depriming live primers
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The Bushmaster
Member
You can very carefully run them through your resizing die with no problem. I have done it to around a 1000 cases that needed primers removed for one reason or another. Mostly my error. Make sure you are wearing safety glasses or goggles when you do it just in case one does go off...
ReloaderFred
Member
I second what The Bushmaster told you. I've never had one go off, but always wear your safety glasses, just in case.
The very first time I had to deprime a live case about 40 years ago, I wrapped a heavy towel around the whole press and stood way back when I pushed the primer out. Since then, I just run them back through the sizing die and keep them separate from the used primers, since I sell all my old primers and unloadable brass to the scrap dealer.
Hope this helps.
Fred
The very first time I had to deprime a live case about 40 years ago, I wrapped a heavy towel around the whole press and stood way back when I pushed the primer out. Since then, I just run them back through the sizing die and keep them separate from the used primers, since I sell all my old primers and unloadable brass to the scrap dealer.
Hope this helps.
Fred
Primersinmyshoe
Member
Deprime a case with a live primer? Never have, never will. I take enough chances just living day to day, why add one that sounds like an accident waiting to happen?
Just my 2¢
Just my 2¢
gwalchmai
Member
This is interesting, because I have seen a good number of intelligent posts from two of you guys who have completely different opinions on this question. I have deprimed live primers without a KB, but I admit I was worried, and lowered the handle VERY carefully.
I guess the question is whether we have any reason to suspect that the open end of the primer is any more sensitive to pressure than the closed end. I say this because the amount of pressure to unseat should be no more than the amount to seat, and we know that's at least acceptably safe.
I guess the question is whether we have any reason to suspect that the open end of the primer is any more sensitive to pressure than the closed end. I say this because the amount of pressure to unseat should be no more than the amount to seat, and we know that's at least acceptably safe.
USSR
Member
No problem if done carefully. Be sure to wear safety glasses as noted previously.
Don
Don
Sleeping Dog
Member
I use the RCBS Universal Depriming die for this. If a primer ignited, there's plenty of room for the expanding gas, no real danger. Eye and Ear protection, of course.
I've never had one ignire.
Regards.
I've never had one ignire.
Regards.
Slick Pilot
Member
Depriming
Anything can be safely done with proper precautions. Removing a live primer is not exactly as dangerous as defusing a 155mm howitzer round.
Wearing safety glasses is always good advice. Just drape a rag or small towel over the top of the press and nothing will get to you. The explosive power of the primer is just to produce a good spark to ignite the powder in a loaded round. It is unlikely that it will go off, but the towel will easily absorb any force produced.
If one is really concerned, then chamber the empty case and snap the weapon to fire the primer. Then remove it as normal.
I don't think I've said anything better than the other guys, but I second the fact that the live primer can be safely removed.
Anything can be safely done with proper precautions. Removing a live primer is not exactly as dangerous as defusing a 155mm howitzer round.
Wearing safety glasses is always good advice. Just drape a rag or small towel over the top of the press and nothing will get to you. The explosive power of the primer is just to produce a good spark to ignite the powder in a loaded round. It is unlikely that it will go off, but the towel will easily absorb any force produced.
If one is really concerned, then chamber the empty case and snap the weapon to fire the primer. Then remove it as normal.
I don't think I've said anything better than the other guys, but I second the fact that the live primer can be safely removed.
pcf
Member
I keep a mason jar filled with 3 in 1 oil by the bench, just for this reason. Throw the bad case in the jar, come back a day later, de-prime. Primers are definitely dead at that point.
Not true PCF. The only thing that happens for sure if you soak your primers in oil is that they get oily.
I have experimented with wd-40, various oils and fluid soaking for extended periods of time. NONE OF THEM DEACTIVATED Primers with ANY sort of useful way.
Soaking for days in oil may keep 3 or 4 out of a hundred from going off.
This is a myth with the possibility of getting somebody hurt and it should go away and be challanged every time it is brought out.
