Interesting idea for primer storage

[W.R.Buchanan]

This person was obviously under the influence of whatever came in those pill bottles.

What I don't understand is what this guy saw as wrong with the little trays primers come in? Just looking to be different?

I am all for reusing pill bottles for storing some stuff. I have a bunch and the newer ones that have the screw on tops are very useful and are excellent water proof containers. Use a hair dryer to remove the labels.

I have salt and pepper packets from McDonalds stored in one in my bug out bag so I can season my Beef Bullion when I'm stranded during the up coming societal melt down.

Works for me.

Randy

[OS OK]

This person was obviously under the influence of whatever came in those pill bottles.

What I don't understand is what this guy saw as wrong with the little trays primers come in? Just looking to be different?

I am all for reusing pill bottles for storing some stuff. I have a bunch and the newer ones that have the screw on tops are very useful and are excellent water proof containers. Use a hair dryer to remove the labels.

I have salt and pepper packets from McDonalds stored in one in my bug out bag so I can season my Beef Bullion when I'm stranded during the up coming societal melt down.

Works for me.

Randy

Yeah...I see this ending badly...some cop is going to check your ruck and ask for the prescriptions for that salt and pepper! . .

[bedbugbilly]

I'm a "space saver" as well - currently setting up my new reloading area from our move this past month - BUT - I count 10 bottles (unless the old eyes are deceiving me) with what appears to be 100 primers in each - i.e. a case of primers. Not only a dangerous situation to store that way but look at it - are you really saving any space? And stacking one pill bottle on another creates a dangerous situation as when reaching for them, I can easily see how they could be "up set" and one fall on the floor (at least I can see how I could easily do such a thing).

Keep 'em packed in their original container - they are packed that way for a reason and cases or individual packs of 100 are easily stacked on top of each other and much less likely to be spilled from the shelf to the floor.

[alamogunr]

Somebody needs to point out that the OP never said he stored primers in pill bottles. He said he found it on the internet and even this is not the stupidest thing on the internet.

I find that leaving primers in the sleeve makes it easy to see how many are left after a short session. Plus, I mark the quantity left on the outside with a sharpie.

[Ole Joe Clarke]

Bad idea, the only thing I have seen worse on the net is storing them loose in glass jars.

I tear the cardboard covers apart and write powder charges, or "9 mm ready to load" and other notes to self on the white side.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

[jrmartin1964]

Primers weren't always sold in flat, divided trays. There was a time when they came like this...
Attachment 199799

Not recommending it as a practice, just sayin'...

[woodbutcher]

Empty pill bottles might be good for a lot of things.But primer storage ain`t one of em.I use some for storage of small fishing items such as hooks,split shot and ect.Works good.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[castalott]

I 'remember' reading that priming compound used to be made in an open topped building (4 concrete walls with no top) . The lighting was powerful lights mounted on poles outside ( think football field). Small amounts were transported in an "Angel buggy". (think rubber tired baby buggy with ground strap.) The Angel buggy had absolute right of way. The President of the company had to step off the sidewalk or out of the way for the angel buggy. ....just saying...

[Landy88]

The Angel buggy had absolute right of way. The President of the company had to step off the sidewalk or out of the way for the angel buggy.

Had to or was glad to; and happy to add a few extra long steps, too?

[Baja_Traveler]

Every Schuetzen shooter I've ever seen (including me) stores 1-200 primers in a pellet tin for match days. When you are decapping and priming the same case 1-200 times in every match, having loose primers is the only way to go just for efficiency sake. Schuetzen shooters have been doing it this way since the invention of the primer, and I've never heard of anyone blowing themselves up storing them this way. I think this falls under the same wives tale of needing a special brass powder measure to drop black powder...

[Ole Joe Clarke]

Hatcher's notebook is a good read about how not to handle primers.

[str8wal]

I fail to see any advantage to this. It's not as though the trays occupy very much space to begin with. It is also much easier to keep track of how many primers you have when they lie in their cozy little slots. I don't know about any danger, my musket caps come loose in a small tin. Different strokes.....

[castalott]

Had to or was glad to; and happy to add a few extra long steps, too?

Even a small amount of priming compound is scary stuff.... They didn't call them 'Angel buggies' for just any reason.... Dale

[ReloaderFred]

Every Schuetzen shooter I've ever seen (including me) stores 1-200 primers in a pellet tin for match days. When you are decapping and priming the same case 1-200 times in every match, having loose primers is the only way to go just for efficiency sake. Schuetzen shooters have been doing it this way since the invention of the primer, and I've never heard of anyone blowing themselves up storing them this way. I think this falls under the same wives tale of needing a special brass powder measure to drop black powder...

I go to the SHOT Show every year, and have since 1991. I've talked to the reps from all the major primer manufacturers about primers and how they should be handled. Every one of them cautions that primers should be handled carefully, and several have recounted events in where an employee, or employees, were killed or injured by exploding primers or priming compound. The biggest problem is shaking loose primers, or static electricity setting them off.

I used to run an AmmoLoad motor driven reloading machine when I was rangemaster for our department. I had the primer column on that machine blow up twice. The first time, the primer column was nearly full, and the damage it caused was an eye opener, to say the least. The follower is still imbedded somewhere in the attic of the range house, and if it hadn't been for the tubular steel blast housing, and the blast shield across the front of the machine, I would have been injured in the blast. The second time it blew, there were only a few primers in the column, but it still caused damage. Priming compound is an explosive, unlike gunpowder. The power contained in multiple primers is nothing to trifle with.

Just because you get away with something it doesn't make it safe. I've buried the needle on a 140 mph speedometer several times when I was working, and got away without incident. Was it safe? Would I do it all the time? The answer to both questions is an emphatic "NO"!

Primers are packaged the way they are for a reason, born of experience. Trust those who deal with them on a daily basis and don't tempt fate. Leave them in the original packaging, period.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[Soundguy]

I haven't bought primers in several years after stocking up before Obama's first election. All those primers are in, what I consider to be, efficient sized containers. Brands are Winchester and Wolf. Trying to use up the Wolf because of inconsistent cup hardness.

yup.. no problems with the flat trays and bricks here.

[Soundguy]

Primers weren't always sold in flat, divided trays. There was a time when they came like this...
Attachment 199799

Not recommending it as a practice, just sayin'...

We used to drown/burn people for being witches till we learned better too.

[mdi]

Just a thought. How do ammo manufacturers get their primers? Are the primers shipped to the factories the same way we, as hobby reloaders get them, in trays of 100 in bricks of 500? For commercial manufacturing this seems very inefficient (someone would have to open the bricks, open the sleeves and dump the primers into a feeder) and I don't think a modern mass production facility would go for this...

[ReloaderFred]

I've gotten OEM CCI primers through my friend's Class 6 FFL. The only difference was they were unplated, and came in white boxes. The trays and outside packaging was the same as what consumers get, just different printing on the labels.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[dragon813gt]

Just a thought. How do ammo manufacturers get their primers? Are the primers shipped to the factories the same way we, as hobby reloaders get them, in trays of 100 in bricks of 500? For commercial manufacturing this seems very inefficient (someone would have to open the bricks, open the sleeves and dump the primers into a feeder) and I don't think a modern mass production facility would go for this...

I'd imagine they are in the same packaging just in larger quantities. Wouldn't be hard to have the tray in say 500 or 1000 count.

CCI has changed their packaging over the years. I still have a lot of the old ones where they were on their side and lined up in rows. The primers touched each other and the trays were a lot smarter. They changed the packaging for a reason and I trust their decision. Nothing takes up as much space as Federal packaging so I'm happy w/ CCI.

[MOA]

The good ole days.