Flash-Over Incident with Hornady Hand Priming Tool

[Scrumbag]

Hi folks,

Had a small scare the other day whilst reloading that might be a helpful reminder to people to keep safe and follow your procedures not being sloppy.

This happened using a Hornady Hand Primer

My set-up post incident



Close-up of hand primer – not sure where rest of pieces are.



Close-up of “flashed” primers (Note empty but undented cups)



And this is the resulting cuts to hand – fortunately they seem superficial. Blast also blew my glasses off my face and they landed ~6 feet away.



Fortunately I was wearing latex gloves so some protection.

Be careful folks and wear your eye protection.

(Just in case people are interested, didn’t notice anything different from usual. Cases were PPU factory on ~4th firing. Primers were Federal Large Pistol. Cases had been sonic cleaned and primer pockets checked prior to priming and I’d primed ~50 that session and this process has served me fine for ~3 years of loading)

Best wishes,

Scrummy

[Jackbrush]

What was the cause? A primer anvil down? Also what's the employee for? Reloading faster?

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[country gent]

Scrumbag
Back in the 90s I had a lee round tray flash over also with federal primers, ( large rife) This was early spring time. Had sat and primed around 1500-2000 cases ( loading the summers 308 for high power). Cases had been cleaned pockets swaged and lightly deburred, was working out of a 5 gallon bucket full. Had just filled the tray again so it was slightly less than 100 primers.

Working with the LGS and federal we determined this. federal primers are uncovered the time of year, my attire ( flannel shirt and jeans sitting in a recliner on carpet). ( lee at some point added a warning to only use win or cci primers mine didnt have). The agreed consensus was static electricity coupled with a build up of primer dust.

In my event it was interesting that we found both detonated ( about 60 and detonated primers).I was wearing my glasses and this undoubtedly saved my eyes as they had a few scratches and pock marks. Also had a few anvils and pieces of plastic in my face 20 or so stitches 1 or 2 here and there. Also some cuts on hand and left leg similar to yours.

[country gent]

I forgot to mention federal sent me 2 cases of federal gold medal LR primers for me letting them know and lot number of the primers and my time working with them.

[ourflat]

Thanks for sharing! Static electricity is not our friend.

Frank

[dverna]

Great post and reminder.

Glad you were not too badly hurt.

[John Boy]

Scrummy, glad to hear the injuries are minor and thanks for the pictures…. Yours is the first I’ve seen since I started reloading
My suspicion… had to start with the top primer. Any primer has to be hit hard and fast to crush the anvils and then ignite. The top primer was upside down in the tube and was crushed hard and fast, flames pointed downward and set the bottom primers off

This is one reloading step I am looking a constantly … each primer pointed up and seated with a slow hard pressure

[rbuck351]

I don't know how the Hornady is built but is it possible that a primer only made it half way on top of the primer punch? I had that happen on a Lee pro 1000.

[Mal Paso]

RCBS put a loading gate in their hand primer for flashover. The gate closes off the magazine from the primer being seated as that primer starts to rise.

Glad you survived! Thanks for the post!

[AlHunt]

I've always wished my hand priming tool had a tray. Maybe I don't any more. Even on the press, I'm handling them individually.

[robg]

i use the round lee auto prime .only put a max of 40 primers in at a time cci/winchester.have used others but only 20 in the tray.so far so good for 39 years.

[TNsailorman]

One reason I don't use hand primers with a tray. Only the older RCBS and Lee that do not have one. I prime in front of the TV with a good college ballgame on anyway and I am in no hurry. james

[JoeJames]

Hope this is not prescient ... I got in a carton of Large Pistol primers my neighbor had ordered for me without my knowing the brand... Federal Large Pistol primers. I told my neighbor that Lee advises against using them in their auto-prime. I may use them but I will be frugal (maybe 10 at a time) in the amount of primers in the tray, and will sure wear my safety glasses.