I have experimented with wd-40, various oils and fluid soaking for extended periods of time. NONE OF THEM DEACTIVATED Primers with ANY sort of useful way.
Soaking for days in oil may keep 3 or 4 out of a hundred from going off.
This is a myth with the possibility of getting somebody hurt and it should go away and be challanged every time it is brought out.
pcf
Member
Hmm....I tried the same thing after I primed about 20 38spcl cases with magum primers.....none of them worked.....but, thanks for the info.
'fraid I have to agree with bigjim, pcf. All you end up with is an oily case inside and out (a very bad thing, IMO) and an iffy primer.pcf said:
Wear safety glasses, go slow, deprime as usual - no problems.
I`ve went the deprime route and never had one go, but...............Why not just shoot them, and knock fired primers out of those cases?
You can`t kill them for sure, and I see no need to risk setting one off if I can help it. Shoot them and be done with it.
You can`t kill them for sure, and I see no need to risk setting one off if I can help it. Shoot them and be done with it.
I have deprimed alot of live primers by running them into the sizing die. Last ones I did were 1000 7.62x54R Winchester casings. They still had lube on them and that led to all kinds of problems.
Decapping them allowed me to tumble them to remove the lube.
I did all of them, as well as others before and since, without any going off.
I always wear safety glasses when doing anything that involves live primers.
Decapping them allowed me to tumble them to remove the lube.
I did all of them, as well as others before and since, without any going off.
I always wear safety glasses when doing anything that involves live primers.
gwalchmai
Member
Shooting them sometimes presents a problem, as in the case of a 1911 owner.
snuffy
Member
Engage brain and THINK!
Stop and think what it takes to set off a primer when loaded in a cartridge and in a rifle/handgun. You have the primer held tightly, and a pointed firing pin either struck by a hammer or propelled by a heavy spring. A LOT OF CONCENTRATED FORCE! It crushes a shock sensitive propellant against an anvil, causing it to detonate.
Now what do you have with a deprime punch gently pushing against a primer? It's free to move and hardly any sudden hard force! I've done hundreds over the years, even some in upside down! :banghead:
I keep a mason jar filled with 3 in 1 oil by the bench, just for this reason. Throw the bad case in the jar, come back a day later, de-prime. Primers are definitely dead at that point."
What bigjim said is spot on correct. Modern primers have sealant covering the propellant wafer and anvil, to prevent most things from degrading it. What you'd need to de-activate it would be a solvent to dissolve the sealant AND remove it, then any oil would de-activate it. You may hear from time to time to be sure not to handle primers with case lube on your fingers. That comes from long ago before sealants were applied to primers, the case lube was usually oil that could kill primers, leading to duds at the range.
Stop and think what it takes to set off a primer when loaded in a cartridge and in a rifle/handgun. You have the primer held tightly, and a pointed firing pin either struck by a hammer or propelled by a heavy spring. A LOT OF CONCENTRATED FORCE! It crushes a shock sensitive propellant against an anvil, causing it to detonate.
Now what do you have with a deprime punch gently pushing against a primer? It's free to move and hardly any sudden hard force! I've done hundreds over the years, even some in upside down! :banghead:
I keep a mason jar filled with 3 in 1 oil by the bench, just for this reason. Throw the bad case in the jar, come back a day later, de-prime. Primers are definitely dead at that point."
What bigjim said is spot on correct. Modern primers have sealant covering the propellant wafer and anvil, to prevent most things from degrading it. What you'd need to de-activate it would be a solvent to dissolve the sealant AND remove it, then any oil would de-activate it. You may hear from time to time to be sure not to handle primers with case lube on your fingers. That comes from long ago before sealants were applied to primers, the case lube was usually oil that could kill primers, leading to duds at the range.
