Pulled primers

[kevin c]

I am another who will use pulled primers in noncritical use applications. Most of the time, though, I let cases from disassembled rounds accumulate, rather than deprime them. When I have enough of one caliber, I'll pull the decapping pin out of my press and reload the primed cases as plinking ammo.

[The Dar]

My son and I occasionally pick up brass at the range. After a match especially, there are many thousands of mostly 9mm on the ground. We also find a fair quantity of live rounds. I always pull them apart with an inertia puller, dump the powder, keep the jacketed bullets and melt the cast ones. The primed brass gets checked for high or dented primers and thrown in a can.

When I accumulate enough I load them up. Free primed brass, why not? I use a moderate load that should be safe with the hottest magnum primer, and use them for informal shooting. I’ve been surprised to find them pretty accurate, or at least plenty accurate enough for shooting clay targets off the 25 yard berm.

I do exactly the same thing with 357 mag, medium load of BE86 and a Lee 158gn RNFP. I pull the bullets with a set of side cutters and my single stage press. Then remove the primers with a universal decapping die. Recently loaded up over 500 of them. They shoot fine and are surprisingly accurate. Rifle rounds, no way, those get tossed, but any small pistol primer I reuse.

[ioon44]

My son and I occasionally pick up brass at the range. After a match especially, there are many thousands of mostly 9mm on the ground. We also find a fair quantity of live rounds. I always pull them apart with an inertia puller, dump the powder, keep the jacketed bullets and melt the cast ones. The primed brass gets checked for high or dented primers and thrown in a can.

When I accumulate enough I load them up. Free primed brass, why not? I use a moderate load that should be safe with the hottest magnum primer, and use them for informal shooting. I’ve been surprised to find them pretty accurate, or at least plenty accurate enough for shooting clay targets off the 25 yard berm.

I do the same thing what is not to like, free bullets, brass and primers for practice.

[Taterhead]

I am far more nervous de-capping a primer that was inadvertently seated upside down. Right-side-up primers have the pin pushing against the anvil. In my rudimentary understanding of how primers work, seems less risky. Nonetheless, I go SLOWLY.

I do reuse said primer in range type ammo. I do notice that they seat easier the second trip into a primer pocket.

[44magLeo]

The Dar, what's the difference between pistol or rifle when reusing primers?
If they work in a pistol why can't they work in a rifle?
Leo

[ioon44]

I would never use pistol primers in a rifle, the pistol primers are softer and thinner and you will have blown and ruptured primers.

I loaded small pistol in .223 by mistake and had gas leaking in to the rifle .

[The Dar]

The Dar, what's the difference between pistol or rifle when reusing primers?
If they work in a pistol why can't they work in a rifle?
Leo

It's my understanding that pistol primers have thinner cups. I'm also well set for small rifle primers. I had gotten down to less than a brick of small pistol primers and I tried the pulled primers for an experiment. I have since purchased a case of SPP but I still intend to reuse pulled primers from live rounds I pick up from the range for plinking ammo in my 357 mag. I usually get 30 to 40 live rounds each week.

[Walter Laich]

just got through tearing down something in excess of 1K cartridges

other than the primers have were put in sideways or had visual defects I kept them all.

To echo others above: fine for practice rounds. Primers are too expensive to waste

[mdi]

I haven't seen any difference in a once seated primer and a new out of the sleeve primer. If some of the compound is lost when the seated primer is pushed out, (isn't there a foil or paper "seal"?)maybe there would be reason for "only using for low powered, practice rounds". As a matter of fact, I have had the same failure rate of "once seated" primers and factory ammo; too small to count (can't remember any). I've deprimed some factory loads, some handloads with 4 different primer manufacturers, some military rounds (watched closely because of the primer crimp) and re-seated them in "new" handloads. Same failure rate; zero...