You guys ever see primers that looked like this?

[MikeyPooh]

So I jumped on a really good deal this morning... and as I was packing my new goodies away I noticed the boxes of primers were really uhm "crispy" feeling. The boxes looked totally fine, but you had to handle them gently or they would crack and break open easily. Now, the pistol primers I got in this deal look factory new, perfectly fine, but ALL the rifle primers I got (like 6-7k of them too) looked like this:




Here's what the boxes look like:




So obviously I've learned my lesson - always inspect at least one individual pack of primers per box, no matter what condition the box is in. And believe it or not it was such a great deal I'm not that upset. A little bit, of course, but I'm not beating myself up here, heh.

But anyway I would never have thought the primers would look like that unless the boxes showed water damage - you guys ever see this before? Know what causes it? Inquiring minds want to know!

[fryboy]

wow .... i have some old staynless primers in a uncolored box with wood trays ( LR ) i shoot a few every now and again and they still look good and go bang and i just finished up a green box of cci 500's ( i came across 3 last year ) so far so good ...
hmm brittle sounds like high heat then cold as if they were out in a garage or attic , not sure if that would make the corrosion grow or not however , certain solvents i suppose could cause it as well
and yes sir i agree always look a horse in mouth when at all possible ( so to speak )

[MikeyPooh]

You know what's funny? I said that to the guy - "yeah they might be a bit old but as long as they weren't out in a shed for 30 years I'm sure they'll be fine." Heh, they might've been out in a shed for 30 years, lol.

Oh, anyone have any advice on how to safely dispose of a mass quantity of primers??

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Mikey, a friend of mine gave me a shoe box full of primers thst looked like what you have. They had actually been stored in a shed and it was obvious that they had gotten wet, maybe several times. You could smell the oder of mold. What was sad was the fact that it was so darned many primers gone to ruin.

[Arnie]

soak them in thin oil

[30CAL-TEXAN]

Maybe I'm alone in this thought but if it were my batch of crusties I think I would just see if any of them would go bang.

Maybe just a small test batch at first too see what you are up against but if more than a few go pop, it might be a good reason to play with the glue bullet idea.

I don't think I would want to use them for anything serious or even anything that I intended to leave loaded for very long but I can't think of any better way to dispose of primers than droping the hammer on them.

Just a thought.

[turtlezx]

that box of federals say $1.39 per k on it ??????????????????

[MikeyPooh]

Maybe I'm alone in this thought but if it were my batch of crusties I think I would just see if any of them would go bang.

Maybe just a small test batch at first too see what you are up against but if more than a few go pop, it might be a good reason to play with the glue bullet idea.

I don't think I would want to use them for anything serious or even anything that I intended to leave loaded for very long but I can't think of any better way to dispose of primers than droping the hammer on them.

I like it, and maybe I'll mess around with a few like that, but 6-7k?? Nah, that'll take years, lol

that box of federals say $1.39 per k on it ??????????????????

Ha ha no they're not that old - thats per 100. Some of the others were in the 80 cents per 100 range.

[Poygan]

I have some Winchester primers (small rifle) like the ones shown. Yours are newer because mine are in wooden trays. I'm still using them and so far they all work. Mine are stored in a garage that gets very cold in the winter and well over 90 degrees in the summer. My guess is that yours have been subjected to high moisture.

[OverMax]

Looks like some of those primers are over 40 yrs old. Shame to allow so many to go to waste. I guess its how one takes care of their stuff overall. I also have a yellow box of those Win-Western ones seen in your pix. Unlike your no goes, mine still fire up. Where these primers were stored. Was it close to the ocean?

[MikeyPooh]

Looks like some of those primers are over 40 yrs old. Shame to allow so many to go to waste. I guess its how one takes care of their stuff overall. I also have a yellow box of those Win-Western ones seen in your pix. Unlike your no goes, mine still fire up. Where these primers were stored. Was it close to the ocean?

See that's what I really don't get - this guy DID take good care of his stuff. I got 8-9 sets of dies... RCBS from the early to mid 70's, and most of them looked almost new (aside from some plier marks on the locking rings)

There was a set of old Lee powder dippers and one was missing. The guy I bought the stuff from, this was his fathers set up - and the guy said he was surprised anything was missing, the way his dad was.

Plus, I got 3k pistol primers, and they're perfectly fine. They are the newest primers of the bunch overall though, that may factor in...

Oh, and no, nowhere near the ocean. I live near Pittsburgh and I drove an hour in the opposite direction of the nearest ocean to get this stuff, lol.

[OverMax]

Well if it wasn't the sea air or the way He stored and cared of them. Maybe being to close to something galvanized may have had something to do with there corrosion. It's really hard to say whether it was electrolysis that corroded or not. I apologize for making that statement "how one takes care of their stuff overall" in this situation. Without knowing the gentleman. That was a bit un-necessary. But, if I were you I'd pick-out a few marginal primers in each brand and try to see if they still fire in a dummy brass. Who knows. They sure look a little crusty. But why not give it try before just canning them all.

[M-Tecs]

I have not seen corrosion like that, but I was giving about 6 1/2 K of small rifle that had been under water for three days. I was given them to dispose of. They had dried by the time it received them. I tried a few just for grins. They went bang so I tested them for accuracy. They held under ½” MOA They equaled or bettered new so I used them in my Prairie Dog guns. Out of the 6 ½ K I had about a dozen that wouldn’t go bang

[MikeyPooh]

Right, so, I saw a neat old RCBS Primer Arm that I acquired, and it looked like it had a crinkle finish on it. Pretty cool. Then I looked at it more carefully....










That's no coating! lol




It took oh maybe 10-15 pounds of pressure to snap in half. I wonder where THIS was stored to result in damage like that!?

[No_1]

Looks like it has been a few seasons out in the shed. Send it back to RCBS and get a free replacement.

Right, so, I saw a neat old RCBS Primer Arm that I acquired, and it looked like it had a crinkle finish on it. Pretty cool. Then I looked at it more carefully....










That's no coating! lol




It took oh maybe 10-15 pounds of pressure to snap in half. I wonder where THIS was stored to result in damage like that!?

[Dan Cash]

You know what's funny? I said that to the guy - "yeah they might be a bit old but as long as they weren't out in a shed for 30 years I'm sure they'll be fine." Heh, they might've been out in a shed for 30 years, lol.

Oh, anyone have any advice on how to safely dispose of a mass quantity of primers??

Load some and see if they fire. If they do, use them. Acid in the cardboard causes the corrosion. Unless it has progressed to the point that there is definite pitting on the primer cup there is no problem.

[Bret4207]

I'm in the shoot em and see crowd. I'd be hung before I just threw them away!

[Jack Stanley]

Mike , That primer part is likely die cast , magnisieum or aluminum , perhaps sulfur nearby or in the air had something to do with it ?

Jack

[Kilroy08]

Hmm, Dad's stuff was in a shed for 35 years or so and the primer arm wasn't like that. Must have been a corrosive environment for it to do that.

[Bill*]

that box of federals say $1.39 per k on it ??????????????????

Sure, that's about what I pay. And $35/ounce for gold