Old Primers

[5090SS]

Please move this thread if it's in the wrong area.

I came across 2000 CCI small pistol primers and some Unique in the back of my shop.
They will have been exposed to temps ranging from 10 to 110 degrees over the last 13 years.

I would like to use them up with a light load of 158 SWC and 5.5 gr. of the Unique in .357 brass in a Python if safe.

Anybody's ideas are welcome here. Thanks.

[Winger Ed.]

I'd at least try 'em. Primers are pretty tough.
Guys have talked about using ones they found that still had price tags of under $2.oo on them and they did fine.

[georgerkahn]

I, too, was looking for (small rifle) primers and in the very back of the cabinet I store them in I found a full box of CCI small pistol primers. I bought these 2nd hand at a garage sale in the early 1970s... They're at least 55 years old. For kicks and giggles I loaded fifty H&G cast bullets in .38 S&W Special cases, using some Bullseye powder and these primers and took them to range, complementing a S&W Model 64 revolver I had not shot in a while. My very first shot was a "click", and I opened cylinder to see primer was dented. After a few expletives and with nothing to lose, I tried the 2nd.. the 3rd... and all the way to 24 shots: ALL fired flawlessly. Again, I re-inserted that first case -- and this time it fired. My guess was the initial fault was the revolver's? Anyhoos -- 25 shots to shoot 24 of 24 rounds using 55+ year old CCI Large pistol primers!
My (recent -- early this summer) experience.
My thoughts are -- at worse case -- like on my first shot -- you'll get a "click". Then, you just need break down your loads and reassemble with primers that function.
geo

[M-Tecs]

Primers are almost impossible to kill. I was given about 7K of primers that were totally submerged for 3 days. Once dried I used to for shooting prairie dogs. Total I maybe had 10 that didn't fire. Strange part was they grouped better than the same primers that didn't get wet. Even when sprayed with WD-40 they will fire once dried. I have tested this.

[15meter]

I've had good luck with "vintage" primers. Primers that were in machined wooden trays as opposed to cardboard or, more recently plastic trays.

Try them, what do you have to lose?

[frkelly74]

It's Like testing matches. That one worked, that one worked, that one worked , OOOOps that one didn't work. That one worked. ect


I had some given to me that were very unreliable. I ended up just snapping them all in a revolver so I wouldn't be tempted to keep on trying them.

[Reg]

Try ‘em. I found some I had bought in the mid 1960’s and they worked just fine. I have been careful with storage though, normal room temperature with normal humidity.
Also found a couple box’s of 32-20 I had loaded and a couple box’s of 22 RF. They all fired just fine too.

[35 Rem]

I'd say that you will have no problems with either powder or primers if they have only been stored for 13 years. Congratulations on being fortunate enough to find something like that. I did a similar thing years ago when cleaning out old paint/wax and other car stuff from my parent's garage. Lo and behold I had 2 unopened CASES of shotshell primers I had squirrel away. Was like Christmas morning.

[Half Dog]

Use them.

[Sig556r]

Load ‘em & shoot

[BNE]

Primers are almost impossible to kill. I was given about 7K of primers that were totally submerged for 3 days. Once dried I used to for shooting prairie dogs. Total I maybe had 10 that didn't fire. Strange part was they grouped better than the same primers that didn't get wet. Even when sprayed with WD-40 they will fire once dried. I have tested this.

I have had a similar experience. Funny thing is when I first started loading I read to keep your hands clean as oils could make primers not work......

OP : Load up some and try them. I suspect they will work just fine.

BNE

[M-Tecs]

I have had a similar experience. Funny thing is when I first started loading I read to keep your hands clean as oils could make primers not work......

OP : Load up some and try them. I suspect they will work just fine.

BNE

In the days when LE carried blued revolvers it was common just to spray them down with WD-40 including ammo. Wet primers are a problem.

In loaded ammo oil penetrating the primer likely will never dry. Loose primers after three or four weeks WD-40'ed primers started coming back to life. I did the test for a museum that I demilled ammo for.

[5090SS]

Thanks for the responses.
Okay, going to load em up.
Might be fun to compare groups to loads assembled with fresh components so I'll load some of those too.

[Eddie Southgate]

I still use Remington primers from the 50's, all go bang. Stored with no Ac and un insulated building. Powder stored the same and some dates to the 40's.

[pworley1]

I am still using powder and primers that I bought in the early 70's. I see no reason that yours should not work as well.

[Sasquatch-1]

As stated, the primers should be OK. I might try an open-air test on the powder before loading. Just a small case full on a board or the like and set off with a match.

[Sgt H]

They will probably be fine. Earlier this year I loaded a large batch of 38 special and 357 cast boolit plinking loads. The two cartons of primers I used still had the price tag on them, $13.95. Don't know exactly how old they are but no clicks out of a couple hundred fired. Always stored inside the house though.

[nicholst55]

Once upon a time in a galaxy far, far away, I needed some dummy (military) ammo, for military work. The ammo folks scoffed at my inquiry, so I made some myself. I soaked the primers in either WD-40, water, or some other oil, and let them sit over the weekend. I don't recall just what percentage fired on Moday morning, but it was more than just a few. Nearly all of the WD-40 group fired.

[jonp]

I'm loading some 25yr old Primers stored in -30 to 90. No problem with 38/357/45lc loads. I'm also using Unique and Blue Dot stored in the same place bought at the same time. It's a long term experiment for me to see how stable powder is. No problems yet

[dale2242]

A friend gave me a bunch of primers that had been IMMERSED in water for an unknown length of time.
I`m assuming a year or more.
I dried them for a LONG time.
They had at least a 30% FTF rate.