Copper Colored Primers

[deltaenterprizes]

I stumbled across some copper colored primers in some primer tubes that I inherited from a friend.
These were purchased before 2005 and are copper colored not brass!
Any old timers have any idea about them?

[BLAHUT]

If memory servers me correct, I had some years ago, Russian or East German ??
Might still have some down in the supply locker ??

[Gewehr-Guy]

Remington used to make the most beautiful copper primers , not sure when they changed over to brass colored. Maybe 15 years ago?

[Wayne Smith]

Remington used to make the most beautiful copper primers , not sure when they changed over to brass colored. Maybe 15 years ago?

Yup, I have used some of those. In fact I may have some 30-30 upstairs still primed with them.

[akajun]

wolf/tula
great primers wish we could still get them
SD's lower than ccr BR's

[GregLaROCHE]

Not sure, but they are all probably plated.

[Outpost75]

Remington 7-1/2 heavy cup, small rifle primers were copper plated for identification. Should be sealed with green lacquer and have 2-legged anvil.

[challenger_i]

All the Winchester primers I have are copper colored.

[stubshaft]

I still have a couple of boxes of Remington 7 1/2 BR's lying around, great primer.

[deltaenterprizes]

I am leaning toward them being small pistol because they were in primer tubes for a RCBS Green Machine in 38 Special that I bought from a friend’s estate.

[Rapier]

I have a couple bricks of old Remingtons copper colored in the cabinet. Got some Win primed brass with copper colored primers in them also. Primers do not go bad with age only contamination, like, moisture, oil, etc. As long as they are kept in a controlled environment they should be good as they do not actually have a shelf life.

[challenger_i]

As for storage, my preferred method is segregating by type, and keeping them in a genuine Army ammo can. Keeps them dry, and if for some reason they should get p1$$ed off, the resulting unpleasantness would be contained. Off Topic: ammo cans work well for keeping One's dry goods dry, and weevil-free.

[deltaenterprizes]

Off Topic: ammo cans work well for keeping One's dry goods dry, and weevil-free.

I can attest to that! I have ammo that was stored in ammo cans and was under water for weeks after Hurricane Katrina! Cans are ugly on the outside but nice and clean and dry on the inside!
An old jailer friend told me that he had an military ammunition can full of shotgun shells under water for 3 weeks after Hurricane Betsy and they were still good when he found them 3 weeks later!

[lightman]

They could be about anything. I have some Remington small rifle benchers primers that are brass colored and also some Winchester pistol primers that are brass colored. Seems like I've had a few others over the years. Sorry, wasn't much help.

[blackthorn]

Quote "I have a couple bricks of old Remingtons copper colored in the cabinet. Got some Win primed brass with copper colored primers in them also. Primers do not go bad with age only contamination, like, moisture, oil, etc. As long as they are kept in a controlled environment they should be good as they do not actually have a shelf life."

I will have to respectfully disagree with part of the above. I started reloading in 1967 and for the first couple of years if I screwed up I carefully removed the unfired primer and dropped it into a small bottle of oil. Then I found out i could reuse any reclaimed primers so the bottle sat gathering dust. Around 2002, as a result of a thread similar to this one, I dug out that old bottle with 20+ oil soaked primers, washed them off with gas, dried them out, set them into some 303 brass and fired them. All but one fired. Now I need to say the "crack" varied from weak to strong, and I hesitate to say they would have had enough strength to ignite a powder charge, but I would not have stood in front of any gun using one of those old primers over a full charge and bullet! Based on my experience, I believe we cannot ever depend on any of the purported primer killers!

[MT Gianni]

I squirted a dozen 44 mag primed cases with WD40. After 3 days, 2 out of 6 fired. After 10 days 6 out of 6 fired. I do not know if they would set off powder just that they went bang.

[shooterg]

Were the primers the old "dome shaped" ones or flat as all seem to be today. As far as moisture, I got primers from a flooded basement , dried 'em out(shudder to tell you how !) and shot 'em. The compound is put in place wet . As long as the stuff doesn't migrate , dried out primers go bang !

[deltaenterprizes]

Were the primers the old "dome shaped" ones or flat as all seem to be today. As far as moisture, I got primers from a flooded basement , dried 'em out(shudder to tell you how !) and shot 'em. The compound is put in place wet . As long as the stuff doesn't migrate , dried out primers go bang !
They are flat like modern primers!
I had 50,000 primers that went through Hurricane Katrina and used some but they were hit and miss.
I gave what was left to a friend that had the means to properly dispose of them and he said the primers with the anvil down worked reliably.

[firefly1957]

Copper was used in Mercury containing primers because the compound would react with brass !

If you load with them and see cases cracking after firing that is a sure sign of Mercury priming .

Most non-Mercuric primers are brass many are plated also .

[45DUDE]

I bought 2 cases of Tula at a gun show in the 90's --$130 per case and no miss fires. The left shut the import. Winchester was silver in the white box and the blue box is gold.

[BrassMagnet]

As for storage, my preferred method is segregating by type, and keeping them in a genuine Army ammo can. Keeps them dry, and if for some reason they should get p1$$ed off, the resulting unpleasantness would be contained. Off Topic: ammo cans work well for keeping One's dry goods dry, and weevil-free.

I once read somewhere that it is not safe to store food in ammo cans. The article wait it would poison you.
Could it be due to the gases the powder lets off?
I don’t remember where I read it.