JA
Member
A couple of my friends were subcontractors of Talon on demilling a little over 13 million rounds of 30 carbine ammo. The US govt. demilitarizing specifications required the bullet,powder,and primers be removed from the cases. They used 16 RCBS Rockchucker presses and depriming dies running two shifts. They had a couple primers go off the first day and a couple ladies quit. But once they exsplained to the workers again that they can't slap the press handles. But have to use steady even force on the handles they never had another primer go off on 13 million rounds.
Deavis
Member
If you don't want to deprime them in your press, here is a very quick way to take care of them.
Clamp your barrel lightly in a vice. Drop the casing in. Grab a punch (round nose works better than V shaped) and a happer. Pop the primer. Repeat. Much faster than chambering the rounds.
The primer will form to the shape of the punch you use and a V-shaped punch will allow it to "rise" more. That can introduce feeding problems when inserting it into the shell plate on a progressive due to clearance. A decent round nosed punch and a nice solid strike take care of the issue completely.
Wear plugs, glasses, boots (barrel is pointing down!), and go to town. Fast, easy, completely safe.
Clamp your barrel lightly in a vice. Drop the casing in. Grab a punch (round nose works better than V shaped) and a happer. Pop the primer. Repeat. Much faster than chambering the rounds.
The primer will form to the shape of the punch you use and a V-shaped punch will allow it to "rise" more. That can introduce feeding problems when inserting it into the shell plate on a progressive due to clearance. A decent round nosed punch and a nice solid strike take care of the issue completely.
Wear plugs, glasses, boots (barrel is pointing down!), and go to town. Fast, easy, completely safe.
WayneConrad
Member
Put on eyes and ears, go find a piece of concrete that you won't mind having tiny craters in, and tap on primers with a hammer. You can crush the little buggers flat without them going off if you don't rap them sharply enough. You might be surprised at how sharply you have to wack them to get them to pop.
Disclaimer: I've done many stupid things. This might be one of them. Little specs of concrete do sting a little when they find skin.
Disclaimer: I've done many stupid things. This might be one of them. Little specs of concrete do sting a little when they find skin.
rbernie
Contributing Member
I used to chamber the empty-but-primed brass in a rifle and pop 'em. It was s-l-o-w but it was safe (so long as I didn't point the muzzle of the rifle at my bare feet).
For the last couple of years, I've been too impatient and just deprimed the brass in my press as I would if the primers were inert. Have never had an issue or had a primer go off when operating the press handle just as I would for a normal decapping/sizing operation.
For the last couple of years, I've been too impatient and just deprimed the brass in my press as I would if the primers were inert. Have never had an issue or had a primer go off when operating the press handle just as I would for a normal decapping/sizing operation.
Well ... if it is in a revolver, then you end up with primers set back and the cylinder won't rotate ... been THERE done that. Now I just deprime as almost everyone else seems to. I always put on safety glasses, just in case. I've done maybe 200 over the years and I've never had one go off ... but that doesn't mean one in a 1000 might not ...
As an aside, I once got a factory load that had the primer installed sideways ... I don't know what they use as priming tools in the big factories, but this thing was squished totally flat ... even with the base of the case, just sideways ... and it never went off. These seem to be VERY well designed to work one specific way and only that way.
Saands
A friend of mine had a business making coyote traps using 38 spl primed cases. He would buy the cases from the factory in lots of 50,000 or more. He gave me all his rejects to reload. These included primers sideways and even upside down. He had maybe 100 or so rejects per year.
I deprimed all those with no problem.
Six-Gun
Member
Just echoing what most have said already:
-Don some eye protection
-Go SLOW
-Use the sizing die and retrieve the live primer
-Don some eye protection
-Go SLOW
-Use the sizing die and retrieve the live primer
caz223
Member
I've blown up several primers trying to put them in with a lee loader kit.
Never had a primer blow up taking them out.
Never had a primer blow up taking them out.
The Bushmaster
Member
I'm so damned finicky about clean rifles and handguns that if I fired off a primer in on of my firearms I'd have to clean it again. 
I will, using good care, decap a live primer using my resizing/decapping die...
I will, using good care, decap a live primer using my resizing/decapping die... - Status
