In the July 28th edition of SurvivalBlog, my article on reloading previously fired primers and projectiles was published. Wondering if the primers reloaded with Prime-All repriming compound purchased from Sharp Shooter 22 would still fire several weeks after being reloaded, I mixed up another small batch.
Important Note: For safety, all batches should be small and eye protection should be worn. If you should decide to try this keep in mind that it could be potentially dangerous, after my experimenting I don’t recommend it.
Then a half dozen large pistol primers were loaded with the compound as before. They were seated in 10 MM brass and set aside. I was curious if they would still fire weeks after being reprimed, would they absorb moisture from the air was my concern.
In the past when running out of large pistol primers (LPPs) I had drilled a hole through a spent primer with a one-eighth-inch bit and inserted a small pistol primer (SPP) for .45 ACP. I don’t recommend using anything but the proper components, but the low-pressure 21,000 PSI cartridge was, I felt good to experiment with. I would not recommend doing this with a full-power 10MM or any rifle which can have 60,000 PSI or more. As a test, I loaded up a dozen 10MM with very light loads and some .45 ACP to see if a different caliber and firearm would make a change in reliability. Once again, I do not recommend this, especially with higher-pressure cartridges. What you have is a two-piece primer. If your legally-owned defensive handgun takes large pistol primers (LPP) it is possible to obtain brass for .45 ACP and 10MM with small pistol primer (SPP) pockets, then it might be wise to have a few of these on hand when ammunition and reloading components are scarce or tightly controlled.
(Small pistol primers pocket cases on the outside of .45 ACP and 10MM cases. .45 ACP case above with spent LPP drilled to accept SPP.)
Perhaps the best handgun — if you could only have one — for self-defense during an ammunition shortage, or even further government mandates limiting the number of rounds in a magazine, would be a double action .357 Magnum revolver. Taurus makes one supplied with two cylinders, one for .357 Magnum/.38 Special and another for 9mm. Ruger likewise has a single-action revolver with two cylinders. 9mm is .355 inch diameter but the case is tapered and too big to fit in a .357 cylinder. However, its components can still be used in a .357 if the pullet is pulled and the components are loaded into a .38 Special case. The longer .357 case makes this problematic. The .380 ACP is also .355-inch and it fits just fine. A trick shown me by a policeman friend years ago was to slip a rubber plumbing washer o-ring over the extractor groove of a .380 ACP cartridge. This allows you to shoot .380 ACP ammo in a .357 Magnum or .38 Special revolver, in extremis.
Additionally, if you had a simple Lee Loader, like the one above which I purchased in the 1970s for maybe ten or twelve dollars this would give you many options. I had found that if the empties slid out of the cylinder easily it wasn’t necessary to resize them, just punch out the primer, seat a new one, add powder and projectile and you’re good to go. I did discover that if they weren’t resized, cartridges fired from my Ruger would not fit in my dad’s Colt without resizing. Some revolver cylinders are bored a bit more generously. That is something to keep in mind if you reload for others.
As a test of the versatility of a .357 revolver I loaded up three .357 caliber rounds and two 9mm in a .357 case and in a .38 Special case. 9MM is taper crimped. In order to hold the 9MM bullet in the revolver case a hacksaw blade was run around the circumference of the projectile for a roll crimp Because the 115-grain 9MM bullet is .355 only at its first few millimeters at the base. A useable crimp put this round at 1.60’’ Max length in a .357 case (COAL 1.59’’), the tip of the bullet was almost flush with the end of the cylinder.
If I was ever in desperate need of ammunition and found say some .357 SIG rounds and I had a stout Ruger GP100 revolver, then I wouldn’t hesitate to pull the bullet and use powder, projectile, and primer scavenged from the case to load some .357 or better yet .38 Special brass. There is always danger using unknown powder and unknown bullet weights once again do this at your own risk. Since it was a good excuse to shoot my father’s prehistoric Colt .357 – Circa 3 BCP (Before Colt Python) with the wonderful trigger of that era. Mindful of 70-year-old steel I loaded up some light loads and headed out with pistols and ammo.
(Top 12 are light 10MM loads with SPP in drilled LPP. Middle six are 10MM reloaded Prime All primers. Bottom six are 45ACP with SPP in drilled LPP.)
The 10MM was the first to be tested. All twelve rounds with the small pistol primers and light loads fired normally. To my disappointment, only three of the six Prime-All 10MM rounds fired. After almost six weeks had the compound absorbed moisture from the dry Wyoming air? Or had I made a mistake in mixing that batch? I loaded them exactly the same as the 10 rounds that gave a 90% success rate that I mentioned in the previous article.
All six .45 fired normally. One caution about using drilled-out large pistol primers to insert a SPP, I used only spent primers from the low pressure .45 ACP cases. The weak metal, primers are made of, would be weakened severely if pulled from a previously fired high-pressure round.
Next was the revolver loaded with two 9MM projectiles three .357 bullets, 158-grain cast, 150-grain semi-jacketed hollow point, 125-grain semi-jacketed hollow point and a .380 ACP with a number 6 plumbing O ring. (.380 on top) After two rounds were fired, the 9MM in the .357 case walked out enough to bind up the gun. I removed that cartridge and fired the remaining cartridges. Then gently tapped down the bullet, and fired it. It is much easier to load 9MM in the shorter .38 Special case. The .380 ACP was the most accurate. Using the same o-ring, I later fired a couple more .380 rounds, the o-ring still was in like new condition. Initially, I feared that the long distance that the .380 ACP bullet jumped to the forcing cone might cause problems, but in fact they fired just fine.
One other thing I learned years ago is when shooting cast lead out of your revolver and you are short on bullet lube, then melted crayons make a good substitute lube.
In conclusion, if you could only have one pistol, then a .357 Magnum revolver is not a bad choice. You can pair that with an inexpensive Lee Loader for a quite versatile combination.