Removing live primers.

[Tatume]

They were pull down surplus, and advertised as inert primers. One of them wasn't.

Like I said, don't trust "deactivated" primers. I'd believe more than one wasn't, but only one fired.

[Grmps]

I've removed a lot of primers, even some that were installed backward with no problems.

It never hurts to be cautious though.

[mdi]

I've removed a few live primers because of a variety of reasons and one group of about 200 military surplus 30-06. Can't remember the mfg. but it was a foreign company, (not HXP). Primers were crimped in and I started "slow and easy" but I soon fell into my usual cadence and poked out the primers just like I do for depriming fired cases. No POPS!...

[Four Fingers of Death]

hs post was in answer to the keyboard warriors "soak in oil for six years, etc, etc, etc" crowd to like to hear the sound of their own keyboard clatter.

The issue comes up regularly and this is the first tine for awhile that I have done any number of them at once. I was going to do a video for YouTube, but didn't get a Round Tuit beforehand.

[Steve E]

Back when I was much poorer than I am now I would pick up cases and reloaded rounds at yard sales and pull the them down to bare cases and start over so since the mid seventies I have pushed out a little over 520 live primers without any going pop. I guess I'm just lucky.

Steve........

[RED BEAR]

i never really gave it any thought guts knock them out the same as a used primer. never had a problem. been doing it for 40 years. put live ammo in my tumbler if it starts to look a little tarnished. did this for more than 30 years and counting before someone said this was not a good idea. oh well i guess i will takes me chances.

[mac60]

I've had one "pop" in the depriming die - it was non-event.

[bassnbuck]

I too have pushed out quite a few live primers on the press with no problems. I reuse them with no misfires. That said, and I hate to hijack the thread, a clerk at a local store told me that a customer dropped a bulk box of center fire pistol cartridges near the check out lanes and two went off. My response was that would be one in a million for one to go off let alone two. A few weeks later I asked one of the guys in the gun department and he said yea it happened. Has anyone else heard of this happening?

[kevin c]

It makes sense to me that a crimped in primer might cause a problem. I've never had a problem decapping pistol rounds (using the primers for sub maximum load plinking rounds), but I think that I'll need to look over each case, looking for problematic crimped primers, as I'm finding more and more of them now.

A curmudgeonly member of my club used to worked the counter where components were sold. Every time I'd ask for a sleeve of primers I swear he made a point of tossing it onto the counter, letting it make a loud crash as if to say, "see? Not sensitive at all!"

[Stephen Cohen]

Only time I ever set a primer off while removing it was a burden primer using that silly chisel, I saw it had been hit so took it as fired. I now remove burden by hydraulic means only. Regards Stephen

[Tatume]

Berdan primers can be removed hydraulically with water and a wooden dowel.

[EDG]

I have decapped correctly installed primers, upside down primers, primers crushed in sideways and military crimped in primers. The crimped in military primers distorted almost to a cone but none went off.
On the other hand they all went off when I placed them on an anvil and hit them with a hammer.

[mdi]

Quite a while ago I "tested" some primers trying to "kill" them. I tried to find out what liquid was mixed with the dry components to make a paste, but every google inquiry just listed the dry components. I looked in a few of my "Shootin' Stuff" books, but again, no information. I soaked some in WD40, not a reliable "killer", some failed after a longer time, all fired within 2 days. Tried water, and this worked best, but only about 75% reliable. I recently found out the carrier for the dry components may be either alcohol or ether. I believe if that's the case, these would "dispatch" or nullify a primer. I haven't tried these, as I really don't care. My initial test was just for my own info. and I have not had a real need to kill a primer in prolly 30 years (and I don't remember for sure if there was any occasion prior to that). I have poked out primers and stuffed the "used" primer in another case, no problems at all...

[Geraldo]

But what do you do with all those removed primers ? Reuse them?

Of course.

[Tom W.]

The only primers that I have had go off were with the Lee "tap and BANG" dies while seating a primer. Never had one go off while decapping. And I have used many that I have punched out in plinking loads without any misfires. I get MORE misfires using my RCBS hand priming tool and my 30-06 A.I. Ruger #1 than I have using the primer tool on the RCBS rockchucker.

[georgerkahn]

I agree in not trusting "deactivated w/ oil" primers, too. In my short reloading tenure -- maybe 53 years or so -- I've had but ONE detonate, and this was many years back. I cannot honestly use the word "pop"as it was more of a "sizzle". I had a small cache of loaded cartridges, all with mercuric primers, given to me, and my "plan" was to take them apart; replace the primer; add new powder, and reassemble. (This was not as rewarding a project as I had anticipated: most bullets were 'glued'to cases, so I had to seat them a smidge deeper to break the seal enabling their pulling, which resulted in a fair amount of the cases getting crinkled. Then, upon reloading bullets in resized cases, another bunch developed neck splits. It was either (?) .30 Remingtons, or .32 Remingtons -- don't recall which of the two, exactly. But, that's when I elected to save the ollllld ones for display ), and use only newish brass.)
geo

[Mike W1]

I've removed a lot of primers, even some that were installed backward with no problems.

It never hurts to be cautious though.

Same with me. Use a press and Lee decap die slowly. Always reuse them and separate them but have never had one fail when fired. So far at least!

[mdi]

Tom W's post reminded me of my experience with a Lee Loader in 44 Magnum. A large pistol magnum primer going off 2 feet from yer head is really loud. No parts flying, no shrapnel, just noise. I have other Lee Loaders and most don't set off primers, but I discovered that if I chamfer the primer pockets of the 44 case, just a few thousandths like I do t remove primer crimps, no more Bangs!

[Taterhead]

Like others, never an issue removing live primers. I do go slowly. The primer itself seems to lose a bit of diameter going in-and-out so I don't reload them into any important ammo. Never had a reloaded primer fail to ignite.

[Dieselhorses]

Now yawl got me digging though a gallon jug of spent primers looking for ones that ain't shot! I found about 20 in my Lyman catch tray and still digging. I hammered a few and they did go BANG. So yes, saving for plinking my save a few penny's! Think I'm gonna get into that thread about rebuilding these things after I develop a good primer paste.