Ruger Forum

Waveform · September 28th, 2012, 04:05 AM

I'm gathering up things to begin my first attempt at handloading and I have a question about primers. One of the calibers I want to load is .375 Ruger and I have a Hornady handbook to follow. The Bass Pro store in my area is the only place I have found that has any reloading supplies so I'm stuck with their inventory, which isn't bad for a newbie as it's probably an assortment of common powders, primers and bullets. The Hornady handbook specifies a Winchester magnum rifle primer and the BP did not have that particular primer. The did have a Remington magnum rifle primer. I know I am supposed to follow the "recipes" to the letter but does that include primer brands? Or is a magnum rifle primer pretty much the same whether made by CCI, Winchester, Remington, etc.

Sorry if this is a dumb question but I'm taking things real slooooooowww..... (at this rate I may have a few rounds ready by Christmas...)

thndrchiken · September 28th, 2012, 05:39 AM

Primers are pretty much interchangeable, you will find some that have harder cup metal or run a little hotter than the others but for the most part it's ok to use. Start low and work your way up to a load your gun likes keeping an eye for signs of pressure, i.e. hard bolt lift, blown out primers, etc.

Nick0410 · September 28th, 2012, 06:00 AM

I think they are interchangable, atleast with pistols theres not a big difference besides hardness and cost between CCI and Win buttt.....

Theres always the classic, If you change a component, start from near minimal powder and work your way up.

andybothel · September 28th, 2012, 06:08 AM

One of the walmarts in my town carries some primers (CCI) and powders. You have to look hard for the primers though. Usually in the ammo case, in the very bottom, not very well marked.

Just a thought for another possible source.

bhefley59 · September 28th, 2012, 06:19 AM

I have used most brands of primers and have had good luck with all. Could not tell any diff between brands ' I like the Winchester's the best and CCI the least (have had a few light strikes with only CCI and never had any with any other brand). If your loading full strength Mag loads be sure to work up to the max looking at each case for sign's of over stress.
I have used the Remington primer's and there a good primer ... Good luck and have Fun !!

Temmi · September 28th, 2012, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ;729210

Primers are pretty much interchangeable, you will find some that have harder cup metal or run a little hotter than the others but for the most part it's ok to use. Start low and work your way up to a load your gun likes keeping an eye for signs of pressure, i.e. hard bolt lift, blown out primers, etc.

Yes IF you work up

As thndrchiken said Start low and work your way up.

You shouls do that no matter what componet you change

Even brass

Snake

Waveform · September 28th, 2012, 05:31 PM

Great - thanks for the help guys. Will start out low and work up from there. Going to follow the Hornady manual for the .375 Ruger since they were involved in developing the cartridge.

Many more newbie questions to follow I'm sure so bear with me!

Wave

stargeezer · September 28th, 2012, 08:55 PM

One slight caution about starting low - lowering the charge can increase cup pressure. In the case of old or damaged weapons this increased pressure can be devastating to the gun and the attached hand

. Now don't get all worried about this since you have a fine weapon and the loads are mild to start with. The listed powder weights are safe below listed max weights, and the listed lowest weight will most likely be a perfect place to start.

It has been many, many years since I loaded 357s, I'm sure that with my post somebody who loads them a lot will be able to pass along better guidance than I on this caliber. You might help us by telling what powder you have chosen.

As others have indicated, primers are not the issue they were long, long ago, so pick up the brand you like - do not interchange rifle primers for regular pistol primers, or magnum for standard primers. It's a easy error to make and while erroring with a standard in place of a magnum primer will not likly be destructive, firing a magnum rifle primer in a cheap, poorly made non-magnum pistol with a low volume powder "could" result in damage.

Mail ordering reloading supplies is horridly expensive with all the "special" charges, so that once safe way to go, is now a closed door. I see you are in FL and ther are a lot of Gun Shops there, nothing like some parts of the country. Perhaps a note about what city you are near might gain some direction. We winter in the Bushnell area and I've visited a handful of LGS in that area.

Welcome my friend, it's aleays great to welcome a new reloader to the fold.

Waveform · September 28th, 2012, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stargeezer

One slight caution about starting low - lowering the charge can increase cup pressure. In the case of old or damaged weapons this increased pressure can be devastating to the gun and the attached hand

. Now don't get all worried about this since you have a fine weapon and the loads are mild to start with. The listed powder weights are safe below listed max weights, and the listed lowest weight will most likely be a perfect place to start.

It has been many, many years since I loaded 357s, I'm sure that with my post somebody who loads them a lot will be able to pass along better guidance than I on this caliber. You might help us by telling what powder you have chosen.

As others have indicated, primers are not the issue they were long, long ago, so pick up the brand you like - do not interchange rifle primers for regular pistol primers, or magnum for standard primers. It's a easy error to make and while erroring with a standard in place of a magnum primer will not likly be destructive, firing a magnum rifle primer in a cheap, poorly made non-magnum pistol with a low volume powder "could" result in damage.

Mail ordering reloading supplies is horridly expensive with all the "special" charges, so that once safe way to go, is now a closed door. I see you are in FL and ther are a lot of Gun Shops there, nothing like some parts of the country. Perhaps a note about what city you are near might gain some direction. We winter in the Bushnell area and I've visited a handful of LGS in that area.

Welcome my friend, it's aleays great to welcome a new reloader to the fold.

