Recycling spent primers

[bearbud]

I have a question to the members here that recycle their spent primers. I have quit a few pounds of spent primers accumulated and I would like to take it to the recycler. The spent primes are in glass jars and I can see that there is a lot of grit mixed in with the primers. Will the recycler accept the spent primers with the grit, or do I have to remove it somehow? If it needs to be removed, how do you do it?
Bearbud

[GregLaROCHE]

You can first try and see if your particular recycler will except them the way they are. If you need to clean them up, some sort of a tumbler would work, with some soap and a little acid added. If you have a lot maybe a cement mixer would work. Do be careful, because what you will be cleaning up is quite toxic. Take all necessary precautions and consider what you will do with the residue.

[rancher1913]

offer them to a primer reloader first, its getting to be quite the thing to reload primers for your reloading.

[lotech]

The place I go to every couple of years has always taken spent primers, but some recyclers don't. I had about 20- 25 lbs. of primers my last trip along with a couple hundred pounds of brass.

[GregLaROCHE]

The place I go to every couple of years has always taken spent primers, but some recyclers don't. I had about 20- 25 lbs. of primers my last trip along with a couple hundred pounds of brass.

How much did you get for the brass compared to copper?

[Taterhead]

My spent primers are dumped in a box of scrap brass that I keep near my reloading bench. I take the brass with me every few years when I have another reason to go to the metals recycler. They accept primers as-is, all tossed in with the rest of the scrap brass.

[sigep1764]

My recycler here in St Louis calls them "Pulled Brass Plugs". Last time I went in, I brought 10lbs with me and they gave me $30 towards the lead I was taking with me. Brass price fluctuates just as lead, steel, etc. That was the most I had ever gotten for brass.

[kayala]

I have 3lbs coffee can almost full :) Was thinking about smelting them into ingot and maybe make something out of them, problem is I know for sure there are at least a few live ones...

[lotech]

How much did you get for the brass compared to copper?

Everything is referred to on the invoice as "yellow brass", primers and cartridge cases. Maybe that's an industry term. I got $2.00 per pound, 229 pounds total. That was about two months ago. One of the guys at the gun club said they were paying $3.00 a pound about a month later. I have no idea what it is now. Call around before you sell; prices vary widely and many of the places will not take spent primers.

[MrWolf]

offer them to a primer reloader first, its getting to be quite the thing to reload primers for your reloading.

Here is another great alternative vs scrapping.

[dale2242]

I sold 40+ lbs of junk brass yesterday.
There was several lbs of primers in the mix.
I got $1.58 a lb.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

My scrapper won't take primers anymore :(

[rustyshooter]

Stock up on strike anywhere matches and you can reload your own primers. Remove the anvil, flatten the dimple, fill with 3 or 4 shaved matchstick tips, reinsert anvil. VERY tedious small work. Ive only done it for handguns. But mostly I just buy primers whenever there’s a deal somewhere.:Fire:

[blackthorn]

I have 3lbs coffee can almost full :) Was thinking about smelting them into ingot and maybe make something out of them, problem is I know for sure there are at least a few live ones...

And herein lies the reason that a lot of recyclers will not accept primers. It is largely because they either had a negative experience with a live primer (or several) mixed in with safe scrap or heard of such. In my opinion, it is totally irresponsible to sell scrap that you know has a safety hazard within.

[bearbud]

Thank you all for the great information.
Bearbud

[John Boy]

All my spent primers go to the recycler mixed with bad cases. The only thing they do is run a magnet over them to determine if there are any shot gun spent primers mixed in

[gwpercle]

Keep your spent primers ... there's talk on the forum of a way to ... "Reload" ...fired primers .
Shortages , high cost of primers and all ... I'm saving all my fired primers just in case the details get worked out ... I could/ would do it ... if it produced reliable primers .
Don't get rid of them just yet ... you may need them if ... Ms Harris comes into power .
Gary

[lightman]

I sold two and a half 5 gallon buckets of brass last week and just dumped the primers in with the cases. I got $2 a pound for mine. I called several places and a few would not take cartridge brass and there was a pretty good difference in price between the ones that would.

[Barman54]

My recycler here in St Louis calls them "Pulled Brass Plugs". Last time I went in, I brought 10lbs with me and they gave me $30 towards the lead I was taking with me. Brass price fluctuates just as lead, steel, etc. That was the most I had ever gotten for brass.

Sent you a PM

Thx
Barman54

Out

[StrawHat]

Stock up on strike anywhere matches and you can reload your own primers. Remove the anvil, flatten the dimple, fill with 3 or 4 shaved matchstick tips, reinsert anvil. VERY tedious small work. Ive only done it for handguns. But mostly I just buy primers whenever there’s a deal somewhere.:Fire:

Where are you finding Lucifers? All of the blue tips I have seen for the last decade were NOT strike anywhere but strike on box.

Kevin

[GregLaROCHE]

Where are you finding Lucifers? All of the blue tips I have seen for the last decade were NOT strike anywhere but strike on box.

Kevin

I agree. Twenty years ago strike anywheres were hard to find.

[double00]

I bought a box of strike any where matches at rural king the other day

[StrawHat]

I bought a box of strike any where matches at rural king the other day

If they are really strike anywhere’s, that is good to know!

Kevin

[Hanzy4200]

I add mine to the bucket with rejected cases and .22 brass. My dealer never had a issue.

[rustyshooter]

Where are you finding Lucifers? All of the blue tips I have seen for the last decade were NOT strike anywhere but strike on box.

Kevin

Amazon has them. I tried to copy the link but it was too long. Google strike anywhere matches. I’ve also seen them in smaller stores like Dollar General etc.

