Silly question

[abunaitoo]

When my friend moved, to Tennessee, he gave me a whole bunch of pulled primers.
Couple of bags full.
He would do things like that.
"Bless his heart" (People in Tennessee will know what that means)
I tried some, and they worked sometimes.
So my silly question is.................
I'll probably get many wise rear answers, but good for a laugh anyway.


How would you know if a primer is good, or not, before loading ?????????????

[LUBEDUDE]

It’s not often that I pull a primer, but they have always worked fo me. I guess because I do it gently.

I would think signs of a bad primer would include a loose and or damaged anvil; and signs of loose primer compound.

[GhostHawk]

I don't think you do.

I guess you could make plinking ammo out of them. But every time one does not go off, you have to pull the bullet, dump the primer, reprime, recharge, reset bullet to get back to where you were.

Not worth the effort IMO.

Better to leave the primer in the brass where it has a much higher % chance of working IMO.
Which is why I don't pull primers. Ever. Only once fired ones.

[William Yanda]

Sometimes or most of the time? I could handle a misfire 1 in ten or 20 if target shooting or plinking. Hunting or SD are a different story. Before reloading check might reveal cracked or missing primer compound.
re: Bless his heart- I heard about culture school too, and I live in western NY.

[ioon44]

I use pulled primers from ammo that I pick up after matches for plinking, when shooting and a bad primer comes up it really shows how well you are breaking the trigger if you pay attention to your sight picture.

[JRD]

By bags full of pulled primers, do you mean loose primers in a bag, not in any primer specific packaging?

If so, be danged careful you don't ever drop one of those bags! Quantities of loose primers in a container are an explosion hazard. If you ever drop, bang, or burn the burn the bag and manage to set one off, it will likely set off those touching it, setting off a chain reaction.

How you reuse unknown primers is up to you, but be darned careful of how you store them.

[Hossfly]

I would just put them in used primer boxes very carefully, and save them for hard times, like when they’re unavailable. I’ve reloaded with pulled primers before and worked fine, all went bang. But they we’re known to me to be good, never had one misfire.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I've pulled many primers from brass and/or reloaded ammo that I've acquired from gunshow or auctions or estate sales.
I carefully store them in well marked, saved primer packaging. I haven't had a misfire yet, it's easy to inspect them for damage after pulling and reject those. Also, I only use them for plinking ammo or for fireforming cases. A few years ago, I acquired 4 large pharmacy pill bottles full of primers, the first thing I did was sort and repackage them in saved packaging. Luckily I have a large inventory of various primers (new and vintage), so I was able to identify most of those primer brands by color of compound and anvil shape.

I would never store primers in bulk, whether a baggie or a pill bottle, I don't think it's safe, YMMV.

[bakerjw]

Visual inspection is key. Look for loose anvils and discoloration.
And store safely too.

I had about 300 rounds of 9mm where the primers corroded really badly. About 1 in 10 would fire.

[bedbugbilly]

I don't think it's a silly question at all. My experience is limited but I have broken down old cartridges, carefully punched the primers out and re-used them. Most went bang but a few misfires mixed in. I guess you cold just do a visual check and if something looks wrong - toss it.

With the shortage of loading components . . . more than one of us may be breaking down cartridges for components. Right now, I have limited amount of small pistol primers and a new 1858 Remington Navy sith a conversion cylinder - I have a couple of hundred small primers on hand to load the 38 Colt Long rass with the heeled boolits but if things get too scarce as far as primers go, I'm looking at a bunch of 38 special reloads I have on hand that may get torn down for the primers, powder and lead.

[gwpercle]

Whatever you do ... Do Not put them in a glass jar .
Careful inspection and the keepers need to go into old primer packages or at least tiny plastic containers with 50 primers ... no more than 100 , with the cups up . You want to keep the priming compound in the cup , after being "pulled" the compound can become broken and start to fall out ...that's bad the compound is easy to set off .
Now ...Big Warning ...any primer Dust that accumulates in the bottom of the bag is very explosive ...a sharp blow will cause it to explode, don't drop it and be careful with it . My method of disposal would involve small amounts of powder and flushing it down the toilet...not all at once but a little every other day till it's gone .

In this day of shortages ... I would do a careful inspection and keep every one that looked good and wasn't "leaking" priming compound. I've decapped and re-used primers before , at least 1,500 for sure ...done carefully and all fired normally . Do It if you have the time ... Also use a magnifying glass to inspect the primer and priming compound ...that will help show up any defects.
Good Luck,
Gary

[BrassMagnet]

I only used pulled primers for case forming. For case forming it doesn't matter if it is a rifle or pistol primer, only that it fits and lights the powder.

