Decaping Live Primers

Decapping live primers is a reloader's No-No.

See here how to do it safely - look towards the bottom of the article:
http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting2006/tworeloadingtools/index.asp

In a nutshell, WD-40 sprayed in the casing and let it set for 24 hours will make the primer inert.

Thats some good info

Go slowly and wear protective gear - eyes and ears...

Click to expand...

+1. Have done hundreds and never a problem. Suggest using a Universal Decapping Die.

Don

I haven't done hundreds but have done quite a few. Go very slowly and take the precautions other's have listed above. If I have to do it, I remove the primers and powder from my turret press before proceeding.

S......l......o...........w....................

After pulling the bullets and dumping the powder, just slip 'em in the chamber a pull the trigger. Problem solved.

I have decapped live primers before using a whole lot of care and a good pair of safety glasses. Over the course of hundreds of them I have never had one go off.
But as someone else suggested, just setting the live primer off in your rifle before reloading it would be a safer option.
The only reason I didn't do that at the time is because I didn't have a rifle chambered for the brass I was decapping.

This question has been asked so often tha I composed a poem to it long ago when the question was about backward primers, but it applies here as well.

Backward primers!

Backward primers? Take this to heart,
Every ‘loaders done this little brain phart;

Recycle those primer, any ol’ way;
For fowling shots, or just for play;

How to remove? you might ask
Always safety first, on this little task;

No primers to toss, no brass to pitch;
just decap the hole on’at son-of-a-b-b-b-b-b gun!

hmmm, it never even rated on my danger-o-meter either. I'm not scared of a primer going off in my press. Hell, I think that would be the ideal place for a primer to go off accidentally.

I agree with trueblue. What if one does go off? I'm not reloading with my face up against the press, and my ears have heard louder noises.

You can reload in a suit of armor or by remote control behind a blast screen if it makes you feel better.

After pulling the bullets and dumping the powder, just slip 'em in the chamber a pull the trigger. Problem solved.

Click to expand...

That really is the easiest and fastest way to do it. Especially if you have a bunch of them.

Decapping a live primer is no problem. Just do it with your resizing/decapping die (you have to resize the case anyway) while wearing safety glasses that you normally wear when you reload. Like USSR, I have done hundreds and have never had one go off. Remember...It takes a sharp blow to set one off and you are "pushing" them out with a press...

I've decapped many a live primer.

Wore my safety glasses, went slow.

No problems for me!

The short answer is yes, slowly and with appropriate safety equipment, as others have said. I have pushed live primers out successfully.

However, my question is, why bother? If you are going to fire form the cases, the primer you are going to use is not going to matter much, unless the primers in the cases are possibly corrosive.

Jake in TX

Answers...

EbM--Mal H has about nailed it: "However, if the first shots using those cases are for fire forming, why bother with changing the primers? Fire forming is usually done with a lighter than normal load. You won't be looking for accuracy or performance from them. And I wouldn't fire form with expensive hunting bullets, it's a waste."

As to blowing up primers in a Lee Loader, yup, the first one is a surprise, but as to danger, there is only the noise and a puff of smoke rising around your hand gripping the die. You just re-decap the case in question and proceed.

As to firing primers in a rifle just to kill 'em, BTDT, and the only problem I had was that the primers dirtied up the rifle something nasty. So I prefer not to. But it works just fine.

Yes you can decap the cases in a reloading press, and the advice to proceed slowly is right on. In this instance I fail to see the need.

As to killing primers with WD-40, that has been discussed endlessly here and on TFL. The consensus is, that THERE IS NO HOUSEHOLD CHEMICAL THAT WILL RELIABLY KILL 100% OF PRIMERS!!!!! None. This is not just my opinion, it has been tried 8 ways of a Sunday and reported on these 2 fora.
Primers are reliably killed by only 2 things: fire, and percussion. (I'm sure that there are fiendish industrial chemicals that would do the job, and I'm equally sure that you don't want to mess with them!!)

Bottom line: Since the primers in question are already in the cases, gee whiz, just load 'em up and shoot 'em and be done with it.

After pulling the bullets and dumping the powder, just slip 'em in the chamber a pull the trigger. Problem solved.

Click to expand...

+1

I have known people who have just reloaded the primed case. I have always been a little nervous about that over the concern that one might not have gotten all the previous powder out. probably no worse than depriming a live primer though.