Firing Primer Only In A Revolver?

[jcwit]

Why waste the primer regardless of cost?

Do you throw those away you happen to drop on the floor?

 

[RealGun]

Your implied premise that it wouldn't be safe to decap the brass with live primers is leading you to a radical solution. What I would do is remove the decapping pin from the sizing die. Actually just short stroking takes care of resizing the case mouth while preserving the primer. You would have to practice with spent primers to get the feel of how much stroke you need without poking out the good primer.

If the FTF is due to the diameter nearer the case head, you will need to resize the whole case (full stroke).

 

[otisrush]

The reason for my original question was that I saw an opportunity to get a qualitative feel for the power and sound of a primer-only being detonated. I've heard various reports from people who have had it happen and they report things like "Louder than I thgought!". Or the sobering report from a number of weeks back (that is now a sticky) about a number of primers being detonated.

Secondarily - I just don't like having undetonated stuff around that I don't have a plan to use in some way. It's a burden. I now have 4 primed, mis-sized cases on my bench that I need to do something with. I have pieces that don't fit into my normal categories/buckets that need special handling. I'll decap them carefully and likely reuse the primers.

Thanks.

OR

 

[RealGun]

I'll decap them carefully and likely reuse the primers.

I don't know that there is a "carefully". Decap is decap. The most you might do is wear eye protection, but remember that the primer is not being pushed out from the business end, the anvil. Don't make too much of it and be apprehensive about reloading.

 

[jmorris]

Speed does have a bit to do with setting off priming compound.

I have crushed a primer completely flat in a bench vise and did not set it off. Did this back when I could not believe anyone could set primers off seating them. As I had mangled them about every way I though they could be when I started out 30 years ago.

I understand that they can be set off seating as I have seen proof, since my experiment.

Proceed with caution and if you think you might get hurt don't do it.

 

[edfardos]

Cyl locks up in my experience. I don't do it anymore. Sounds like a 22rimfire going off too.