extracting primer, reuse

[dashootist]

Is it easy or possible to extract small pistol primers from the brass and reuse them?

I've got 500 rounds of 9x18, and I don't have any gun to shoot it. So I'm thinking about pulling the bullet and extracting the primer if possible and reusing them in other calibers.

 

[nofishbob]

I have done this.

Wear safety glasses and work slowly, as the impact is what sets the primers off, not steady pressure.

Of the dozens that I have reused, all have fired in their new cases, and none have popped on the press.

Good luck!

Bob

 

[jcwit]

Not a big deal at all, go for it. Push them out, steady pressure is the secret.

 

[ambidextrous1]

As previously noted, it can be done, but I wonder why you'd bother, unles you have a few hundred to reclaim; and in that case, I wonder how you got to that condition.

 

[nambu1]

Sell the ammo and buy primers. The bullet will not fit 9x19 ammo.

 

[billybob44]

Cost effective??

Your 500 rounds of 9X18 retail for about $200.00. Your 500 primers retail for about $15.00. Unless something is wrong with the loads, why not sell the 500 rounds and buy almost 7K of primers??? Just a thought..Bill.

 

[BADUNAME37]

I thought, when the primers are seated, the anvil which is protruded a bit compresses the mixture so the primer will go off easier.

In other words, if you stopped seating when the anvil hits bottom, the primer would still be not quite seated all the way. That extra little push makes the primer seat about a thousandth of an inch below flush. I would think, taking out the primer may interfere with it in some way if you do re-seat the primer, I would also think there could be a detonation by pressing the anvil out with the decapping pin removing the primer.

 

[dashootist]

...why not sell the 500 rounds and buy almost 7K of primers??? Just a thought..Bill.

Nothing wrong with them. They're full power 9x18. I read that selling reload is a bad idea because of legal liability. If the buyer gets injuried by the gun, he is probably going to blame the ammo regardless of the cause. Am I too paranoid? Do I need to have more faith in people?

 

[billybob44]

Nothing wrong with them. They're full power 9x18. I read that selling reload is a bad idea because of legal liability. If the buyer gets injuried by the gun, he is probably going to blame the ammo regardless of the cause. Am I too paranoid? Do I need to have more faith in people?

I did not know that they were reloads. With that in mind, they probably will be more difficult to sell. Put the word out in your local gun circles+see if you can come across a buyer. Be sure to let the buyer know that they ARE reloads+that you assume NO responsibility or liability for their use. May be a good idea to make up a bill of sale stating as such.. Bill.

 

[dashootist]

This IS the handload subforum.

 

[oneounceload]

This IS the handload subforum.

SO? The original OP did not mention the ammo being reloaded; based on that limited info, the idea to sell and buy a lot more primers was sound.

Now that the OP has said they were reloads, pull the bullets, sell ALL of the components and break even

And yes, depriming live primers is NO big deal

 

[jcwit]

I would also think there could be a detonation by pressing the anvil out with the decapping pin removing the primer.

Not hardly, impact as in sudden impact ignites a primer. Furthermore if by some chance one should go off, it a primer, not a loaded cartridge, the worse that could happen is the ringing in ones ears from the bang.

I would think, taking out the primer may interfere with it in some way if you do re-seat the primer

Nope, just reseat them in the caliber you wish, have done it hundreds and hundreds of times. Have done it with both pistol and rifle rounds.

Remember, its a primer not an A-Bomb, or a Grenade for that matter.

 

[billybob44]

dashootist-a little story...

