Primers for 327 Federal Magnum
- Thread starter Real Gun
- Start date
Professional ballisticians at Speer, the guys on the design team for the caliber and ALL the large factory ammo behind it say otherwise. They specify clearly a small rifle primer.
And I'm pretty sure it was Brian Pearce that also published completely erroneous information about Alliant Power Pro 300-MP powder. Erroneous to the point that Alliant can't understand why in the world he would fabricate a blatant untruth. (correct me if it was not Brian Pearce that published 300-MP was the same powder as H-110, which it is absolutely not)
Handloaders by their very nature are curious experimenters, and it's fun, interesting, enjoyable and productive to find our own way. And I'm sure there are many applications with .327 Federal Magnum handloads that can be crafted well and safely with the CCI-500 primer. I've made hundreds of them myself. But no, not all of them. And you go forth with the understanding that it's outside the design-spec of the cartridge.
The primer cup is a weak point for escaping gas -- it will attempt to find it's way out. That's why it was designed around the CCI-400 primer.
It's also been often said that a third disadvantage exists -- the primer action moving the bullet forward BEFORE the powder has burned & created enough gas. I have never been able to witness this first hand but it has been shown with some powders -- Alliant 2400 is one of them. Again, YMMV and all that, but it does seem to be a relevant third disadvantage.
Brian Pearce writes a lot for Handloader, and I've used loading data provided by him on many occasions for other calibers. He seems to be one of the few writers who actually does extensive testing of his handloads, so I'd be surprised if he would have made an elementary mistake like confusing two different powders. However, anything's possible, I suppose.
Like Sevens, I'll stick with magnum small pistol or small rifle primers for max 327 Fed loads.
Like Sevens, I'll stick with magnum small pistol or small rifle primers for max 327 Fed loads.
He didn't confuse them -- the Power Pro 300-MP was new to market and for some reason known only to him... announced in his column that it was re-packaged H110 for Alliant. Cannot imagine why he would say such a thing and Alliant feels the same way.
Alliant has been (predictably) train-wreck awful at promoting this "new" powder and developing a lot of published data with it, and most other published sources have ignored it also. I jumped in for the heck of it with a full 8 lbs, and haven't found it doing anything better than the powders I've already had. I keep waiting for more published data... but it's like waiting on all the gun makers to build a slew of new .327 Federal models. It's a losing proposition.
Have toyed with it in .327 Federal and it has disappointed thus far.
Alliant has been (predictably) train-wreck awful at promoting this "new" powder and developing a lot of published data with it, and most other published sources have ignored it also. I jumped in for the heck of it with a full 8 lbs, and haven't found it doing anything better than the powders I've already had. I keep waiting for more published data... but it's like waiting on all the gun makers to build a slew of new .327 Federal models. It's a losing proposition.
Have toyed with it in .327 Federal and it has disappointed thus far.
FrankenMauser
New member
Believe it or not, I actually encountered this situation with .30-40 Krag shooting 220 gr RNs (.308") in a fairly loose barrel, with 'magnum' primers and a light charge of H380 (about 8% below "starting", if I remember correctly).
The bullet would start 5-8" into the barrel with just the primer, but the powder would fizzle out because it couldn't build enough pressure to seal the chamber due to the huge jump. (My theory.)
A slightly increased powder charge (or less stubborn powder) was "boom" and a hole in the target. But that light charge was 'pop', 'hiss', fused powder.
I also encountered a similar issue with the same bullets (after the Krag went away) in .30 WCF with Trail Boss and a constriction in the barrel (Marlin 336 rear sight dovetail).
The bullet would get squeezed down at the constriction, and then 'pop' out the other side undersized and lose its gas seal. Because the load was right on the ragged edge of working, anyway, losing the gas seal would result in a bullet stuck just in front of the rear sight and venting of combustion gases out the muzzle and back through the chamber.
It was a weird thing to experience.
Alas, I can't play with it any more... That 336 is now a 444
D), and the barrel went on to resurrect a 1950s-vintage 336 and make the original owner very happy that he could shoot his worn-out rifle once again. Great guy. Helping people like him are the reason I put up with so many hard-headed antagonists on forums like this. ...Because, sometimes, you run into really good people.