What's the most number of live primers you've ever dropped?

[OptimusPanda]

Today for the first time I dropped a tray of primers. After the profanity settled down I started picking them up. So far, I can count to 96. So in the interest of turning this into a potentially humorous lesson about not trying to read your watch while flipping over the primer tray...How many primers have you guys dropped? Later recovered?

[Vann]

I've spilled 15 maybe 20 once. I'm very careful when it comes to handling primers. I envision stepping on a live one and it going into my foot every time I drop one.

At least it gives me a reason to sweep the floor of my shop every once in awhile.

[lefty o]

only a few primers, but probably a couple thousand pounds of shot once lol!

[andy h]

I am extra carefull now ever since my other half sucked a live one up with the old hoover , The resultant noise was not just from the primer going off.

[pretzelxx]

4 while realizing I just flipped them about 4 times when they were the right direction in the first place.. I proceeded to go drink a cup of coffee and settle down before I screwed anything up.

100% recovery rate thus far. I refuse to let any go if it takes me two days haha

[Omega]

As I was pulling the handle setting my last primer, the bench shook a case gauge off the shelf and it landed right on the corner of a tray I had pulled out of its cardboard box. Like you a full tray was dropped and only recovered around 95 or so. I had been reloading and had a few spent ones on the floor so when I flipped the tray I had to sort live from spent and after picking up what I could find I was short a few. I use a wet vac to clean my reloading area so it's unlikely I'll recover them.

[OptimusPanda]

Currently I have 3 unaccounted for. They seem to seek out the farthest darkest corners to roll to. They'll probably show up one at a time a year or two apart. Hopefully before a vacuum cleaner swallows one. Thankfully it happened on a concrete floor so they should shine and stand out, but looking just gets tiring and most of what Ive found are spent primers that got away. On a more amusing note, a roomba may be the sacrificial vacuum of choice if need be.

[Plate plinker]

None but I have launched a few when I popped about 90 inside the primer magazine on the 1050.

[9w1911]

50 and I did it twice, broken piece in the primer feed tube in a Dillon 550 and I decided to put all 50 back in when I dropped them the first time.

[jcwit]

Years ago dropped a number "50 or more" in the cats water dish. They all dried out in the sun on the window sill. They all went bang too.

Remember the compound is wet when it is put into the cup.

[Artful]

one single tray of 100 - on linoleum floor so no drama
Had a friend that did an unspecified number onto carpet
tried to vacuum them up, Evidently a beater bar on a Sears
tank vacuum has enough energy to set off primer(s) and the
primers have enough energy to kill the beater bar head [smilie=1:

I wasn't there but got the story out of him as we were shopping for
his new vacuum. (shop vac was my direction and you can attach a
beater head to one with the right plumbing)

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

one !!!

[country gent]

Have only dropped 2-3 at a time and ussually recovered all of them. One draw back to the old round tray lee auto primer was some trya didnt fit inside it. I had a Lee hand auto primer go of on me once it really lauched primers. Into my face and arm. We think about 40 went. Had sat and primed 800 308 cases that day speculation is primer dust and static electricity as the primer being seated hadnt fired.

[Beagle333]

Most dropped =100. I did vacuum some up (actually several times) and apparently a Dyson Animal doesn't set them off, or I've just been lucky. Maybe there was so much cat hair in the bin that it cushioned the primer's arrival and they didn't swirl and bang around (literally). [smilie=1:

[GSM]

About 50. The last couple are the hardest to find.

[Rick Hodges]

Hahaha...... Too Many!

[big bore 99]

I dropped a few a time or two. Found most of them, but a couple seem to fall into another dimension of sight and sound.(Twilight Zone.) I tried killing a bunch of them once before pressing them out. I filled the 45-70 cases full of WD40 and let them sit overnight. Darned if they still went off. I just pressed them out with no problem.

[ShooterAZ]

On more than a couple of occasions I have dropped an entire box on the floor. One time it was the Dillon primer pick-up tube that yours truly forgot to put the little cotter pin in on the bottom. I turned it over to load them, and an entire box went on the floor...again.

[jeepyj]

Let's just say I'd like to have a nickel for every one I've spilled. Usually one here and one there but when trying out my new vibraprime I didn't put the cotter pin in so by the time figured out what what was hitting my foot.......well you all know the rest.
Jeepyj

[OptimusPanda]

It is kinda therapeutic to see I am not the only bone head to have done this. There's some good chuckles in your responses. Thanks guys.

[funnyjim014]

Only a few...more than enough times. If anyone else has a RCBS turret they may have a similar problem. ... i lose them inside the press ram. I sheared one in half and it blew the ram down ripping the handle out of my hand.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Over the last 50+ years of reloading probably 50 - 60. Mosly 1 or 2 at a time and not a tray full. Seems to usually happen dumping primers out of those large trays and into my Dillon metal primer flipper 1 or 2 will make a dash escape off the bench. Probably a few months later I`ll find some small or large primers in a dark and dusty nook under my benches. Then I must decide do I keep them or toss them, not knowing if they are pistol or rifle primers.Robert

[lefty o]

Only a few...more than enough times. If anyone else has a RCBS turret they may have a similar problem. ... i lose them inside the press ram. I sheared one in half and it blew the ram down ripping the handle out of my hand.
i prime off the press, but i sure lose alot of spent primers in the ram.

[SharpsShooter]

One evening while preparing to some 45 ACP I accidentally elbowed a full tray of 100 off the corner of the bench. Luckily it's fall was broken by 5 gallon bucket full of lead scrap that was to be added to my next smelting session. I haven't got around to doing that bucket yet because I'm going to have to spread it out on a sheet of plywood to pick the primers out.

SS

[williamwaco]

Not sure this is what you are asking but I will toss it in anyway.


5,000


.

[Schrag4]

Most I've dropped was about 20 or 30. I load on a LCT, using the Lee Safety Prime System. I had just put 100 primers in the tray and was getting ready to flip the last few over and I must have put it down on something uneven because the weight of the primers didn't keep it level (those who use it know what I'm taking about) and it tipped up about 20 degrees, sending many over the edge of the tray and onto the bench, with some going onto the floor. If I remember correctly, I did find all of them, but it took me a good 15 or 20 minutes. Looking back, that event really frazzled me for a while, and I was clumsier than normal for most of the loading session. Next time that happens I'm just going to take a nice long break before continuing to load, after finding the primers, to let my nerves calm first.

[Mk42gunner]

There is a difference between dropping and spilling.

Like williamwaco, I have dropped a sleeve of 5,000 a few feet. I have also spilled a few in my time, mostly due to using either primer tubes ala Dillon or trays for hand primers ala RCBS or Lee.

Funny thing, I don't remember spilling very many primers back when I was priming on the press (Rockchucker) maybe because I only slid the cover out far enough to expose ten primers at once?

Robert