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
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.
offer them to a primer reloader first, its getting to be quite the thing to reload primers for your reloading.
if you are ever being chased by a taxidermist, don't play dead
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?Originally Posted by lotech
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.
"There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something."
~Thorin Oakenshield
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.
I have 3lbs coffee can almost fullWas 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...
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.
Here is another great alternative vs scrapping.
I sold 40+ lbs of junk brass yesterday.
There was several lbs of primers in the mix.
I got $1.58 a lb.
My scrapper won't take primers anymore
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“If someone has a gun and is trying to kill you, it would be reasonable to shoot back with your own gun.”
― The Dalai Lama, Seattle Times, May 2001
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.
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.I have 3lbs coffee can almost full
R.D.M.
Thank you all for the great information.
Bearbud
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
Regards
John
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
Certified Cajun
Proud Member of The Basket of Deplorables
" Let's Go Brandon !"
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.
Sent you a PM
Thx
Barman54
Out
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.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.
Kevin
Knowledge I take to my grave is wasted.
I prefer to use cartridges born before I was.
Success doesn't make me happy, being happy is what allows me to be successful.
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