are pistol and pistol match shooters still reloading?

Reloading equipment, methods, load data, powder and projectile information.

are pistol and pistol match shooters still reloading?

Post by mickb » 09 Jun 2022, 6:18 pm

Just wondering with the powder shortage, and other shortages how the high volume reloaders in these sports are doing? I dont own pistols, but using pistol cartridges in lever guns I am a bit loathe to waste them on paper anymore. The powder is one thing, in small enough doses with fast burners you can feed a pistol a couple thousand rounds from a pound of powder. But then there is the primer situation too.

Dont mean to be doom and gloom but Im hoping we dont end up like grandads day. Where your fired a gun for a purpose only. Aka taking game, or killing pests. And that was pests affecting you or your area ... not driving 300km to blast away some other bunch of pests for recreation.
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Re: are pistol and pistol match shooters still reloading?

Post by Blr243 » 09 Jun 2022, 8:04 pm

I had a stash of small rifle primers that I probably won’t get round to useing so was just going to sell them for what paid for them or give them away or whatever but I’m sort of glad I did not. Now that I will probably start reloading for my 357 lever gun I can’t be bothered getting all rattled about not being able to buy pistol primers ( I’ll leave that to the pistol shooters ) So I had this idea that I might be able to use my useless bunch of small rifle primers in my 357 cases to be used in my Rossi lever. A small amount of net research appears to indicate it’s ok. Someone fill me in if u know anything about it. It makes sense with this experiment if I do this to start low side and gradually work up watching for signs
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Re: are pistol and pistol match shooters still reloading?

Post by Rwd22 » 09 Jun 2022, 8:19 pm

I'm still shooting 2-3 times a week. 1 practice session and 1 or 2 competitions. I still have some small pistol primers aside, but I have moved over to small rifle primers in my 9mm reloads, I got my hands on quite a few while they were still a reasonable price, no noticeable change in accuracy or speeds, still reliably go bang.

Powder situation is a kicker, I have enough aside to keep me entertained for the next 2 years or so, providing my math is correct and my usage doesn't go up.

I have started putting aside some factory 9mm for the future, powder will eventually surface from somewhere, but in what quantities or frequency, who knows.
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Re: are pistol and pistol match shooters still reloading?

Post by mickb » 09 Jun 2022, 8:55 pm

primers arent an area of expertise for me but I have read before you can substitute rifle primers into pistols as long as they load without crushing or arent proud after loading, being they are taller? I do know of a long running thread on the internet about the CCI small pistol magnum and CCI small rifle and that the word from a CCI tech was these two are actually the same primer in a different box. Thats third hand information of course, use at your own discretion
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Re: are pistol and pistol match shooters still reloading?

Post by geoff » 09 Jun 2022, 9:35 pm

I only shoot rimfire pistols the fellas at my club all have enough stashed to keep shooting til they die
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Re: are pistol and pistol match shooters still reloading?

Post by rc42 » 09 Jun 2022, 10:28 pm

Small rifle primers have a slightly thicker cup material than small pistol so they can deal with higher pressures, actual thickness varies by manufacturer but for CCI small rifle and small pistol magnum are exactly the same dimensions and reportedly have the same type and amount of primer material. I certainly can't spot any difference. Small rifle magnum are thicker still and need quite a hard firing pin strike, beyond the ability of most pistols. It's large primers that have a depth difference between pistol and rifle.

Every reloader that I know at my pistol club has a couple of years supply of powder and primers left, some have a decade or more, many are reducing practice sessions but competitions are still well attended. Some have resorted to cutting up shotshells as there is about 20gn of fast powder in each one, enough for 5 or more pistol rounds and the recovered powder works out at around $300 per kilo but these same shooters have large powder stocks and don't actually need to.

ADI might make more 2205 next year which is usable in 38/357 and just usable in 9mm with heavy projectiles, Trailboss will come back at some point too and if the US demand for Hogdon rifle powders reduces enough they might even return to fast powder development. Other companies are also looking to import fast pistol powders now that demand is so high so the outlook isn't completely bleak, just the next couple of years.
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Re: are pistol and pistol match shooters still reloading?

