pistol Primers did back up even to the base of the case/bolt face when fired.
4. I did not set up the Chronograph for these evaluations today because of all the Vehicle delays earlier. There was no apparent differences in velocity/recoil/ignition between the two test groups.
Assessment:
I would use the Large Pistol Magnum Primers in this Particular Remington 700 .308 Winchester if I did not have Large Rifle Primers available; even with full loads and heavier bullets. For Magnum Rifles, very heavy bullets with full loads, etc… there could still be issues. Warrants further testing with other rifles and calibers should Large Rifle Primers be unavailable in the next 6 to 24 months.
Anyone else done any tests using Large Pistol Primers as an alternative to Large Rifle Primers? Your results?