primer / cartridge sealant ?

[725]

Just have a question: Does anybody use sealant around their primers / bullets? Any experiences or advice? Where would one get sealant? Any brand preferred over another? ---- I guess that is more than one question :)

725

[Winger Ed.]

I never did. I never thought it was necessary.
I've heard of people doing it for hunting ammo they'll take out in bad weather.

I had a few .38Spec. that stowed away in my pocket one time and went through the washing machine.
getting wet and being washed didn't hurt them.

[stubshaft]

When I first started hunting hogs in the rainforests of Hawaii I was concerned about the primer getting wet and misfiring. This was over 50 years ago and there was NO internet or information available on what to use or how to do it. So, I used fingernail polish. Just a dab on the primer pocket with a Q-tip and seat the primer.

I honestly couldn't tell you if it worked or not, but I can say that I never had a misfire even though some of those cartridges were soaked for extended periods of time. It did look cool though!

[BLAHUT]

Brownells has primer sealant.. Maybe midway ?

[steveu]

Clear fingernail polish.

[Wayne Smith]

I questioned this too, until I accidentally left two of my 44-40 BP loads in my pocket (on two separate occasions!) to go through the washer and dryer. All four fired without problem. I stopped thinking about sealing my loads.

[contender1]

When I found it necessary to seal my primers & bullets, I too used fingernail polish.

When did I find it necessary? Well, I have a few little items known as "Powerheads" for hunting big fish underwater. Basically, scuba diving, and instead of a spear point that punctures the fish and you go for a ride until it expires, you use a powerhead of a caliber chosen for the job. I have .22 RF, .357 mag, .223 Rem., and had a 12 ga.
For those unfamiliar with them, they are short attachments to a normal spear used in a speargun instead of a pointed tip. They screw on, and are a single-shot short barreled, cartridge firing device. Yes, you can reload on underwater. They are fired when you shoot the fish with the spear, and when it impacts the fish, it is driven backwards onto the firing pin, and fires.
I've shot several big fish with mine and it's MUCH quicker (humane) than a spear with a drag buoy.
Another name for one is "Bang Stick" but usually refers to the type you jab into a fish instead of using a speargun.

I would use fingernail polish to seal my ammo, and never had a misfire. But, I'd also take any ammo that was unused after a dive, and relegate it to a "practice" day at my range. Only fresh ammo was taken underwater. Water pressure at the surface is much less than at say 60-100 ft. And unless underwater,, any moisture on ammo doesn't have the opportunity to be pressure pushed into a space.

And once while diving,, I found an old crusty ammo can. Upon surfacing & opening it, I found some mil-spec .45 acp ammo inside & the can had been flooded long ago. The ammo had the military sealant on it. The can was rusty/crusty. But all the ammo fired just fine.

[deltaenterprizes]

A gun magazine long ago did a story about waterproofing ammunition.
The author used lacquer fingernail polish to seal the primer after seating.
To seal the bullet he thinned some tar that is used to seal the area where a branch has been cut off from a tree, similar to what is used in military ammunition.

He did tests before and after by leaving the ammunition submerged overnight.
The unsealed ammunition leaked and misfired but the sealed worked fine.

[725]

Thanks all. My concern is for ammo prepared for grizzly country. It will be subject to the environment and as such I wanted to make it as reliable as possible. I like the idea of clear fingernail polish for the primer and I was thinking about something like ALOX ? beeswax ? etc. for the bullet.

Think I better check out Brownells and see what they recommend.

[Outpost75]

The primer sealant used by the military is Glidden Purple Indicator. The bullet sealant is Black Lucas.

[725]

Well, I took a leap and ordered the Brownell's sealant. It has mediocre reviews, so my expectations have been adjusted appropriately. I have used a dab of Ben's LL on the primer before without any problem and just pushed it clean with my finger. A tiny amount always drifted into the area between the primer and the case.


With the seemingly increase of man vs griz confrontations going on, I just want to make the best I can make.

[Winger Ed.]

For bear hunting,,,,,, I'd use any and everything possible.
Then carry the ammo in zip-lock bags too.

I wouldn't leave even the slightest chance a bear might could 'harvest' me.

[Adam Helmer]

I use fingernail polish in assorted colors I buy for a dime at yard sales. I never had any problem because I blocked water on the primer pocket. The military seals primer pockets so why not me? I dunno.

