[Pelon]

1- Safety glasses
2- Hearing protection
3- Both: Safety glasses & hearing protection
4- No protection

[cordex]

If it ain't Level IV body armor, faceplate and full bomb-gear, it ain't nothin'.

[Steve Smith]

I agree with Cordex.

[E357]

1- Safety glasses are a must when working with primers.

Elliot

[oldfart]

All those things help of course, but the single, MOST important thing is a sturdy lock on the door to keep the wife and kids from interrupting you. Sshutting off the phone is good too.

[Master Blaster]

Safety glasses when working with the primers outside of a sheilded feeding system are a must, you only get one set of eyes.

[ed dixon]

Titanium jock here. Loading sessions are generally very quick and very painful.:banghead:

[curt]

Trojan.

[Master Blaster]

ED you are using the wrong part of your body to pull the handle, the double knot must be hard to untie.

Please re read the manual.:rolleyes:

[Okiecruffler]

I just wish I could tie a double knot, or a single knot for that matter.:neener:

[only1asterisk]

Ground strap and (safety) glasses.

David

[Mal H]

Ground strap? Are you working with IC's at the same time you're reloading?
:D

Not to belittle your paranoia because as I've said before, "paranoia can be your friend when reloading." But, you might be carrying it a little too far. Since there generally aren't volatile fumes present when reloading, I doubt a small static spark would set off anything you would normally come in contact with. Besides, if you're getting static sparks, something needs to be changed in your reloading area - keep the cat away, spray any rug present with an anti-static agent, etc. Static causes more problems with scales (both electronic and beam) than the actual spark it might cause.

[Mike Irwin]

I'm surprised that no one but myself has said both eye and hearing protection.

Anyone who has ever had a primer pop in the press knows how loud it can be.

And since there's ALWAYS the possibility of a "multiple" fire when working with any priming system that holds multiple primers, hearing protection begins to make even more sense.

[braindead0]

What I wanna gnow is who uses just hearing protection and no safety glasses....

[Mal H]

braindead0 - very good question.

Mike, I heard so many primers go off when using a Lee Loader in the '60's that I got used to them and they didn't seem so loud after a while. In fact, nothing seems as loud these days as it used to.
Hmmmm. ;)

[Paul "Fitz" Jones]

I have sold over a thousand reloaders mainly Star, C-H and CPM along with a few Cougar and Hunters, a ton of C-H "H" Presses with primer feeds and automated high volume reloaders and all the explosions that occurred in the 1970's were with CCI primers and men who followed my advice never had an explosion with Federal and Winchester primers and a little good sense.

Protection: Locked door for reloading, ammo and components, eye protection, raised edge on your reloading bench to keep primers and primer pick up tubes from rolling off, ventilation blowing out a nearby window if casting, Hand lotion on your hands when handling lead, and no shooting indoors no matter how well ventilated are the procedures I prefer along with at least three reloading books and a good mentor.

In millions of rounds loaded individually and commercially I have never had a reloading explosion with the exception of deliberately hitting one in a reloading class with a hammer to demonstrate its power.

Also don't park next to an indoor shooting range as you will have a lead coating on your car, shoes and on you when inside and in going to your car.

The most hazardous place to shooters health is poor ventilation when shooting even with only primer powered wax bullets in a basement or garage as it is little mentioned that there is lead in primers.

John Paul

[Mal H]

Paul - every single primer that exploded for me were also CCI's. No other brand ever did.

[only1asterisk]

Black Powder=Ground Strap
Am I being too careful?

David

[Mike Irwin]

I don't use CCI primers.

In the past 25 or so years that I've been reloading, I've had 4 primer explosions.

[David Wile]

Hey folks,

I don't want to jinx myself, but I have been reloading for close to forty years, and I have never had any primer mishap nor anything else untoward happen. I wear my glasses because I need them for vision, but they are not safety glasses, and I never considered my reloading activities to be either an eye or hearing hazard. When I was a Safety Specialist for the Marine Corps in Quantico, I know the enlisted men who reloaded for the rifle teams were required by safety regulations to wear ground straps while priming, charging, and seating bullets. Even though it was required to wear grounding straps, I thought the practice was really something less than necessary.

My biggest concern has always been with the risk of fire hazard with all the powder around. My thoughts on fire hazards were essentially to manage the risk by insuring no flames or heat sources were allowed in the reloading room, and this obviously meant no smoking. Bullet casting was not done in the reloading room.

I have always considered shooting hot loads to be more dangerous than the actual reloading operation. I shoot fairly mild loads, and have no real interest in pushing the cushion. For me, reloading is a fairly safe pastime compared to other everyday practices like driving in traffic.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile

[Mr. Chitlin]

I always wear safety glasses, learned the hard way!! A very good friend of mine started competition shooting with our group about 15 years ago. He wanted to get into reloading, so he bought a Lee Pro 1000. He loaded about 10 rounds, and had a detonation of a primer. It had a chain reaction up the primer chute, and blew the whole primer tray up, and the debris went all directions, including back at him. This guy wore corrective lenses, so having his glasses on saved his sight. His face and chest looked like he had been shot with a shotgun. The debris went right through his t shirt, and his glasses were damaged enough that the lenses had to be replaced. I used a pro 1000 at that time, too, and had never thought about eye protection ( I was young and dumb), but I went out and bought some safety glasses before I loaded again, and wear them ANY time I reload ( and shoot, too. The 22lr case that blew up in my face is another story, though).

