.38 Super for a newbee

CowTowner · November 1, 2007, 06:10 PM

OK, guys, I have been reading manuals till the cows actually came home. Wait, that was a horse. Anyway, I'm hoping to be loading .38 Super in the near future, My confusion comes from the reloading manuals I have. Sierra says to use Winchester WSR primers, and Hodgden says Remington 1-1/2. Aren't these small rifle primers? As WSR? Last time I checked my Colt Series 80, it was a pistol. And the cases are small like a pistol would be as well.
A little help in understanding this would be greatly appreciated.

**Unclenick** · November 1, 2007, 06:40 PM

Small rifle and pistol primers, unlike their larger brethren, are the same size and fit the same primer pockets. The rifle primers typically have harder cups (rifle mainsprings being stronger), but in a pistol that will fire them, that stronger primer cup is less likely to mushroom or leak gas in a high pressure load. The pressure in .38 Super is no higher than .357 or .44 magnum pressures, but some semi-auto designs are too loose in the chamber for the standard primers at those pressures. They allow too much room for the primer to back out and mushroom.

Jim Watson · November 1, 2007, 07:02 PM

Remington 1 1/2 is a small pistol primer.

I don't know why Sierra shows WSR in .38 Super, it is not necessary for SAAMI standard loads. It isn't going to hurt anything but it is not needed for normal ammo. Use of small rifle primers in .38 Super started as a bandaid to disguise excess pressure signs from overloaded IPSC Major Power Factor ammunition.

I have loaded a good deal of 9mm Para with small rifle primers. Velocity, and presumably pressure, is slightly greater than with small pistol... but not as high as with small pistol magnum primers.

CowTowner · November 1, 2007, 08:03 PM

Thank you, gents. I love history lessons and good old fashioned reasoning.
My confusion is abated until the next time I consider trying something new.

November 1, 2007, 06:10 PM	#1
CowTowner Senior Member Join Date: October 17, 2007 Location: Cowtown of course! Posts: 1,747	.38 Super for a newbee OK, guys, I have been reading manuals till the cows actually came home. Wait, that was a horse. Anyway, I'm hoping to be loading .38 Super in the near future, My confusion comes from the reloading manuals I have. Sierra says to use Winchester WSR primers, and Hodgden says Remington 1-1/2. Aren't these small rifle primers? As WSR? Last time I checked my Colt Series 80, it was a pistol. And the cases are small like a pistol would be as well. A little help in understanding this would be greatly appreciated. __________________ NRA Chief Range Safety Officer, Home Firearms Safety, Pistol and Rifle Instructor *“Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic purpose of their daily life......”* President John F. Kennedy

November 1, 2007, 06:40 PM	#2
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,063	Small rifle and pistol primers, unlike their larger brethren, are the same size and fit the same primer pockets. The rifle primers typically have harder cups (rifle mainsprings being stronger), but in a pistol that will fire them, that stronger primer cup is less likely to mushroom or leak gas in a high pressure load. The pressure in .38 Super is no higher than .357 or .44 magnum pressures, but some semi-auto designs are too loose in the chamber for the standard primers at those pressures. They allow too much room for the primer to back out and mushroom. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

November 1, 2007, 08:03 PM	#4
CowTowner Senior Member Join Date: October 17, 2007 Location: Cowtown of course! Posts: 1,747	Thank you, gents. I love history lessons and good old fashioned reasoning. My confusion is abated until the next time I consider trying something new. __________________ NRA Chief Range Safety Officer, Home Firearms Safety, Pistol and Rifle Instructor *“Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic purpose of their daily life......”* President John F. Kennedy

November 1, 2007, 07:02 PM	#3
Jim Watson Senior Member Join Date: October 25, 2001 Location: Alabama Posts: 18,542	Remington 1 1/2 is a small pistol primer. I don't know why Sierra shows WSR in .38 Super, it is not necessary for SAAMI standard loads. It isn't going to hurt anything but it is not needed for normal ammo. Use of small rifle primers in .38 Super started as a bandaid to disguise excess pressure signs from overloaded IPSC Major Power Factor ammunition. I have loaded a good deal of 9mm Para with small rifle primers. Velocity, and presumably pressure, is slightly greater than with small pistol... but not as high as with small pistol magnum primers.