Adam

[BRobertson]

I have spent many years living , guiding , hunting, shooting, reloading, flying in Coastal community here in Alaska.
We averaged close to 200 inches of rain per year.
I have never used primer or bullet sealant!
The only weather related issue that I witnessed is the green that grows on the cartridge case!

I know for sure that green infected cartridges actually work on grizzly bears!!

Of course having said all that, I will probably get my **** chewed on this next spring by
a big , furry, hibernation - starved Ursus because of a dud .475 Linebaugh round!!

Bob

[T-Bird]

I bought some George and Roy's Custom Primer Sealant several years ago for hunting ammo. I paid around 10$ for it. When it came, it looked, smelled, and was in a bottle like,----clear fingernail polish.

[Rapier]

I have found in our humid environment that fresh loaded ammo with a decent crimp on the bullet is more important than sealant, but have not had my boat sink either. I have never had a real need for a sealant in our high humidity. However if your ammo is going to be exposed to submersion or a lot of rain, might be a good idea, plus use nickel plated brass and a decent bullet crimp.

[farmbif]

ive got a bunch of old federal 90 grain gold dot 6.8 spc that has a blue sealant on the primer and bullet and often have wondered what exactly federal was using as sealant.

[725]

BRobertson ! Oh my, I hope not Ha, ha............ That Linebaugh round is a dandy. I knew John Linebaugh, briefly, before he died. Shot his revolver out next to his shop at a rock up on the hill behind his house. Nice fellow. Wish I could have gotten one of his revolvers. They were sweet.

The cost of this sealant from Brownells is just a wee bit higher than the cost of shipping. Hope it will all be worth it.

[Baltimoreed]

Pre gunsafe and pre ccw my wife washed my s/s amt Hardballer with 7 rds in the mag. Back story was that I had hid it in the washer as we were going out for a dinner or something. We came home and she ran the load. When I heard the washing machine the light bulb came on and I removed the gun, put the 45s on the hearth and stripped and dried the gun and mag. Next day I fired all 7 rds out back. No need to seal bullets or primers imo. I always sealed my percussion cap with a few drops of candle wax back when I deer hunted with a muzzle loader.

[beemer]

I was given some ammo that had been submerged in water, some 30-06, 30-30, and 38 spcl. I don't know how long it was under but the brass and bullets were still in good shape. Probably half of the powder charges were wet. It's worse conditions than most would see on a hunting trip but serious use or a high dollar hunt I don't think it would hurt.

I have some George and Roy's sealant, does smell like finger nail polish.

[firefly1957]

I tried sealing primers in the past never really found it needed even reloads that went though washer have always fired .
I sealed some early buckshot loads I did the red nail polish color also marked what the load was letting me know no to send 12 pellets of OO go in the air after birds. That nail polish was not Lacquer and it cracked off on firing and needed to be cleaned from my firing pin hole .

[725]

Winger Ed ~ I've used zip lock bags mostly to keep dirt away from some ammo. On big trips in the past, I've used my food vacuum sealer to small units of ammo clean and dry. I'd usually take five rounds and seal them in the vacuum sealer and take several units in my pack. I didn't expect to use the sealed stuff but wanted to have a clean & dry stash in the off chance I got stuck / lost / hurt / etc. and had to stay out a few days longer than planned. I'd seal other stuff, too; fire starting supplies, meds, T.P., and some junk food. Kept the pack organized and free of clutter.

I did buy the sealant from Brownell's. Just treated 50 cases and, although tedious, I didn't find it difficult.

[deces]

I've thought about getting some Markron Custom Bullet and Primer Sealer, but have yet to do it.


https://youtu.be/Ifp05IXxKsk

[725]

deces ~ That's the one I got. Pretty straight forward. The inclosed instructions give two ways to seal the primer, either of which is pretty simple. I did it both ways and am satisfied they are sealed. Of course, I've never had a "sealing" problem in the past. I have had a few dudds, but nothing I would have attributed to leakage, per se.

[KCSO]

Good old finger nail polish has worked for me.

[hoodat]

Much adieu is made about variance in bullet tension as it pertains to accuracy. Also of the often disputed phenomena called "bullet weld" in the case neck. Bullet weld is supposedly caused by electrolysis between the slightly different metals of the bullet and the brass case neck. Many competition shooters mitigate the problem of bullet weld by seating their bullets long, and them reseating to proper length just before shooting.

I have often thought that simply using lacquer to seat/seal the bullet when sating would provide protection against bullet weld, create a consistency more important than bullet tension, and of course provide a water proof seal. I've never done it however. jd