A friend of mine came to me with a problem ...new for him ...old for me. He had seated a primer into a case, backwards. I've done this many times over several decades and told him that if you load long enough, it will happen, especially if you are using a hand priming tool. My solution, and I'm guessing I've used this solution a hundred times or more, is this:
1. Put your safety glasses on.
2. Put your hear protection on.
3. Seat your de-priming die and then place the case with the reversed primer into your press as your would to remove a primer in the normal way.
4. Place a heavy towel over the press, covering the case with the reversed primer.
5. Using the de-priming die, s l o w l y and with even pressure, raise the cartridge into the die. The primer should pop out without going off.
As I said, I've done this about a hundred time over 35 years ...and I've never had a primer go off.
I like having the hearing protection on so that I don't wonder how loud it will be if it goes off (it's a distracting thought that I don't need when I'm doing this).
He followed my advice without a problem. Hope this may help someone else. Best regards - Arlen

Good advice, have used this method for many years with reversed primers & only had one go off on me.

Welcome to the Hunting Nut

Appreciate the comment, Ominivision1. I'll bet having that primer go off was enough to make you jump. Anything worth noting when it did?

Thank you, shrpshtrjoe.

Welcome,
Vince will be around shortly withthe beer.....
Your extraction process seems sound, slow movement "shouldn't" ignite a primer but in can happen. Primers arent all that loud, its the unexpected report that gets you.

Hello Pete,
Yeah ...they are not loud, just unexpected. I'm most concerned with a small piece of the anvil flying off since there is nothing holding it back. Like you say, I don't want to be explaining anything to a paramedic.

Best regards - Arlen

If its a lee press, clean out the primer tube first otherwise its going to blow spent primers all over the room, LOL!

Oh and welcome Arlen, good info.


-DallanC

Welcome to The Nut Arlen...grab a beer and pull up a stump mate.

I've used basically the same procedure to remove an upside down primer without any problems. As you say...go slowly and don't use sudden force.

Now what is more likely to set off a primer, pushing on the anvil to deprime a live one seated correctly or on the primer bottom for one that is reversed? Anyone know? I have pushed out a fair number of live primers without one going off. I first spray WD40 down the case in the belief that it will quickly seep into the primer and inactivate it.

I know that the priming mixture is pressure sensitive, but I believe it needs a sharp hit to detonate it rather than a steady increase in pressure.

I have decamped a lot of live primers and, unfortunately, a few inserted upside down without problem. Whilst different brands of primer cups vary in their level of softness, I have yet to see a deep indentation from a decapping pin, which leads my to think that, with care, you should not have any problems pushing out a live primer facing either way.

I'm not sure that there is a real problem here. ByTheWay...Welcome to this fine site Arlen.

I use a Lee "O" single stage press for priming and decapping. The upside down primer is completely enclosed in the die when decapping. And the suspect primer exits the system through a tube into a box of spent primers.

I have had to remove several (like Arlen) reversed live primers and had no problems with the Lee System.

LEE has a fantastic design for spent primers dropping through the hollow ram.

I've been reading up on shooting range construction, and ventilation. It seems lead contamination comes from 2 sources, lead bullets impacting the stop and from the primer being expended. I wonder just how much lead vaper a primer puts out and what type of vaper concern there is. Minimally if one goes off you should open all the windows I guess and vent it.

I was researching possible basement shooting range solutions but the ventilation required is extreme.


-DallanC

It would seem that a simple fan sucking from outside behind you and a fan blowing to the outside at the target end of the room would suffice.

Just suck at the target and let fresh air in behind the shooting line, so that you get an airstream from behind you to the target. Don't worry too much about that primer thing. Pay more attention on the bullet trap.

Keep your neck warm when you're shooting


and maybe it will also help when you start calling a silensor a lead-vapor-trap from now on...
do you need a special lisence for a safety-device such as a lead-vapor-trap?

I've had 1 go in sideways once. How the heck did that happen was what I said. It was on a Lyman press and I couldnt get the shell out of the shell holder.