Two questions re: primers

[MikeyPooh]

Hey everybody, I got two containers of old primers today, and they are unlike any I've seen before... they're very rounded. I'm not going to be using these, I'm just curious if anyone can tell me what they are?

My other question is... I've read in the books plenty of times not to dump your primers loose into a container - primer powder might spread around and cause an uh-oh! But, isn't that exactly how percussion caps are shipped? I'm having trouble squaring the two thoughts in my mind... any insight for this noob?

Thanks!

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/9680/img6051x.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/138/img6051x.jpg/)

[dale2242]

I friend gave me 1K loose primers stored in a plastic container.
I saw not problem what so ever.
They were old and stored there for many years.
There was no loose priming compound and they all worked perfectly....dale

[Horace]

Several years ago I bought 3 tins of mixed head stamp,WCC 42 rounded primers and RA 42 with flat primers,FA 42 flat primers and WRA with flat primers.

Horace

[runfiverun]

rifle primers were domed also.
you used to get domed and flat primer rams with a reloading kit.
you can seat the round ones with the flat seater.
they were using round primers well into the late 50's.

my pop found out abut the pick up tubes the hard way.
he got one stuck and took it out to the garage, while trying to free it lit it off shooting himself with the others in the tube.
the tube had a dent in it and from the welts it appeared there were three others in the tight spot plus the wedged and stuck one.
the others didn't come out when he dumped out the tube and he didn't see them in there.
no penetration, but some good welts and broken skin.

i was two closed doors and a hallway away in the reloading room at the time and heard it go off.

[noylj]

1) How are precussion caps shipped/stored?
2) Why wouldn't you use the primers, unless they are mercuric and corrosive?
3) Should this thread be in a different sub-forum?
4) I have NO idea how you could detonate the primers by jiggling them in a can and I would ask CCI or whoever if the story was even true.
5) Primers have a foil cover between the anvil and priming compound and WD40 is not a sure-fire way to "kill" the primer. I consider to be about as effective as firing a jacketed bullet to "clean" the lead out of a barrel and wouldn't trust my health/life to either idea.
6) The only powder I have ever seen from a primer is the occasional trace of white powder/ash in the primer pocket after I decap the case. This is removed during tumbling.

[stubshaft]

I'd use them. Nothing wrong with using a domed primer. Like rfr I've seated hundreds of them with a flat seater stem.

[dale2242]

I was not advocating putting primers loose in a container.
They should be kept in the original container, if nothing more than for identification reasons.
Doing so makes no more sense, to me, than taking powder from it`s original container.
Let`s use caution. I still say use them.....dale

[MikeyPooh]

1) How are precussion caps shipped/stored?
2) Why wouldn't you use the primers, unless they are mercuric and corrosive?
3) Should this thread be in a different sub-forum?


1) Right, that's my question, how is it that reloading books label this a big no-no but the manufacturers ship tons of caps this way? (I'll never do this simply to avoid the situation I'm in now - got a couple hundred mystery primers, heh)

2) I have/had no idea what they are, that's why I posted them here... although so far I take it they aren't corrosive at least.

3) When I searched for "primers" most threads turned up in the "cast boolits" section.

[beagle]

They're just old stock. They were available that way up (rounded form) into the early sixties.

Nothing wrong with storing primers loose in a jar IF you're lost the original container for some reason as long as there's no shaking and jostling.

It's much better and safer to store in the original container as some do shed minute amounts of priming compound which is sensitive to friction and any spark.

But, if I had them in a jar, I'd use them and be careful in handling./beagle

[MT Gianni]

I have sprayed WD-40 in a dozen old 44 cases and tried them a week later. Eight were loud enough to ignite powder, IMO. I do not consider it an effective method to kill primers.

[geargnasher]

Percussion caps don't have integral anvils.

Priming compound dust accumulates and make initial reactions much more likely, that's why you're supposed to wipe down your priming appratus from time to time. Loose primers in a container generate more dust from handling.

Gear

[Mal Paso]

3) When I searched for "primers" most threads turned up in the "cast boolits" section.

Aye laddy. It's a trap for sure. Been marooned here a couple years now.

[MikeyPooh]

Percussion caps don't have integral anvils.

Priming compound dust accumulates and make initial reactions much more likely, that's why you're supposed to wipe down your priming appratus from time to time. Loose primers in a container generate more dust from handling.

Gear

Ahhh... thanks Gear.... so, what you're saying is... the priming compound dust may make its way around the anvil in such a way that a little bump might cause the dust to ignite, and since it would be so close to the compound in the primer it could then ignite the primer itself? And this is why it isn't really an issue with caps?



and LOL @
Aye laddy. It's a trap for sure. Been marooned here a couple years now.

[blackthorn]

For what its worth--- Several weeks ago a similar thread was on the Accurate Reloading site. It reminded me that I had a little plastic bottle of old primers I had pulled for one reason or another and dropped into some fine oil to render them inert. Now, these primers had been sitting in oil for at least twenty years so I went out to the shed and found the little bottle, dumped out the clump of primers-in-oil, rinsed them off with a bit of gas followed by a good rinse in alcohol and set them out to dry. A couple of days later I loaded ten of them into empty 303 cases and ran them through the rifle. All but one made an audible noise when hit. I dont know if there would have been enough spark to ignite powder BUT I do know I will NEVER consider a primer "dead", no matter what has been done to make it so! I felt ten was a good enough sample group so I dug a hole and buried the rest.