Small pistol primers vs magnum in 357

S

SK1911

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I would think this query has been probably posted before, please accept my apology for repeating it, but i could not find exactly what i was searching for.
Powder, HP-38
Bullet, 125 grain lead flat point
Brass, mixed 357
Firearm, 686 6"
From Hogdons website data i found 125 LrnFP, and magnum primer, with 4.6 grains HP-38, for a minimum load. I loaded a few and they shot very well, so i loaded up 500 more for stock.
So here is the question, I ran out of magnum pistol primers, can i use small pistol primers ,using the same recipe as before? I do not have a chrono.

Thanks
 
I'm not sure why they was using magnum primers in the first place. HP-38 is an easy to ignite powder so standard primers should work just fine
 
Magnum primers have nothing to do with the cartridge name. They're about the powder used. I have no idea why Hodgdon used 'em in their .357 tests with HP38 either. Very likely because of what jwrowland77 says. Had a bunch of cases with magnum primers already.
You'll note they did not for the same bullet and powder in .38 Special.
Anyway, you'll be fine with the small pistol primers. You really should have worked up the load before you loaded the 500 though. Accuracy thing.
 
Thanks, i kind of thought the small primers would work with that powder combination. Just wanted to verify. As for working up a load, what i loaded was published was Hogdons minimum. shot 50 first, and was hitting steel plates at 25 yards, plenty accurate for me. Was very surprised at how soft they shot and that i even hit the steel. Off to the dungeon, to load up 50 to try tomorrow.
 
As someone else said magnum primers are for the large doses of slow burning powders.

You're perfectly fine with a standard primer and your fast powder. When I first started loading the person teaching told me to use mag primers with the .357 for slow powders or any charge over 8 gr. Right or wrong I don't know but I've always used mag primers with 2400, or H110.
 
Loaded up 500, and want to load more?

You're fond of that round :D

Yeah, as everybody has mentioned, HP-38 lights real easy and never needs a magnum primer. You won't even notice the difference dropping to a standard primer.

For 357 Mag, I only use mag primers for HS-6 and W296/H-110 (joed mentioned 2400 w/ mag primers - I've never used 2400, so I don't know).
 
Nick, not that its a favorite load, i have 500 more of the 125 gain lead flat points and need to put them someplace. Plus they seem to be as accurate as i need be. And the spouse is a little gun shy (recoil), likes them as its a very soft load in a 6" 686 . Thanks for all the advice.
 
With 2400 I find I get better accuracy if I use a standard small pistol primer, shooting a 160 grain Lyman RNFP with the fat grease groove.
 
I resisted jumping in here. My old standby load is 13.5 grains of 2400 under a 160 grain Lyman RNFP bullet. I started out using magnum primers, as was the advice what, 30 years ago now? But I discovered if I use standard primers, and add .3 grains of powder I get the same velocities, but a lower ES.

It has been awhile since I made the switch, and no longer remember the numbers.

I nice, moderate, accurate, and pleasant load to shoot that doesn't stretch out the brass all that much. Roll crimp in the crimping groove.
 
I prefer using standard primers with W231/Hp38. Only powder that I prefer a magnum primer for is 4227. I don't use H-110/W296. For 2400 I use a standard primer. Found my ES was higher with Magnum primer. That said if I can't get standard primers, I will substitute a magnum primer in most cases (I don't run my loads on the bleeding edge).
 
I only use 2 powders for 357 Mag, Win 296 and Accurate Arms #9. I use magnum CCI 550's for Win 296 but for AA #9 I use standard CCI 500's. My tests with AA#9 showed less velocity spreads with standard primers and also slightly better accuracy. Accurate Arms in their No. 1 manual tested with CCI 500 standard primers and that's what I used. Their later data was tested using magnum primers? So a magnum primer may not be needed with lots of powders but necessary for slow powders like H110 and Win 296.
 
While the question of standard vs magnum primers, i believe has been answered. I did find some interesting info on loads as well. I shoot with a group of people that like to just put in enough propellant to get the bullet out of the barrel (well below minimums on what is printed in the manuals). i never thought this could cause dangerous issue. Evidently it can with certain powders, such as 296 and H-110 ( which BTW requires a magnum primer). The more I learn, the more I realize I know less now.

This is quoted from an article on Starlines site ( http://www.starlinebrass.com/articles/Why-Guns-Blow-Up-Part-III/ ).
" Recently a friend of mine had some 357 mag rounds that didn’t appear to go off. He tried a few and when they failed to “go off” he brought them to me. After some questioning, I discovered that he loaded about ½ the amount of powder he should have. The powder was 296 which must be loaded to max performance loads or it won’t work very well. I pulled a few of the bullets & discovered that the powder was pushed up against the base of the bullet and formed into a ball. If it had ignited that way, the gun would have probably been destroyed. Secondary detonation is very dangerous. The loading books warn against using less than listed charges of such powder as 296 and H-110 with good reason. In some instances, under loading ammo can be as dangerous as overloading. Minimum loads of some ball powders frequently produce inconsistent ammo. They are not necessarily dangerous unless they are extremely underloaded. With a slow burning powder and some ball types, an underload round can cause serious issues. http://www.starlinebrass.com/images/slug.jpg
 
I wish the words "Never load below minimum" was in huge red letters on every page of reloading data. Human logic says "How can it be dangerous if I'm using even less than their safe loads?"
 
Nick_C_S states the loader won't know the difference between the mag and std primer. So what if a loader does use a standard primer with a hard to light powder? What happens? Do you prop your feet up on a stool and drink a single malt scotch while waiting for the round to go bang? What would the shooter notice?
 
Last week I shot 50 ( regular pistol primer) 125g lfp with 4.6 grains of HP-38. I did perceive a slightly less recoil as the same load with magnum primers. I really need to put both thru a crono to see if there is a difference. I'm going to contact Hogdon and see if they can add any input. However the load is accurate enough to tip steel plates at 25 yards. Not much of a ding, but they do fall over.
So in conclusion, the responses seem to agree its OK to use a small pistol ( non magnum ) primer and 4.6 grains of HP-38 with .357 brass and a 125g lead flat point combination. Thanks to all who offered comments.
 
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