homemade primers

[cdmiller]

Primer reloading test results

Posted this over at ammosmith as well, hope it doesn't cause a toy cap shortage

Due to my own dwindling primer supply I read up on reloading primers with match heads, various primer chemical compounds, and caught ammosmith's video. Along the way I found a post on using kids ring caps (for cap guns) in large pistol primers. I recently tested some home reloaded small pistol primers using paper roll caps and thought I would share the results. The paper roll caps I used were from Wal Mart, they say Imperial Toy Co. made in Germany on the back and "less than .042 grains of powder".

Pieces parts:
bunch o spent small pistol primers (silver, look like CCI)
old CCI primer tray
precision screwdriver
1/8" lyman steel punch
hammer
1 1/2" steel washer (lying around for securing things to the loading bench)
Lee hand primer
X-Acto knife with curved blade
paper roll caps

Procedure:
Used a precision screwdriver to pop anvils out of primer cups (store in used primer tray).
Scrape out inside of primer cups with precision screwdriver.
Place cups on steel washer (or other flat metal surface) and use punch and hammer to flatten out divot (store in primer tray).
Use X-acto knife to cut centers out of the paper roll caps, I did not peel any paper off.
Place primer cup on washer or other flat metal surface.
Press cut caps into primer cups with steel punch (bang side down).
Use butt end of steel punch to press anvil back into primer cup (don't tap it in or it will go bang).
Load brass as usual with Lee hand prime, (takes less pressure than new primers).

Test:
I first tested empty brass with 1, 2, and 3 paper cap centers in the primers. All went bang and shot some sparks from the barrel (Colt officers model match .38 special ). The single cap primers seemed a bit weak, the 2 cap appeared good and the 3 cap were pretty hot. The 3 cap primers were very tight and sometimes the anvil would not seat back into the primer cup enough to stick making priming the brass a pain.

I loaded 6 light .38's (~3.3 gr Bullseye, 158 gr lead swc) with 1 and 2 cap primers (3 of each) and went to the range. The 2 cap cartridges shot well, chrony showing 760 fps 10 feet out. The 1 cap primers sucked, 1 shot fine, the second didn't feel quite right with maybe a split second hesitation after the initial bang, and the third misfired.

So in all 2 paper roll cap centers per small pistol primer appears to work fine. My guess is they are corrosive so clean well after using. I'm thinking of devising a metal tube to cut the cap centers out with, making the cutting and loading procedure a bit faster. Some type of press to flatten the primer divot would be cool too, rather than banging with a hammer.

 

[redneck2]

Why does the phrase "Hold my beer and watch this" keep popping into my head as I read this?

 

[ants]

Armstrong's mixture

Just for laughs, here is the common formula used in modern toy gun caps:

An example of a preferred primer mixture which exhibits the desired safety and sensitivity characteristics is that composition known in the art as "Armstrong's Mixture", as modified by the addition of a gritty substance, such as boron carbide. More specifically, a preferred primer mixture, exclusive of the solvent, may be constituted by the following composition in percentages by weight of: 70 percent potassium chlorate, 19 percent red phosphorus, 3 percent sulphur, 3 percent precipitated chalk, and 5 percent boron carbide.

The boron carbide is to induce friction. Like match heads, toy gun caps do not ignite by percussion but by friction. The carbide dust provides friction.

I burnt my eyelashes and eyebrows at age 14 making Armstrong's mixture using the ingredients listed above (in the High School chem lab, of all places -- we used get away with a lot more than they allow now).

If you use toy gun caps in an experimental setting, be VERY VERY careful. It can still initiate localized ignition while damp with a water solvent, whereupon the heat quickly dessicates the remaining mixture and it all cascades into an explosion right before your very eyes.

 

[Old School 2]

I love this thread, with the recent primer shortage I am enjoying reading this. So, to drop my .02 in, here is a link to making primer compound. http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5492577.html
Hope this helps...

 

[Old School 2]

Oh, PS, after you click on that link, download the pdf, the break down is there.

 

[ants]

I always wondered why someone would go through all this trouble, but not think about making primers out of cap-n-ball percussion caps. Percussion caps are not in short supply, just primers.

The cups can be resized as needed (just like sizing a lead bullet in a tapered die, but smaller). Percussion caps can be bent and squeezed gently, I've done it dozens of times over the last 40 years by accident, none of them went bang. Just don't subject them to impact. Then insert an anvil from an old Boxer primer and seat the assembly in the case.

 

[Lee Roder]

I think ammosmith does this (youtube) but he doesn't actually demonstrate it in live ammo. He just burns a hole in a piece of paper by firing his "primed" case so it's only a "proof of concept". Still interesting though.

 

[GW Staar]

So in all 2 paper roll cap centers per small pistol primer appears to work fine. My guess is they are corrosive so clean well after using. I'm thinking of devising a metal tube to cut the cap centers out with, making the cutting and loading procedure a bit faster. Some type of press to flatten the primer divot would be cool too, rather than banging with a hammer.

For less than $10 you can get a great punch from Tandy.

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/search/searchresults/3003-00.aspx?feature=Product_15&kw=Punch

For SHTF all this might be more than worthwhile. Saving all your spent primers, buying a year supply of toy rolled caps, and a $10 dollar punch is pretty cheap insurance. Don't forget to put away a little food and water while you're at it.

 

[Bush Pilot]

When I go through my cabinet full of primers I'll have to revisit this thread

 

[rcmodel]

Don't forget to put away a little food and water while you're at it.

And bandages.
Don't forget the bandages!

rc

 

[Duce1]

Do a search on " YOUTUBE " video page there is a guy who has posted a 2 part video on how to do it .