[David2011]

The risks listed above are reasonable concerns. Age is IMO less of a risk. I’ve used close to 10,000 primers that were stored in a garage exposed to Gulf Coast heat and humidity for 20+ years. Zero failures.

[MUSTANG]

I would just put them in used primer boxes very carefully, and save them for hard times, like when they’re unavailable. I’ve reloaded with pulled primers before and worked fine, all went bang. But they we’re known to me to be good, never had one misfire.


My philosophy is different; I would "USE THEM FIRST". Reasoning is that I can afford the time now for the occasional misfire (and time to break down the power & ball and reload again with another "Used" primer or new primer as conditions permit. Also; I would rather have a lot of "Good Primers" stored in case times get hard, rather than "Wondering" with each shot if it will work at some future date when I MIGHT NEED THAT SHOT TO BE PERFECT AND NOT WORRYING ABOUT IF IT WILL GO BANG.

[bangerjim]

Testing primers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [smilie=p:

A lot like:

Guns are a lot like parachutes. If you need one and don't have one, you'll probably never need one again.

No way of testing them without firing them. Just look for corrosion and the loose bits inside.

Definitely NOT for self-defense loads!!!!!!!!!


Your humid island climate is definitely NOT good for loose primers. Hope he kept them in tightly sealed ammo cans.

[GregLaROCHE]

Maybe silly question too, but why would people have so many pulled primers? I understand pulling bullets to change powder or projectile size, but the brass is usually the most important part and what you plan to use. So why not just leave the primers in. If they are really old and you remove them because you don’t trust them, ok, but then why hang on to them ?

[jimlj]

A couple years ago I'd have said dispose of them without a second thought.
In the current shortage I'd have to consider if it was worth the effort of using them. A squib would ruin a day at the range if you didn't catch it before the next shot. If you have tried them and had some duds already I don't think it would be worth saving a few cents for the hassle of dealing with a bad primer.

I keep factory loaded SD ammo separate from my reloads, but in a pinch I'd want anything I had to go bang every time if called on for targets other than paper.

[JoeJames]

When my friend moved, to Tennessee, he gave me a whole bunch of pulled primers.
Couple of bags full.
He would do things like that.
"Bless his heart" (People in Tennessee will know what that means)
I tried some, and they worked sometimes.
So my silly question is.................
I'll probably get many wise rear answers, but good for a laugh anyway.


How would you know if a primer is good, or not, before loading ?????????????"Bless his heart" (People in Tennessee will know what that means)".

Many of the families in the Arkansas were originally from Tennessee; so I know exactly what that means. I could write volumes on the many and varied nuances of meaning of "Bless his heart".

[Winger Ed.]

So my silly question is.................
I'll probably get many wise rear answers, but good for a laugh anyway.
How would you know if a primer is good, or not, before loading ?????????????


Hit it with a hammer.:bigsmyl2:

[Eddie17]

I have broken down many rounds, an reused primers. None of my reused primers have caused a squib load in my definition. All boolits exited the barrel. Have had about 5 of 100 failure to fire!

[abunaitoo]

"Whatever you do ... Do Not put them in a glass jar ."
That is a big NO, NO.
I've seen people storing powder in glass jars.
Explosion just waiting to happen.
Guy I know almost burnt his whole house down doing that.
His excuse." I've been doing it that way all my life. Never had a problem"

[abunaitoo]

"Guns are a lot like parachutes. If you need one and don't have one, you'll probably never need one again."
That is a good one.

All the primers were is separate baggies.
Small pistol, large pistol, small rifle, large rifle.
Mix of all different colors. Some old military round head primers.
We both would get discarded rounds from the range.
We both reuse the shells and bullets(we call the heads).
I don't reuse the primers.
I use the powder for the plants.
I'm not sure what he did with it.

[rbuck351]

I'd use them for fire forming. If one doesn't go bang, it's no big deal to dump the powder and try again.

[Mike in MD]

I'd use then in plinking rounds. I saw an earlier post that said save then until there is a shortage. How 'bout like now. I bet there are guys out there ready to pay .50C each right now, maybe a buck a piece soon.

[firefly1957]

I have a mess of them that some guy that got out of reloading mixed in a plastic tub, plus some old corrosive ones I pulled (135) and some more that dumped over the years .

My current thought is to add them at point of use to tannerite charge while there is snow on the ground and make some noise!

Years ago I added about 30 in a ounce of black powder in a tube with a fuse to a ground hornet nest they all seemed to ignite pretty close together from the heat. They did not wipe out the nest but sure made them mad!

[Lloyd Smale]

ill go against the grain and say that i would toss them. But then im pretty stocked up on primers. I cant see how they could still fit tight enough in a primer pocket. Ive had a few instances of primers falling out of a case and tying up a gun and unless .