[dverna]

Federal primers are more sensitive. I have a coupe of tuned Colt SSA that will only run 100% with Federals

I wish the OP had more information about how it happened but it appears he did not force anything....that leads to static as a possible cause. I have mangled a few primers and the times I have done it there was no detonation...maybe just lucky. I know one competitive shooter who has blown a tube of primers twice on a Dillon 1050 but he admits he runs it hard and fast....he does not blame the primers or the machine.

Wearing eye protection is mandatory when reloading. I see so many pictures of guys with kids or grandkids at the bench without glasses. Start them off right....just like when we take them to the range.

[1hole]

Federal primers; seems a lot of web gurus believe the cups are "soft" and go off easily because of that; I don't agree.

Feds are made to be more sensitive so they will be more reliable when firing pins are off center or the springs are weak; I like reliable. I also like my reliable old Lee Auto Primes and know they are said to sometimes set one off.

I have no knowledge of anyone else's problems with their Auto Primes so I make no accusations but when things don't feel right I stop to find out why. I know Tim Taylor's "more power" methods don't work well when reloading so I don't try to jam things together when they are reluctant to fit.

I'm not a high volume reloader but I've used the same two Lee Auto Primers (for large and small) to insert a few thousand caps over the past 25 or so years with no detonation ... and no broken levers. And - with Federals - no hangfires or misfires.

[lotech]

Federal primers; seems a lot of web gurus believe the cups are "soft" and go off easily because of that; I don't agree.

Feds are made to be more sensitive so they will be more reliable when firing pins are off center or the springs are weak; I like reliable. I also like my reliable old Lee Auto Primes and know they are said to sometimes set one off.

I have no knowledge of anyone else's problems with their Auto Primes so I make no accusations but when things don't feel right I stop to find out why. I know Tim Taylor's "more power" methods don't work well when reloading so I don't try to jam things together when they are reluctant to fit.

I'm not a high volume reloader but I've used the same two Lee Auto Primers (for large and small) to insert a few thousand caps over the past 25 or so years with no detonation ... and no broken levers. And - with Federals - no hangfires or misfires.

Primer detonation testing had nothing to do with "web gurus". Lee did this testing using the original round tray Auto Prime and the results were well documented and written up in at least one of the major gun publications thirty or so years ago. The information may be in the Lee loading manual as well. After testing, Lee recommended using only CCI and Winchester primers in the Auto Prime. They may have also suggested using only a certain number of primers in the tray, though I don't remember the details on that one.

[FLINTNFIRE]

Funny about using winchester primers , as I have had 2 of them pop off , 1 was in a loaded round jammed and was the extractor pushing into primer as I pulled back on slide , only pulling pressure set it off , there was no sudden jamming it as it was wedged , second was in a RCBS hand primer unit seating in a 223 case .

[JoeJames]

Primer detonation testing had nothing to do with "web gurus". Lee did this testing using the original round tray Auto Prime and the results were well documented and written up in at least one of the major gun publications thirty or so years ago. The information may be in the Lee loading manual as well. After testing, Lee recommended using only CCI and Winchester primers in the Auto Prime. They may have also suggested using only a certain number of primers in the tray, though I don't remember the details on that one.

Yep, that is what I use and have used for close on 40 years. Never had any problem with primer detonation, but on the other hand I have avoided using Federal primers until now. There were no restrictions in the new Lee manual on CCI's, but there was a limit on Winchester - may have been less than a 100. Mainly the thread was a good reminder to me to at least wear safety glasses, which I have not done in the past. This is more of a note to myself than anyone else, and by making this note, maybe I will remember to wear them.

[Green Frog]

I figure I’m retired so I’m not in a hurry. All of my off-press priming is done with single load priming tools. I like to have the individual control and safety this gives me. Over the last 30 years and who knows how many thousand primers, I have had either two or three go off during loading. They were (probably) Winchester LRPs or maybe Federal SR Match primers. They went pop (because I got in a hurry and pushed them in too crooked) and I just punched them out and went on loading. There was no other ill effect.

I’ve used the first generation of round tray Lee Auto-Prime tools a couple of times, but like I said, I’m an old retired guy and not in a big hurry any more. Besides, I like my hands… you might say I’m attached to them.

Froggie

[badguybuster]

Ive never seen that before.....scary.