Post by deye243 » 09 Jun 2022, 11:09 pm

mickb wrote:Just wondering with the powder shortage, and other shortages how the high volume reloaders in these sports are doing? I dont own pistols, but using pistol cartridges in lever guns I am a bit loathe to waste them on paper anymore. The powder is one thing, in small enough doses with fast burners you can feed a pistol a couple thousand rounds from a pound of powder. But then there is the primer situation too.

Dont mean to be doom and gloom but Im hoping we dont end up like grandads day. Where your fired a gun for a purpose only. Aka taking game, or killing pests. And that was pests affecting you or your area ... not driving 300km to blast away some other bunch of pests for recreation.

Considering the 3.5 to 6 grains it takes a load a pistol cartridge if you didn't have a 20 years supply and at least 10000 Primers saved up I have no idea why you wouldn't still be reloading it would be basic and I mean very basic common sense .
projectiles can come from anywhere plus the ones you make yourself .
Just so you know I can get 180 rounds out of a box of shotgun shells .
Just saying
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Re: are pistol and pistol match shooters still reloading?

Post by wanneroo » 10 Jun 2022, 12:34 am

There was a small company here in the USA that make reloaded pistol ammo and did some pressure testing on the differences between small primers for 9mm, check it out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGVRGsoOr6k

For practical purposes no big difference between all 3.
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Re: are pistol and pistol match shooters still reloading?

Post by mickb » 10 Jun 2022, 12:44 am

deye243 wrote:
mickb wrote:Just wondering with the powder shortage, and other shortages how the high volume reloaders in these sports are doing? I dont own pistols, but using pistol cartridges in lever guns I am a bit loathe to waste them on paper anymore. The powder is one thing, in small enough doses with fast burners you can feed a pistol a couple thousand rounds from a pound of powder. But then there is the primer situation too.

Dont mean to be doom and gloom but Im hoping we dont end up like grandads day. Where your fired a gun for a purpose only. Aka taking game, or killing pests. And that was pests affecting you or your area ... not driving 300km to blast away some other bunch of pests for recreation.

Considering the 3.5 to 6 grains it takes a load a pistol cartridge if you didn't have a 20 years supply and at least 10000 Primers saved up I have no idea why you wouldn't still be reloading it would be basic and I mean very basic common sense .
projectiles can come from anywhere plus the ones you make yourself .
Just so you know I can get 180 rounds out of a box of shotgun shells .
Just saying


If you didnt have 20 years supply and at least 10,000 primers saved you have no idea why someone wouldnt be reloading? I think you double negatived your grammar there :) If you have that much, sounds like you are okay. I know some who werent so lucky though. Also regards primers I know fellas who burn up 10,000 primers in a year too, having a more than 1 shooter in the household.
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Re: are pistol and pistol match shooters still reloading?

Post by Blr243 » 10 Jun 2022, 5:22 am

Thanks for the link wannaroo
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Re: are pistol and pistol match shooters still reloading?

Post by wanneroo » 10 Jun 2022, 11:37 am

Blr243 wrote:Thanks for the link wannaroo


You bet, no problem. :drinks:
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Re: are pistol and pistol match shooters still reloading?

Post by dnedative » 10 Jun 2022, 6:16 pm

A lot of pistols shooters have never been into reloading to begin with, its really only the minority who churn through 10,000 rounds of 9mm a year.
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Re: are pistol and pistol match shooters still reloading?

Post by Danny » 10 Jun 2022, 8:41 pm

Small rifle primers have always worked well for me. Just have to make sure your hammer spring is strong enough to set them off. I mainly use them in the open gun which is loaded well above book though
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Re: are pistol and pistol match shooters still reloading?

Post by The Shoota » 18 Jun 2022, 7:38 pm

My powder/primer ratio is out of kilter, badly.
If anyone can swap small pistol primers for a kg of my APS450,let me know.
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Re: are pistol and pistol match shooters still reloading?

Post by KWest » 29 Jun 2022, 1:40 pm

Seems like I will have to up my hoarding game to keep up with some of the other reloaders in the group
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Re: are pistol and pistol match shooters still reloading?

Post by gunnnie » 06 Jul 2022, 7:06 pm

Still managing to rattle through at least 120rds 38Spl, 60rds 32H&R mag, 60rds 357mag, 60rds 45Schoffield, 150rds 12ga (about half my reloads).
On the odd occasion there's also 2-300 9mm, 120 38Super & 100rds 38Super Auto.
I grab e tra to top up whenever I can. Should be able to keep going for quite a while.
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