Gimped Primers

No it wont explode. The primer may not ignite is the worst case.Look closely to be sure the primer compound didn't fall out.

No, I do it when my Lee Auto Prime ll (or me) is acting up. As long as the primer is still round and it seals in the primer pocket so no gasses escape, you should be good. It will either fire or it won't, so far mine have all fired as normal.

I've had some pretty messed up looking primers that still go bang

Walkalong said:

These small rifle primers I managed to mash were not reusable, but if yours ir round enough to seat, and the anvil/priming compound is intact, you're OK. Pic?

Welcome to THR
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Wow! In some circles (and maybe in Lee’s second edition) primers like these would’ve been described as about to set off cascading explosions resulting in Armageddon.

Great photography as usual!

Walkalong said:

it generally takes impact to set off primers, a slow steady push won't do it.

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That's it, if I feel something's amiss when priming I stop to see what happened. If someone sets one off in a press, I would have to think some frustration was involved and they did something they shouldn't have.
I've never set one off in 50 years of reloading. I've sure mangled a few.
I've pushed out my share of upside down primers from that old Auto Prime ll I still use, with a slow steady push. Flip them over, push it back in and keep going.

FWIW; I don't use hand primers, but I gave three different ones a good try. One complaint was primers not sitting square in the "ready" area and inserting crooked, some sideways some upside down. I had to form a habit of looking at every primer as it sits in the tool before seating to make sure all are square...

I don't use hand primers mainly because I could not find one that fit my hand and was comfortable to prime more than 20-30 cases. I now prime on my Co-Ax, a ram prime on an old single stage, or my RCBS bench prime...

When I first started it was common for me to sideways install primers. I use the same hand primer, I just look at each one before I squeeze now. Almost zero in the last year.

Sounds like you might consider reaming or swaging your primer pockets. I still touch mine up with a Hornady hand reamer, probably $8 some years ago.

If they aren't perfectly round I would safely dispose of them. No point etching your breech for a dollar or few of primers. How to de-risk and dispose safely is a complicated topic ...

AJC1 said:

When I first started it was common for me to sideways install primers. I use the same hand primer, I just look at each one before I squeeze now. Almost zero in the last year.

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Me too. You learn the proper wrist flip technique when you get tired of smashing them. Nothing like another shortage to make you more attentive.

I wouldn’t personally use primers which I had squished obloid. Certainly, there would not be a catastrophic consequence, however, leaking primers will pock bolt faces, which isn’t something which I find of interest just to save 3-10¢ instead of throwing away a damaged primer.