Remington 6 1/2 small rifle primers for 38/9mm?

[Bladesmith]

While visiting my brother I ran across some Remington 6 1/2 small rifle primers. Would they work for 38 cowboy loads and possibly 9mm/40 cal?

 

 Thanks 

[Clay Thornton]

Yes, I have used them in a pinch, but I would not trust them from a reliability stand point at a big match. Practice or monthly rounds no problem. PS your milage may very depending on how loose your guns are. My guns shoot Winchester primers no problem and set these off no problem as well. If your guns only shot federal, you may have a problem. 

[Sedalia Dave]

Do not use Large rifle primers in place of large pistol primers. The Rifle primers are taller than large pistol and will not seat flush in the primer pocket.

 

The material used in both large and small rifle primers is thicker to withstand the significantly higher pressures that rifle loads generate. This means that a pistol may not have a strong enough hammer spring to set off the primer. Conversly pistol primers cannot stand up the the increased pressure of rifle cartridges and will fail. usually where the firing pin strikes the primer.

 

Rifle primers have a different burn profile that can cause excessive pressures to be generated leading to case failure. They are significantly hotter than even magnum pistol primers.

 

Like many other things just because somebody gets away with doing it doesn't mean that everyone will.

 

YMMV