Like someone else has said he used match heads and went through all the steps to do it .

I personally have not tried it but it is good information to know if you really had to do it !

 

[Deavis]

I saw a book at the last gunshow on how to make primers, I wish I had written down the title. The back said it covered everything from cups to compounds. Lead styphnate and azide can be made, you can find the recipe in any decent chemistry book.

 

[rcmodel]

Nitroglycerin can be made at home too.

But that doesn't mean you should try to do it.

rc

 

[jjohnson]

For the Sake of Science!

Oh, I think it's great to see so many guys are so interested in this topic without all the attorneys out there freaking out.

I think a certain amount of this is really good - kind of like doing something like tanning hides. There should always be some of us who remember "the old ways" so we can keep the knowledge alive.

I'm not in a hurry to make my own primers. Gotta go find some of those matches, though. Where do you get 'em, anyway? Mexico? Canada?

 

[Venado]

I used the match-head method years ago, but instead of making a paste just tamped the match-head powder into the cup, using the match stick, and then inserted the anvil. Don't waste the rest of the match head. The red or blue part will scrape off also, and makes a good substitute for gun powder. I used the home-made primer and powder in a .357 magnum. It shot very well, and made me feel like a black-powder person, because there was a cloud of white smoke. Then if you want to get real crazy, make a glue gun bullet, by putting the hot glue in your bullet mold, which comes right out, and shooting your homemade cartridge.

 

[sonier]

my nearest gun store with primers closed for good. i am out of primers lol so guess what. Also a word of caution, i can see someone shooting a revolver with these, missfire so he shoots again, well the first cartridge could have been hangfired. and now it just shot out of the sid eof your pistol. if i get missfire im gona aim in safe direction, then place it on a block of wood. then go eat a sandwhich come back and keep shooting lol

 

[Roccobro]

Gotta go find some of those matches, though. Where do you get 'em, anyway? Mexico? Canada?

I'm thinking the same thing.

Justin

 

[Oyeboten]

I always used to use 'Strike Anywhere' Matches for lighting the Kitchen Stove Burners or Oven.

Had a little Cast Iron Match Holder on the Wall next to the Stove.


It's an old Gas Stove, and, that's how one does it.

After that '9-11' mischief, all the 'Strike Anywhere' Matches disappeared from Store Shelves, and, I have not seen any since.


Are some of you still able to find them in your areas?


Anyway...I will try finding some US made Cap Gun 'Caps' and see about re-using spent Small Pistol Primers with them, as desribed.


Sounds like fun, definitely...

 

[Beelzy]

Hmm, I'll have to check today, but I believe Strike Anywhere matches are still around
in my parts........I better stock up.

They may become the "new" Primer to have, sadly.

 

[Steve Marshall]

The matches are hard to find. However a local chain market carries in one of the stores. I'd suspect you'd have more luck finding them in farm stores or such. Why not ask Diamond Customer Service where to buy?

 

[Duce1]

The matches can also be found at our favorite store " Walmart " in the camping area they are known as waterproof matches and cost a little more . But heck in a pinch you know where to find them .

 

[sonier]

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! now i got primers to make my annoying antigun neighorbors happier!!!!!!!!!!!! thanks duce hittin up wally word and gona have some fun soon.

 

[orionengnr]

Why does the phrase "Hold my beer and watch this" keep popping into my head as I read this?

Maybe because you have never (yet) experienced a shortage that escalates to desperation?

FWIW, neither have I, but if I ever do...I will be eternally grateful for the info that people like this have devised.

 

[GW Staar]

Quote:
Why does the phrase "Hold my beer and watch this" keep popping into my head as I read this?
Maybe because you have never (yet) experienced a shortage that escalates to desperation?

FWIW, neither have I, but if I ever do...I will be eternally grateful for the info that people like this have devised.

Trouble is, if you ever do, and you don't see it coming, and don't prepare for it, the info may not do much good.

For example, I really didn't think America would vote Obama in. I didn't have a clue that occurrence would make black guns disappear in one November week all over America. Then ammo disappeared in December, reloading equipment in January, and components in February. Maybe I should have, but I didn't see it coming...did you?

That was bad enough, but I remember a single truck strike in the 70's emptied the shelves in every Grocery Store in ONE week. The truckers got their demands and the shelves were full again a few days later. In a grocery store in Vicksburg Mississippi that week, I saw two women duke it out over the last two loaves of bread. Nice town most of the time. (I lived there for a whole three months)

What would happen if Obama Bin Biden, oops, I mean Osama Bin Laden fired a nuke in the atmosphere over America and caused a huge regional EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) that fried all electronics in the area. No more working trucks, gas pumps, cars, electrical grid...get the picture?

But if you had a 3 month supply of the food you eat daily (buy extra every time you go to the store and rotate to prevent spoilage) and if you started washing and filling every empty fruit or soda pop plastic bottle with pure water....well you might weather the storm a little better.

Might be nice to have a generator and some gasoline on hand so you can cook it.

Can you imagine the attention you'll get when your house is the only one lit up at night? Shivers!

But I digress. This was about all important primers wasn't it? Primers might be worth more than cash. You could trade primers for food. or bullets, or guns....

 

[Safetychain]

Try Homemade Guns and Homemade Ammo by Ronald B Brown. Among other things nawti, I covers several types primer compounds including the strike anywhere matchheads. It gives detailed instructions on how to do it safely. You can even use the red part of the matchheads as the replacement of gunpowder. He even works up some test loads.

I agree that this would not be normally usefull but.... it is good interesting information. I would not normaly want to make a rifle but I think it is interesting information.