Stargeezer, thanks for the warm welcome! For the .375 Ruger I chose Hodgdon Varget powder and two bullets - a 270 grain SP-RP (Hornady #3711) and a 300 grain FMJ DGS (Hornady #3727). The Hornady manual specifies Winchester WLRM primers but my BP store in Fort Myers didn't have any. They did have some Remington No. 9 1/2 M magnum rifle primers so I bought a box figuring they would likely be OK and if not, well, they only cost $5.

For my .270 Winchester and my son's .243 Winchester I have IMR 4350 and CCI large rifle primers (No. 200).

So that's where I am right now. Still reading manuals and getting set up. Thanks again for your thoughts and comments. Keep 'em coming!

Wave

P.S. On a side note, I know where Bushnell is - we drive by there on I-75 quite often on our trips north. Bushnell is probably 3 1/2 - 4 hours north of us.

Iowegan · September 29th, 2012, 10:24 AM

Waveform, Several years ago I did some extensive primer testing with most of the popular brands. My findings indicate if you swap brands with a like primer, there is virtually no difference in performance, chamber pressure, or velocity. Now if you swap between Standard and Magnum primers or Rifle and Pistol primers, then you may get yourself in trouble. Of course the best suggestion is to follow the book loads to a "T".

I have never loaded for a 375 Ruger rifle but just looking at the data ... it uses a huge powder charge. Like other large capacity rifle cases, you need a Magnum primer to ensure good ignition so don't try loading with Standard Rifle primers.

P.S. I think some other posters mistakenly read "Ruger 357" not "Ruger 375". Huge difference!

stargeezer · September 29th, 2012, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Waveform

P.S. On a side note, I know where Bushnell is - we drive by there on I-75 quite often on our trips north. Bushnell is probably 3 1/2 - 4 hours north of us.

A nice part of the state down that way! This year we are looking for a campground further south in Jan and then move back to Bushnell in Feb. Some day I'd love to go down to the keys, but so far we've been enjoying our stay up "north".

As our friend in the post above this one pointed out, I mistakenly read 357 instead of 375 - more than a little difference there. I'm old, cross-eyed and dyslectic.

Sorry about that. It's one of the nice things about the group here, if you stub your toe (we all do), they will correct a error as instruction, but there's no intention to hurt feelings over it. Unless someone is a jerk - then we just ignore them.

Have Fun!

Waveform · September 29th, 2012, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iowegan

Waveform, Several years ago I did some extensive primer testing with most of the popular brands. My findings indicate if you swap brands with a like primer, there is virtually no difference in performance, chamber pressure, or velocity. Now if you swap between Standard and Magnum primers or Rifle and Pistol primers, then you may get yourself in trouble. Of course the best suggestion is to follow the book loads to a "T".

I have never loaded for a 375 Ruger rifle but just looking at the data ... it uses a huge powder charge. Like other large capacity rifle cases, you need a Magnum primer to ensure good ignition so don't try loading with Standard Rifle primers.

P.S. I think some other posters mistakenly read "Ruger 357" not "Ruger 375". Huge difference!

Iowegan, Thanks for your insight. I told mysef I was going to follow the book to the smallest detail hence the primer question. Glad to know I should be OK with magnum rifle primers by Remington vs the specified Winchester WLRM. My Hornady manual showed IMR 4350 powder data and I have IMR 4350 for the .270W and .243W but the Hornady text mentioned Hodgdon Varget as a powder that "delivered noteworthy results in testing" so I bought some Varget just for the .375 Ruger. Going to follow the manual very literally.

I thought there may have been some confusion on .375 vs .357 but the advice on primers remains consistent .

Wave

Waveform · September 29th, 2012, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stargeezer

A nice part of the state down that way! This year we are looking for a campground further south in Jan and then move back to Bushnell in Feb. Some day I'd love to go down to the keys, but so far we've been enjoying our stay up "north".

As our friend in the post above this one pointed out, I mistakenly read 357 instead of 375 - more than a little difference there. I'm old, cross-eyed and dyslectic.

Sorry about that. It's one of the nice things about the group here, if you stub your toe (we all do), they will correct a error as instruction, but there's no intention to hurt feelings over it. Unless someone is a jerk - then we just ignore them.

Have Fun!

Stargeezer, I thought you might have gotten it a bit mixed up but it really doesn't matter - your advice is still valid and I appreciate your help.

I know there are many campgrounds down our way but when real estate values skyrocketed many of them converted to "padominiums" and exclusive resorts. That has made it harder for regular folks. Bushnell gets much colder temps than we see down here. We never get a freeze and rarely see frost. If you do get down our way I'll have to pick your brain in person! Thanks again,

Wave

pell · October 7th, 2012, 06:13 AM

Brian Pearce, writing in Handloader (No. 279, Aug '12, Pg 18) described a small study conducted by Keith Anderson of Western Powders that looked at primer effects on a 45 Colt +P load in an instrumented 7.25 inch unvented test barrel.

The load:
310 gr Mt Baldy Keith cast, Enforcer powder @ 21.0 gr, Winchester new brass.

The Results*
Primer / Pressure (psi) / Velocity (fps)
CCI 350 ... 35,950 ... 1,352
Fed 155 ... 27,870 ... 1,278

Remington 2 1/2 ... 23,990 ... 1,238
Winchester LP ... 22,490 ... 1,239
* I've reordered Pearce's table to group magnum/non-magnum.

These data show a pressure difference of 13,460 psi across magnum/non-magnum primers (no surprise), and 8,080 psi between the magnum primers, and 1,500 psi between the non-magnum.

Pearce notes that the data are not intended to evaluate primers, but to illustrate to the handloader that these products are not strictly interchangeable without consequence.