50BMG Primers

[ColoradoMinuteMan]

Ok, you folks provided me with some great advice on my rusty 7.62x39. Let's see about some 50BMG. I pulled the bullets, dumped the powder, and reassembled them. The powder still burned really well. Does anyone think I need to disable these primers somehow? If so, how would you go about doing it? These things just sit up on the shelf in the man-cave.

 

[Taurus 617 CCW]

If you already have the cases apart then all you need to do is put a few drops of your favorite oil down the case onto where the primers are. That will deactivate them. You can use gun oil or even olive oil.

 

[rcmodel]

That is unreliable and often doesn't work.

Although in the condition those cases are in, it might?
The primer seal may be toast too?

The only 100% sure way to deactivate them is to fire them!
Either in a gun! or by cooking them off with a fire. (At a respectable distance!)

rc

 

[GRIZ22]

I agree with rc. However, about 40 years ago I did an experiment in deactivating primers. Took 10 38 spl cases each and filled them with water, gun oil, lsa, and WD40. Let them sit 48 hrs. Water, all fired. Oil, 5 fired. LSA 7 fired. WD40, none fired. Not saying YMMV. Since then I've always used WD40 to deactivate primers. Never had one go off that way.

 

[ColoradoMinuteMan]

That is unreliable and often doesn't work.

Although in the condition those cases are in, it might?
The primer seal may be toast too?

The only 100% sure way to deactivate them is to fire them!
Either in a gun! or by cooking them off with a fire. (At a respectable distance!)

rc

They are deformed so I wouldn't be able to load them in a chamber. Also with the condition I doubt anyone would want them in their expensive 50 BMG rifle even with the the projectiles and powder removed. The primers could very well already be toast but the powder was intact and burned. I hate to put them in a fire, I'd like to save them as a relic. They may have cooked once already due to being from an aircraft crash.

 

[badkarmamib]

Curious, but, with the bullet and powder removed, couldn't you run a thin rod or punch down the case, and whack it with a hammer, to detonate the primer from the inside? I am not a reloader, but this makes sense to my mechanical background, so I am trying to learn. Would that work, since you wouldn't have any pressure buildup around the thin rod?

 

[rg1]

My advice with deteriorated bent and corroded cases like yours is to dig a hole about 2 ft. deep and bury them. A 50 BMG primer can easily remove a finger or mangle it or become a projectile that can penetrate the body like a bullet. No safe way to remove those primers as they probably are welded to or corroded to the case. The head of the primer dome would probably come off leaving the wall of the primer fused to the case. There are no foolproof ways to deactivate them. Don't know what sentimental value they have but not worth the risk. For the above post, you never want to hammer on any primer especially a 50 bmg. With the 50 primer you are going to require hand, eye, or body surgery. Scars, blindness, surgery, rehab, living without the use of a finger or hand, not a good idea.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Bad advice removed for safety reasons.

 

[50 Shooter]

Do NOT try to deprime them, one of the guys on another forum tried to save a new primer from a case by depriming it. The primer went off and he went to the hospital with a piece of shrapnel in his abdomen!

Unless you really have some kind of emotional attachment to them and want to keep them, try cooking them off or soaking them. Other than that, dispose of them in a safe place where no one will get hurt messing with them.

 

[50 Shooter]

BTW, if you want a few to shine up and put on the shelf, PM me your address and I'll send you some. Pretty sure I have a few with fired primers in them, might even have a couple dummies made up around here already.

 

[MErl]

Got an old toaster oven? Bake em in the back yard until they pop.
I would take the door off so it didn't shatter and put some sandbags around to catch anything. Should be safe enough but the oven would surely be toast afterward.

 

[rcmodel]

If you really want to "deactivate" them secure the case in a vice and strike the primer with a punch.

That's bad advice right there.

All small & large primers used in reloading have enough energy to blow out of a case and injure or blind you.

.50 Cal primers are big enough to kill you!!

Don't even think about trying to fire them with a punch & hammer!!

rc

 

[ArchAngelCD]

That's bad advice right there.

All small & large primers used in reloading have enough energy to blow out of a case and injure or blind you.

.50 Cal primers are big enough to kill you!!

Don't even think about trying to fire them with a punch & hammer!!

rc

I didn't realize the primers on 50 were that strong. Sorry for the bad advice, I'm editibg my original post to remove it. I have done it with old 30-06 cases and it was no big deal.

 

[rcmodel]

I had a friend who underwent foot surgery years ago to remove a Sm Pistol primer from between the small bones in his foot.

He was drying a bunch of just washed in the sink .38 Special brass in his oven.
Setting at the table across the kitchen reading the newspaper in his underwear.

One of the cases had a live primer in it.
It cooked off and buried itself in his foot deep enough from several feet away they had to cut it out in the ER.

.50 BMG primers are HUGE in weight & power compared to Sm Pistol primers.

IMO: Primers are the most dangerous thing we handle during reloading, far exceeding powder.

Do Not underestimate their power, or danger.

(And don't pound on them with a punch & hammer!!)

My uneducated guess is, primer pocket pressure probably exceeds 15,000 - 20,000 PSI at the instant of firing.
With nothing to stop it, it & the anvil probably exceed 1,000 FPS.

True, they don't weight much.
But a Ping-pong ball going that fast could kill you if it hit you in the head!!


rc

 

[Taroman]

I can testify from personal experience that WD40 will not reliably neutralize .50 BMG primers.
Long story but I managed to detonate one in my shop.
The sound was like a full power 357 Magnum revolver fired at close range. My ears rang for weeks thereafter.

 

[rcmodel]

Just as a comparison of primer size here.

Sm Pistol & Rifle are .175".
Lg Pistol and Rifle are .210"

.50 BMG primers are .3125", or about the size of a .30 cal bullet!!

They pack a pretty good punch!!

So don't use a hammer & punch on them!!
(Any of them.)

rc

 

[50 Shooter]

Everyone get the message now?

Primers are dangerous, 50 BMG primers can be life ending dangerous!

Don't play with them, they're not toys!

Be safe.

 

[ny32182]

I have a loaded round of 50BMG that has been sitting on my shelf for years and hasn't killed anyone yet.

 

[50 Shooter]

Having a loaded round on a shelf or a whole collection is fine, I have plenty of loaded ammo in cans. I'm sure a lot of members here also do the same.

The problem is when people take the Ammo apart and want to deactivate the components in ways they shouldn't. Pounding out primers from the inside with a rod and hammer is asking for a failure. Same as hitting the primer with a hammer while it's in a vice.