REMOVING LIVE PRIMERS FROM BRASS

Bushmaster

I use the Lee Auto Prime II. Have never heard of a chain reaction in them because the primer being seated is incased in a die and far away from the feed tray...

1895ss

chambered221 wrote:

If your press is like mine ( RCBS Rockchucker ) it drops the primers in a tray right in front of you. Now if theirs a bunch of primers sitting in it when one goes off.....................................................................

I also have the RCBS Rockchucker and you're right, the removed primers drop into a tray. But when I'm removing live primers, I leave very few primers in the catching tray for that reason. In other words, I remove a few primers and clean out the tray and so on. I've never had a problem.

gelandangan

I wonder if anyone have got a primer pushed in THE WRONG WAY around on the brass ?

It happened to me a few times in my first few loadings in a dillon progressive.
WHen you load the tube up, you couldnt see the primer orientation, so when you accidentally flip one and get it into the tube, you wouldnt know about it until the finished cartridge is spitted out from the press.

Well, I tell you, I have a few tense moments when I decap those brass..
Luckily I never yet got one pop on me that way..

wncchester · Member Joined: Apr 08, 2006 Posts: 160

Chambered - "If your press is like mine ( RCBS Rockchucker ) it drops the primers in a tray right in front of you. Now if theirs (sic) a bunch of primers sitting in it when one goes off..................."

Let me see if I have this right, you are concerned that someone might have a full tray of live primers sitting on that little RCBS spent primer catcher while they are punching out a few live caps? Have you seen this occur, was that how your friends managed to set them off?

I do use an RC and can't conceive of anyone doing what you suggest with a tray of live primers, nor do I think it's physically possible. I really doubt that ANYONE would be silly enough to use that primer catcher as a shelf for caps even if there was room for them, which there isn't, but admit I haven't observed everyone's work yet.

You missrepresent my comment on the use of eye protection. I gave a personal view based on experience, which appearently matches yours, and suggested he use such protection if it makes him feel better, right?

Ref. the posted question, it is certainly safe to remove live primers normally but nothing is fool proof for a sufficently determined fool.

chambered221

I have no control over what other people do or the way they do it.

Why should I assume that someone I don't even know understands that they shoudn't let the live primers build up in the collection tray?

And yes, this is exactly how one friend set them off. Some 25 to 30 primers were piled up when he got going a little to fast and smacked one instead of easing it out.

If I misunderstood your reference to eye protection I apologize. ( I don't think I was the only one that took it that way. )

ElyBoy

Hey Chambered,
I don't think that I would go over to your friend's house to reload very much.
I've done some stupid thinks in my life but that was--D--U--M--B-- Bonk

Eric

wncchester · Member Joined: Apr 08, 2006 Posts: 160

"... yes, this is exactly how one friend set them off. Some 25 to 30 primers were piled up when he got going a little to fast and smacked one instead of easing it out."

A little too fast. smacked one? Sounds like your friend has a strong streak of determination in him.

Bushmaster

Man...You have to hit them pretty hard to set one off...I have seated them upside down, sideways, cut them in half and never set one off. I have punched hundreds of live primers out. And even tried to set one off and couldn't do it. Even upside down...The friction of the resizing die slows down the decapping pin enough to make hitting them fast and furious rather difficult. Concider the hammer stroke using a good spring and the hammer stroke of a weak spring. It doesn't take that weak of a spring to not set one off. Decapping, even with a universal decapping die, a live upside down primer means the person really went at it to set one off...And to have live primers in a spent primer tray while decapping live primers is paramount to doing the same job without wearing PPE (Personal Prection Equipment such as safety glasses and ear plugs or covers).

I hear all the horror stories of people setting off primers while reloading and decapping live primers and wonder just what they are doing besides reloading...Watching TV? Drunk in the first place? Naked women (men for the ladies here Very Happy

) running around the reloading area?

One must be really careless when decapping live primers to set one off in my (notso) humble opinion...

gelandangan

No joke, I have set one off...

This military 308 brass have the primer crimp swaged just a bit short and because I always swing (could the word be push or move?) the lever always to the same spot when I seat primer on my press.
When I feel this resistance but the lever is not yet at the right spot, I press a bit harder and ... BANG ... I think I dirty my pants then..

Arizona Hunter · Member Joined: Jul 22, 2006 Posts: 275

I've always just put the case in the ram like any other and then slowly deprime/resize it. Never had any issues and don't see how there could be since there is no "impact" like that from a firing pin striking it.

PaulS

It is easy to fire the primer and then decap it. There is no point in attempting to decap live primers in military rounds.
Safety first!

Pumpkinslinger

You know, since I'm assuming that you aren't trying to reuse the primers, you could just fire them off for "dry-fire" practice.

GUTS

I've purchased bulk brass(1000's) a couple of different times with the primers still in. When I get the brass I grab a handfull and go out in the garage, load and let the firing pin go. I have yet to have one go off, leaving me to think that the primered brass, at least the last few batches I have come across, had inert primers. How or why this would happen are not questions I would know the answer to. Therfore I decapped and sized them all with no problems. I am not however condoning any type of reloading practice or practices that would hurt or otherwise damage one of my fellow reloaders. I think Smile

the OP has to make his own call on this one.

foreign

hey i just popped a few out today. was getting so new brass and wanted to ditch the old stuff since it was rubbish so i deprimed then put the primers in the new brass. no miss fires and all went smooth. but glasses would always be good. cant imaging shooting with no eyes would be any good

Deleted_User_2665 · Super Member Joined: May 06, 2006 Posts: 380

Thought of this thread twice in the last week or so....

Deprimed live primers on a BUNCH of 25-06 and 300 RUM brass I just sold, to fend off any shipping issues.

I tried to act scared with each stroke, but gave up early on trying to fool myself that much...............