A friend of mine, who is an experienced re loader, was in the middle of a large batch of .40 S&W 180gr. Berry's loads, with his Dillon 650, when he noticed a sticking condition in his powder measure?? I'm not sure if it was dumping too much Titegroup or too little??
All I know is that he had almost 1/2 of a 5 gallon bucket of .40 S&W's with some that had too much, or too little of powder charges.
I made the deal with him to give me the bucket load of them, I would pull all of the bullets and give him back 1/2 of the Berry's 180gr. bullets.
I already have a RCBS collet type bullet puller, with collets for other calibers, so I sent off to MidwayUSA for a .40 cal. collet, and "Went to Town"
I pulled 1340 bullets, saved the Titegroup in a spare Titegroup container, gave him back 670 bullets+kept the rest. I did this in 3-4, 2hr. settings at my load bench.
I pulled the decap stem out of my Dillon .40 S&W size die, as to not push out the seated CCI-500 primers, and ran the primed brass through my RL550 as normal-Sized,flared+powdered,seated bullet,crimped case.
I used this method as to reapply the case tension to the brass, that may have been lost during the bullet pulling process.
I have loaded up over half of the recycled brass+have went through my 670 of the Berry's bullets. And YES I used the perfectly good Titegroup powder to recharge the cases.
To wind up this story: Yes dashootist-I DO have SOME experience in taking down reloaded ammo that may be in question.
No Rant--Just a Story...Bill.

 

[Seedtick]

I've got 500 rounds of 9x18, and I don't have any gun to shoot it. So I'm thinking about pulling the bullet and extracting the primer if possible and reusing them in other calibers.

Sounds to me like you need a gun not a bullet puller.

Seedtick

 

[billybob44]

Sounds to me like you need a gun not a bullet puller.

Seedtick

You have a point, Seed--You have a Point..Bill..

 

[1SOW]

Push them out. They'll work fine.
Always wear safety glasses when playing with primers.

 

[gamestalker]

I think you need a class 6 FFL to sell ammunition, reloaded or other wise?
I've deprimed a bunch of unfired cases over the years and have never had one detonate, so I wouldn't be too concerned about that. But reusing them would bother me, and especially so because I don't know for certain what primer is in them. An example is some 7mm rem. mag. brass I bought at a gun show that were all primed and resized. Because some individuals use standard large rifle primers rather than magnum, I just deprimed them and tossed the primers out. And also because primers are so inexpensive, it's just not worth saving them in my opinion. I have never had a mis-fire in over 30 years of reloading for shotgun and metalic, can't say the same for factory loads though.
The powder is good for the lawn or garden because of the high nitrogen content.
Now the bullets is a different story. If you don't have a cartridge thats uses that caliber and weight, you could always sell them or for what you need. The powder is good for the lawn or garden since it's

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Primers are made to detonate when the back is struck, not the front being pushed.

Like the others I have removed live primers from brass and reused them. Mind you I never did 500 but at least a dozen or possibly two.

 

[Sport45]

You need one of these.

I've decapped live primers and reused them. I suggest you only use them for range fodder and do check to see the anvil is still there before you use them again.

 

[Otto]

I would also think there could be a detonation by pressing the anvil out with the decapping pin removing the primer.

What a coincidence, Dillon thinks the same thing.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

You need one of these.

You linked to a S&W Bodyguard 380 in .380 Auto. Why would he need a pistol in 9mm Kurz (9X17mm) when he's talking about ammo that's 9mm Makarov? (9X18mm) They are close but in no way interchangeable....

 

[FROGO207]

FYI woodsoup is looking for 9X18 brass in 300+ qty in the trade sell reloading section today.

 

[Jim Watson]

I tend to agree. If I had 500 rounds of Mak ammo, I would be looking hard at a CZ.

But then why did you load the ammo with no gun? Or do you have the ammo left over after selling the gun?

 

[res45]

I've pushed out quiet a few primer in 30 years of reloading,some were mine some were ammo people gave me for various reasons. I've never had one go off and I reused them all and they all went bang.

AIM Surplus has some nice little Polish 9 x 18 pistols in stock,Wideners Reloading has some CZ and Bulgarian 9 x18 pistols as well. I have Hungarian PA-63 for several years now it's nice little handgun.

 

[jcwit]

Quote:
I would also think there could be a detonation by pressing the anvil out with the decapping pin removing the primer.

What a coincidence, Dillon thinks the same thing.

And most manufactures of new firearms say not to shoot reloads.

I believe we have a lawyer thing going here.

If we want to go down this road, how many folks drive over the speed limit?

One more time, primers are set off/ignited by impact, NOT by pressure.

Furthermore, if it still bothers someone, its not rocket science to empty the spent primer cup with each primer removed.