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I have some primed 45-70 and .44 mag reloads and some factory
35 Remington that I would like to pull and deactivate the primers so that I may ship the brass. What is the right way to deactivate the primers? I no longer have guns in any of those calibers.
Just de-prime (carefully) with a Lee deprimer tool. There aint hardly a reliable way to kill a primer. jd
I can’t remember the exact wording/requirements, but you can ship primed brass legally. I’ve bought primed brass in quantity before and it’s still available for sale in many places. HazMat doesn’t apply if packaged correctly. Look into it.
Primed brass is fine to ship except for the USPS.
https://forum.accurateshooter.com/th...e-law.3812580/
Hello everyone -
Since this is my favorite forum, I feel compelled to share with all of you the REAL low-down on the laws and regs surrounding the shipment of primed brass.
After a ton of confusion, misinformation (on other blogs) and general assumptions regarding the shipment of primed brass, here are the particulars/facts and the regs that back it up. I have confirmed all of this with UPS and FedEx's hazmat shipping folks and they all confirmed.
FOR UPS AND FEDEX ONLY -
Cases, primed (up to and including 50 caliber) are regulated for shipment by ground only through 49CFR § 172.102 SP(special provision) 50 that states:
" Cases, cartridge, empty with primer which are made of metallic or plastic casings and meeting the classification criteria of Division 1.4 are not regulated for domestic transportation"
49CFR § 172.102 (page 312) - http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-201...sec172-102.pdf
Primed cases meet the classification criteria of Division 1.4c UN0379 - however they are exempted and classified as NON-REGULATED (NOT ORM-D, NOT HAZ-MAT, NOT the new "Y" Limited Quantities classification that will replace ORM-D). Some manufacturers (as per the MSDS) classify their primed cases as UN0055, but the same DOT 1.4c classification applies, as does SP50.
Packaging for primed cases is regulated by 49CFR §173.62 - Packaging instruction #136, which specifies that the primed cases have to be in a bag or box, then packed in a UN 4G standard box - which is defined by 49 CFR §178.601 (g)(2). So - you can't just ship them to your buddy in a shoebox, but most of us out here have received boxes of reloading components from various vendors, and most/all of these shipping boxes meet this criteria. For more mind-bending regulatory details, refer to 178.601.
49CFR §173.62 - http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-201...-sec173-62.pdf
49 CFR §178.601 (g)(2) - http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-201...sec178-601.pdf
There is no hazmat fee, extra paperwork, no sign-by-adult or other hoops to jump through - BUT - both UPS and FedEX advised me to clearly mark (with a sharpee) "non-regulated as per SP50" on the outside of the box to ensure that no in-transit problems occur..........because I guess their employees can be as confused as I have been on this subject and you don't want your box torn or ripped into.
As per both UPS and FedEx - You CANNOT take packages with primed cases to your local UPS/FedEx store or mom-and-pop drop off service. They must be taken to a UPS/FedEx corporate-run package hub that has walk-in/retail shipping services.
FOR US POSTAL SERVICE -
Prohibited. Period.
See page 160 at: http://pe.usps.com/cpim/ftp/pubs/pub52/pub52.pdf
***USPS Publication 52, Appendix A, "Cases, cartridge, empty with primer"***
They don't have to subscribe to all parts of 49CFR § 172.102's special provisions......because they are special I guess.
I hope this clears it up.
The USPS will not ship primed cases unless you lie and tell them it is just brass. If caught you can get a hefty fine or even jail time. But, UPS and FedEx does ship primed brass and it is completely legal to do so. It will just cost you more to ship. HazMat is not involved with primed brass. That is my experience anyway and I have not shipped any ammo this year. james
As stated you can’t really reliably kill the primers. Either deprime them with safety glasses and ear plugs on (i’ve done this 1000 times I never had one go off though) or ship primed brass common carrier ground.
I’ve shipped a lot of it via UPS, what M-Tecs posted above is very similar to what I do. I put the diamond sticker on the box, they allow you to draw it with a sharpie if needed, and I don’t write anything about sb50. Drop it at a service center, there is no fee or premium.
But if you really want to deactivate the primers, put them in a gun and pull the trigger.
correct. I once did an experiment because wanted to inlet 44 mag case heads in the grips of one of my blackhawks. I put 5 in water and 5 in kroil and 5 in shooters choice and 5 in hoppes. I let them set a week and the put them in the gun to test them. Out of 20 only one didnt go off and tha one was one of the shooters choice ones. I ended up taking the anvil out so id know it wouldnt go off.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stewbaby
Huh. Interesting and surprising. Seems like I've read in one of the reloading manuals (Speer?) that "oil will kill primers and in fact oil is what is used to deliberately de-activate primers." So you guys are saying it doesn't really work, or not permanently?
That is correct. It doesn’t work and neither will being underwater during a flood if they are dried out again.Quote:
Originally Posted by Buck Shot
I’ve read where alcohol will kill primers. On occasion I’ve used it, but never tested it. I know when I deprimed, it didn’t go pop!
Wd-40
I had a bunch of grungy gun-show brass once that I decided to clean up by boiling in a pan of water with Simple Green added. When they were boiled and drained, I baked them in the oven on 200 for awhile.
THEN I noticed that some of them had un-fired primers in them. For kicks, I thought I'd try them in my rifle. They all worked fine.
Primers are durable. jd
I unprimed about 200 44 mag cases recently so I could trim the cases for specials. Some CCI and some WLP. None went off. I used my regular RCBS die and rigged a small box to catch them instead of learning them fly like used primers tend to do on my press. Ziplock bagged them and next time I load pistol I’ll load them. All the ones I’ve done in the past have all fired without incident. Probably 200 altogether previously.
Last year I de-primed over 3000 shotgun shells and around 2000 8x57 brass and they all had primers in them. Not one went pop, but I did go slow and careful. I used the Lee de-prime rod and case holder from my 30-06 Lee Loader and a wooden mallet. I have been doing this for years and only had one pop that I can remember and that was in the early 1960's when I got careless one day. james
At one time in my youth, I decided to expend primers in some primed brass by heating with a propane torch. It did do the job, however, the brass cup on the primer is a projectile, and the primer pocket is a (very short) gun barrel. The flying primer easily broke a garage window, which I then had to replace.
Wayne
Over 50 years de-priming live primers and none have fired while doing so.
You can deprime them as others have said, but why not ship them FedEx or UPS? The buyer will probably be happy and less work for you.