When do you use Magnum Pistol or Rifle Primers? I was noticing while looking at several reloading books that this was not covered. I assume they are used to help ignite slow burning powders in magnum cartridges. i.e. some loads of 357mag, 44mag and 7mm Rem Mag. (List these because they are the three I load that magnum primers are sometimes called out in manuals.)

I have never used them in rifles, but with pistols, I use them when the other primers leave some unburnt powder in the casing, or whenever the load manual suggests it.

matt

If I'm using a slow burning powder thats pretty thick grained I'll use a Magnum Primer. I have a youth Model .243 that I shoot a 95gr Nosler partition with. The Nosler book showed Reloader 22 to be the most accurate powder tested. I loaded some up and they grouped about 1 3/4". The old man I was shooting with who taught me how to reload over 20 years ago thought maybe since it was a shorter barrel gun, and reloader 22 is bulky maybe I was getting inconsistent powder burn. I reloaded some shells with magnum primers and it really shrunk the group size down. So on new loads I usually go by what ever powder the reloading manual says and play around with O.A.L and the primers and can usually find a pretty good load that way. Of course every gun will be different. You might want to drop you powder charge some so as not run into any pressure issues and then you can work you way back up.

I HAD THE SAME DEAL WITH A 7MM08 MAG PRI.MADE A DIFF.I ALSO USE A FED215 MAG PRI. IN MY 308 IT SHOOT VERY GOOD,IF I HAVE PROB.TUNING A LOAD I ALWAYS GO THROUGH DIF PRI....

For everything except my 22 Hornet, which uses small rifle primers, I use Federal 215 Magnum Gold Medal Match primers exclusively. For my 22 Hornet, I use CCI 450 Magnum small rifle primers. I just like the performance better, and from all the info, the manufacturing of the match primers is kept to closer tolerances than the other primers.

Like said above, every rifle (or pistol) has a different taste. I use magnum primers only in 300 WinMag loads with IMR4350, especially if I'm gonna use them in colder weather hunts. Not really a problem here in TX, but when I lived in Alaska I soon learned that the hotter primers can make a difference.
CHC: I use 296 with my Hornet and found that small pistol primers tightened up the groups...!!??

I have been using 296 in my Hornet with the CCI 450 small rifle magnum primers for over 10 years now. I am more worried about minute of Javelina or Jackrabbit, than I am anything on paper.

In the 35+ years I have been hunting big game, I can only account for about 6 animals that were shot with factory rounds.

The shell used is the cheapest part of the hunt, I can't figure out why people will spend thousands of dollars putting a shooting rig together, and then want to go cheap on probably the most important part of the whole equation. JMO.