[blades67]

I never reload without safety glasses. If I loose my hearing, I can still see to shoot.


It don't work so well the other way.

[WESHOOT2]

If I plan on touching ANYTHING other than paper I don me glasses (and sometimes if the print is small).

WITHOUT EXCEPTION.

Ever had a piece of press machinery break and come back at 'ya? Spring? Etc?

Lesseenow..........haven't had an unintended primer event since '80-'81.......

[BenW]

Mike Irwin brings up an excellent point. I posted as "eyes only" with one of my main reasons for safety glasses being a kaboom. But if I have a kaboom, my ears get it too.

I suppose we all unconsciously prioritize our sight as more important than our hearing. Interestingly, my Dillon is constructed to contain shrapnel from a primer detonation, but it doesn't have a sound muffler on it. Thinking about it, it's almost more necessary to wear hearing protection than eye protection, but I choose to wear only glasses. It's definitely something to consider, and when it comes down to it, the collar style earplugs have a good enough NRR for reloading, and they're no more of a hassle to take on and off than glasses are.

On a side note, I notice that in the Dillon video I have for my 650, the guy is wearing safety glasses but no hearing protection. I wonder if they make their techs wear both when they're building/testing stuff at the Dillon factory?

[dan_s]

I wear safety glasses, AND a condom..

[Steve Smith]

According to my audiologist, a very short term exposure to a very loud noise will rarely damage your hearing at all. While it may "get your attention" a single primer going off is not really an auditory concern.

[Pelon]

What´s a ground strap?

[Steve Smith]

A strap, usually made of braided copper, that attaches (at one end) to a ground (like the ground in an A/C socket) and (at the other) to a bracelet that goes around your wrist. The bracelet has tiny wires that touch your skin in order to make a connection. This prevents a difference of potential.

[Edward429451]

What´s a ground strap?

(You ever shuffle your feet on the carpet and touch a doorknob and get a spark?)

It's a elastic bracelet with metal electrical contacts that ride against your skin that's wired to an alligator clip that you clip on some metal so you're grounded and wont get the spark of electrostatic discharge (ESD) when you touch somethin metal. Some computer repair people wear them so they wont fry computer boards or chips when they're tinkering around inside you're computer.

I had a primer kaboom while reloading on my Dillon press once and it

may have been caused by ESD, I'm not sure. I don't remember a spark, but then, I had a primer detonating at that moment too, so I could have missed it.

[only1asterisk]

I wear mine esp. when reloading for blackpowder rifles/revolvers. It serves a secondary purpose; to tether me to the reloading bench, keeping me from leaving during the process (I'm prone to distraction). It keeps me grounded in more ways than one. I carry a gun to protect against the (now) unlikely event of an assault on my person, I think I should safeguard against other things just as unlikely.


David

[Johnny Guest]

What kind of protection while reloading?

Usually just my pocket revolver. But there's a big pistol on a shelf nearby.



:D

Oh, and, uh, eyeglasses.

Best,
Johnny

[Mal H]

David, well said and I tend to agree with the use of a ground strap when working with large amounts of BP. It is far less forgiving of sparks than smokeless and the very rare instance of it igniting is far worse than if the same amount of smokeless was ignited on your bench.

[P95Carry]

Generally just eye protection .. and that is my usual 24/7 glasses. Never really thought too much re hearing protection gotta say.

The ground strap is good thinking .... I usually only use one when handling chips and sensitive PC cards etc but .. very valid consideration ..... BP in particular. Probably any suitable electrical connection to ground will suffice .. even from ankle and thence to an earth spike in ground.

''Honey ....... I think I've found another use for them handcuffs''.!:D :p

[Mike Irwin]

"According to my audiologist, a very short term exposure to a very loud noise will rarely damage your hearing at all. While it may "get your attention" a single primer going off is not really an auditory concern."

You want to be the one covered under your audiologists "rarely" exception?

[Steve Smith]

Have you heard my truck stereo? A primer is hardly a concern anymore.

I could have been smart and just did "audiophile quality audio," but no...I did "audiophile quality" AND "powerful" audio. Dumb dumb dumb.




WHAT??!!!!

[mark mcj]

I'm wondering how I could set a primer off in my press. I've managed to crush a few, put some in upside down, and some in sideways. But I have never had a primer detonate.
I try to keep my press clean and in good working order. I also understand completely the operation of my press. I don't know, but maybe it helps.
In reguards to the noise, I have heard a few hundred gun shots and still have outstanding hearing.
With all that said, I protect my eyes and ears all the time when shooting and my eyes when reloading. Those are just good shop rules.

[Mike Irwin]

My guess is that the most likely cause of primer detonations is from accumulated primer dust, which flashes and sets off the primer.

I know one gentleman who was almost killed years ago when the primer tube on his reloading press detonated. He's blind in one eye, pretty much deaf in one ear, and still has chunks of scrap metal embedded in his neck.