Smokey Joe
Member
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2003
- Messages
- 2,617
Removing and killing primers
IMX, primers are NOT killed by oil. There is a sad case, however, of a LEO who regularly cleaned his loaded mags with WD-40 (which has a penetrant) and his rounds failed him when he tried to stop an armed bank robbery in progress. Having heard of that, I have decided never to oil my mags--clean 'em dry, leave 'em be.
This may have been long enough ago to have been before primers were sealed as they are now. But why take chances.
As to killing primers--I've gone the case-in-a-vice, hit-primer-with-a-punch route. It is slow and piddly, also noisy, and I had one blow out and come up and hit me once (no damage, but it stung, and once is enough.)
I've fired 'em in the gun in question to kill 'em. Safe, but again, noisy and time-consuming, plus you dirty the gun.
The only efficient way to kill primers you don't want is to put them one by one on a hard surface (I use a piece of railroad rail) and hit them sharply with a hammer. With eye/ear/hand protection of course. Still noisy, but MUCH quicker than the other ways.
Removing them from the cases? Another vote for doing it slowly and carefully with a resize/deprime die. Primers need to be hit sharply to go off. If you oosh them out they don't get mad at you. I have removed more than I care to count, this way.
Incidentally, I have re-used removed primers in other handloads, and while I would not do this with hunting or SD rounds, for plinking or even sighting in, they have worked just fine, 100%. They go into the primer pocket a little easier the 2nd time around, but there is still enough resistance to keep 'em in once you get 'em in.
IMX, primers are NOT killed by oil. There is a sad case, however, of a LEO who regularly cleaned his loaded mags with WD-40 (which has a penetrant) and his rounds failed him when he tried to stop an armed bank robbery in progress. Having heard of that, I have decided never to oil my mags--clean 'em dry, leave 'em be.
This may have been long enough ago to have been before primers were sealed as they are now. But why take chances.
As to killing primers--I've gone the case-in-a-vice, hit-primer-with-a-punch route. It is slow and piddly, also noisy, and I had one blow out and come up and hit me once (no damage, but it stung, and once is enough.)
I've fired 'em in the gun in question to kill 'em. Safe, but again, noisy and time-consuming, plus you dirty the gun.
The only efficient way to kill primers you don't want is to put them one by one on a hard surface (I use a piece of railroad rail) and hit them sharply with a hammer. With eye/ear/hand protection of course. Still noisy, but MUCH quicker than the other ways.
Removing them from the cases? Another vote for doing it slowly and carefully with a resize/deprime die. Primers need to be hit sharply to go off. If you oosh them out they don't get mad at you. I have removed more than I care to count, this way.
Incidentally, I have re-used removed primers in other handloads, and while I would not do this with hunting or SD rounds, for plinking or even sighting in, they have worked just fine, 100%. They go into the primer pocket a little easier the 2nd time around, but there is still enough resistance to keep 'em in once you get 'em in.