by dleong on Sun Nov 22, 2020 6:39 pm
I've used Winchester small rifle (WSR) primers in place of small pistol primers in my 9mm, .40S&W and .357 Magnum handloads with no problems. There were no significant differences in velocities between the WSR and pistol primer loads.
A few weeks ago, I loaded up a test batch of .40 S&W handloads using Sellier & Bellot small rifle primers and tried shooting them through my SIG Pro SP2340. Almost all would not fire on the first primer strike but would usually ignite on the second or third strike. When shot in my CZ 75B, the test batch would fire on the first strike about half the time. Both guns had no problems shooting handloads assembled with WSR primers.
I'll leave the S&B SR primers for rifle loads and stick with WSR primers as a reliable alternative for my pistol handloads.