[StrawHat]

Amazon has them. I tried to copy the link but it was too long. Google strike anywhere matches. I’ve also seen them in smaller stores like Dollar General etc.

I have seen what are advertised as strike anywhere’s but they all need to be struck on the box. The last box I bought the light blue tip was the size of a pinhead and there were a majority of failures.

Kevin

[rustyshooter]

I have seen what are advertised as strike anywhere’s but they all need to be struck on the box. The last box I bought the light blue tip was the size of a pinhead and there were a majority of failures.

Kevin

I just went and lit about 10 in a row without fail dragging them across the table top. btw- there is no blue tip on them. Scraping the tips off 2 or 3 is enough to fill the primer cup. I also am able to light them Clint Eastwood style just using my thumb. No box needed. Diamond Greenlight matches.

https://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Green-Strike-Anywhere-Matches/dp/B0050050JQ/ref=asc_df_B0050050JQ/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=295711323297&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14078075997352933013&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9009690&hvtargid=pla-587327802412&psc=1

[StrawHat]

Thank you for that. I was under the impression I was looking for unicorns.

Kevin

[Chill Wills]

I just went and lit about 10 in a row without fail dragging them across the table top. btw- there is no blue tip on them. Scraping the tips off 2 or 3 is enough to fill the primer cup. I also am able to light them Clint Eastwood style just using my thumb. No box needed. Diamond Greenlight matches.

https://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Green-Strike-Anywhere-Matches/dp/B0050050JQ/ref=asc_df_B0050050JQ/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=295711323297&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14078075997352933013&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9009690&hvtargid=pla-587327802412&psc=1

What keeps the match head dust in the primer cup?

[rustyshooter]

What keeps the match head dust in the primer cup?

The anvil.

[Chill Wills]

The anvil.

???

Okay. I will go look at my spent ones again. From memory, the anvils are three legs with space in between them.
I'll look again.

[rustyshooter]

What keeps the match head dust in the primer cup?

It has to be pried out then reinserted after the cup is filled. This is not a feasible thing to do. It’s one of those things we see all the time on here and that is it CAN be done. Not to say it should be done. :Fire:

[Chill Wills]

It has to be pried out then reinserted after the cup is filled. :

Right. Many of my anvils fall out of the cup when I de-prime. I have had a good look at them over the years. Not having ever tried to rebuild primers - I think the replaced priming compound (match head dust) does not have a chance to stay in there. In new primers, the compound is applied wet/paste and dries as a solid that adheres to the cup.


??? never done it.

[rustyshooter]

Right. Many of my anvils fall out of the cup when I de-prime. I have had a good look at them over the years. Not having ever tried to rebuild primers - I think the replaced priming compound (match head dust) does not have a chance to stay in there. In new primers, the compound is applied wet/paste and dries as a solid that adheres to the cup.


??? never done it.

When You fill the cup and reset the anvil enough stays in to ignite. Probably not to spec compared to factory primers.[smilie=s:

[AlHunt]

Keep your spent primers ... there's talk on the forum of a way to ... "Reload" ...fired primers .
Shortages , high cost of primers and all ... I'm saving all my fired primers just in case the details get worked out ... I could/ would do it ... if it produced reliable primers .
Don't get rid of them just yet ... you may need them if ... Ms Harris comes into power .
Gary

The details are worked out. You can simply buy a product called Prime-All and go to town. They have a video and everything.

Very tedious work and they're corrosive. But I have had 100% success over 40 or 50 primers. Hopefully it doesn't come to that.

[rustyshooter]

O

Very tedious work and they're corrosive.

No doubt! Very tedious. What we really need is the recipe for the primer paste itself. Cool stuff. Here’s the link.

https://22lrreloader.com/products/prime-all-repriming-compound

[AlHunt]

When You fill the cup and reset the anvil enough stays in to ignite. Probably not to spec compared to factory primers.[smilie=s:

With the Prime-All compound, you mix it with acetone and make a paste, fill the cup and let it dry. Reset the anvil and seat the primer right away. I've read that some ammo manufacturers seat the primers while the compound is still wet.

Some make small paper cutouts and set them in the cup under the anvil.

[jessdigs]

I have reloaded some, but the ones I recycle I melt them down and make brass apples for the kids teachers. They always love them. Lost foam method.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210531/31c795cac27d8b3fffa0b328f3bdc356.pnghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210531/ca9ff37d4db75cc78ae0a86b00ca6917.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[kevin c]

My metals recycler takes them, pays a little less than for cartridge brass.

The last batch I remembered had a couple decapped live primers, and also what another reloader gave me, so the whole can went into my processing pot and I turned up the propane jet burner. There were a few pops and spits of blue and green flame.

ETA: that Apple looks great. Solid? If so, that's a lot of primers.

I once made a set of shooting bags; I used spent primers to fill them (double bagged in plastic) instead of sand.

[popper]

Everything is referred to on the invoice as "yellow brass", primers and cartridge cases
If they take them that is what you get. Around here they take your DL# as ID.

[robertbank]

Strike anywhere matches...we call them Kitchen Matches up here. Last time I looked Safeway carried them.

Prices for yellow brass varies quite a bit. I got $2.20Cdn last month for 194lbs of brass included in the pails were spent primers. I live a 15 hour drive from Vancouver. I suspect I would go more closer to a foundry. Feeling locally copper prices are on the rise due to overall inflation as a result of gov't deficits and printing money.

Tale Care

Bob

[Burnt Fingers]

A live primer in a batch of brass headed to the smelter isn't going to make a bit of difference.