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Thread: Primer Explosion

  1. #41
    Boolit Master


    HangFireW8's Avatar
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    Federals are NOT more sensitive. They are more brisant. Same amount of energy released in shorter amount of time. Other brands can chain detonate as well.

    -HF
    I give loading advice based on my actual results in factory rifles with standard chambers, twist rates and basic accurizing.
    My goals for using cast boolits are lots of good, cheap, and reasonably accurate shooting, while avoiding overly tedious loading processes.
    The BHN Deformation Formula, and why I don't use it.
    How to find and fix sizing die eccentricity problems.
    Do you trust your casting thermometer?
    A few musings.

  2. #42
    Boolit Master
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    On the Loadmaster you can't really feel how the primer is seating, at least I can't. Five different operations going on simultaneously sort of negates any feedback on how the primer is seating. I've easily loaded over 10000 rounds with no problems, but I figure it's no biggie to deprime off the press, it also gives me one more chance to inspect brass for cracks etc. Not too hard to deprime a thousand or so in about an hour.

  3. #43
    Boolit Master
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    I wouldn't think that embedding primers in epoxy would be a safe way to dispose of them. They're still live, but now they're strongly confined. When dealing with explosives, that makes things worse, not better.

  4. #44
    Boolit Master


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    Tracy,

    Positive suggestions? Oil and water will not disable them. In epoxy they're at least very difficult to detonate. Some of then were already deformed and possibly extra sensitive at that point.
    Sometimes life taps you on the shoulder and reminds you it's a one way street. Jim Morris

  5. #45
    Boolit Master
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    Hearing protection, eye protection, concrete drive way and a 4 lb hammer will totally disable primers.

  6. #46
    Boolit Buddy RGrosz's Avatar
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    I had a lot of old 45 ACP shells a while back. Pulled the bullets and dumped the powder, but couldn't figure out what to do with the crimped in primers. At the time I didn't need the brass so I through them on a brush pile that was going to be burnt on a cement slab away from everything. When IO set it afire, there was lots of popping for a long time, but no major damage. If I were to do it over I still don't know how to get rid of a bunch of primers. Had the question come up when My reloading room in the basement got flooded and I lost my primer stash. Just treated them like most of the other trash. It got hauled to the 'burn hole' and when it dried out, got set on fire. There was some popping but it was less noisy that the old spray paint cans that I didn't know that the step-son through in the burn hole.
    Rob

  7. #47
    Boolit Bub
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    I've had a few things happen with primers on various presses. The Dillon Square deal B blew a primer in the magazine tube and blew the low primer alarm weight into the ceiling. It didn't blow all the primers, just a few in the tube. There were primers all over the shop but no real damage.
    I've deprimed a few thousand cases with live primers over the years and have yet to see a single primer go off. Pushing them out with a depriming pin is not the same as smacking them with a firing pin. It requires a sharp impact to set one off normally. If they do go off when depriming the primer will blow out of the case and down the channel in the press. Doesn't sound like a killer bullet to me.
    The Dillon 650 took a while to learn and in the process there were a number of primers that got pushed in sideways. None went off either when priming or depriming. In addition the shell plate wasn't indexing exactly and a number of primers were sheared with various sized pieces being pushed into the primer pocket. None of them went off despite being cut in half. Pushing the remains out of the cases didn't pop them either.
    Basic point is that primers aren't toys and should be treated carefully. On the other hand they aren't supersensitive bombs waiting to blow your house from its foundation. Don't point them at yourself when loading or unloading and don't do stupid stuff. Last thing is that you can look up the chemical properties of the material used in 99% of the primers in the US for reloading and you'll find that they are neither water nor oil soluble. They can be kept under water to reduce sensitivity but otherwise water has no effect. Oils aren't much different. Look up lead styphnate and see for yourself.

    Frank

  8. #48
    Boolit Buddy
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    For entertainment purposes they are cool to shoot out of an air rifle against a rock wall. Good and fun way to pop them at a distance. Eye protection of course!

  9. #49
    Boolit Master
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    A little hint on vacuuming up the loading room.Use a shop vac.No impeller to set off any live primers that might be present.
    Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
    Leo
    People never lie so much as after a hunt,during a war,or before an election.
    Otto von Bismarck

  10. #50
    Boolit Master


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    Quote Originally Posted by biffj View Post
    Basic point is that primers aren't toys and should be treated carefully. On the other hand they aren't supersensitive bombs waiting to blow your house from its foundation.

    Frank
    Frank,

    I agree that primers aren't going to blow up the house. What many of the more recent posters are missing is that a deformed primer MIGHT be exceptionally sensitive. In my initial post I pointed out the the primer exploded on contact when just touched with the tip of hemostats. Being misshapen doesn't guarantee that a primer has become supersensitized but it is a possibility. I'm grateful that I touched the primer in my case feeder with a tool instead of a bare finger.

    I'm reposting Gosthawk's message. He, too, had a damaged primer explode with light contact.


    Quote Originally Posted by GhostHawk View Post
    I have learned the hard way that a primer which has been disfigured in any significant way is one touchy SOB.

    I normally prime with a RCBS universal hand unit. Good system and I love it. But somehow when I was priming some rifle cases one came up sideways, got mashed into place that way.

    When I found it, it had just had a powder charge dropped in, and a bullet seated.
    As part of the final process I like to wipe the noses of my cast boolits. And I spotted the sideways primer.

    So pulled the bullet, carefully. Dumped the powder.

    I have a spare pin for the Lee depriming die. And a piece of 2x2 with some step drill holes drilled into each end. So the pin goes in touches the primer and BANG.

    I had not even tapped it with the hammer, yet.

    On contact, BANG.

    But, base was on a solid surface, no powder inside, case neck is pointed up, whole assembly is at least a foot from my face. Pin took a hop. But no damage was done.

    Fingers holding the case tingled for a few seconds. Then I tapped that primer out, reprimed, recharged, and reset the bullet.

    But I am very very careful with any primer that has been squeezed, misshaped, or damaged.
    Sometimes life taps you on the shoulder and reminds you it's a one way street. Jim Morris

  11. #51
    Boolit Master
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    I have had a berdan primer detonate and ignite the charge in a kinetic puller, when I was pulling some pre-war French 7.5x54 ammunition to render it inert for a friend's collection.

    The round in question was a combined AP/tracer.

    Luckily, the tracer failed to ignite.

    Lesson learnt, I will never pull berdan primed ammunition again in a kinetic puller.

    A second incident involved a shooting buddy who was annealing some brass by holding the case over a flame with pliers.

    He picked up a case with a live primer by mistake and it detonated, hitting his knuckle and then travelling about an inch under the skin along the bone to the base of his finger.

    He had to have it surgically removed.

    I would also caution anyone not to use a vacuum cleaner to clean up around the loading bench, as any spilt powder could ignite in the machine .

    ukrifleman.
    ukrifleman

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check