Old corrosive primers?

[NorthBorder]

I traded for some brass a while back and some of the cases were primed with these round primers
(on left) as opposed to the one on the right which I primed. I have maybe 50 brass primed with these round primers. I am pretty sure they are old. Can I use them or should I de-prime the brass with these primers?

 

[N555]

We are in a primer shortage, just use them.
Fire at least 3 non corrosive modern rounds after you shoot the possibility corrosive ones and clean and it will be fine.

 

[Palladan44]

Whatever you're more comfortable doing.

In order to be corrosive I'm thinking they would need to be at least 70 years old. Then again that's if they're US made primers.

I wouldn't trust them on a hunt in case they don't go bang. And what N555 said.

Personally, I'd keep them all for a day of shootin' and burn em' up all at once. Keeping them hangin' around would be a small annoyance, to a very small degree for an "order" freak like me.

 

[AgPilot]

Send Em My way. I’ll test them out and send a report on if they are worth keeping

 

[Obturation]

You should check that those cases aren't balloon head type. I got about 6 in mixed brass a while back, if that's the case, I wouldn't use them. That headstamp is pretty darn old. As far as the primers, I'd punch them out, no use in putting possibly corrosive material in your rifle.

 

[Skgreen]

",,, aren't balloon head type"

For those of us (like myself) who are unfamiliar with "balloon head":

Link to old locked, thread: https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/what-is-a-balloon-head-case-please.745994/

 

[GeoDudeFlorida]

Chootum!

 

[N555]

You should be able to look down inside and see if it's a balloon head case.
If it's balloon head load'email with lead bullets and pyrodex or black power.

 

[LaneP]

If those were mine I would shoot them as any current primer but make sure I cleaned same day. There is a lot of what I would call misplaced fear that firing corrosive primed ammo will turn your gun into a block of rust within hours, but this only applies to those that shoot and put their gun away without cleaning for weeks or months in humid conditions.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

If those were mine I would shoot them as any current primer but make sure I cleaned same day. There is a lot of what I would call misplaced fear that firing corrosive primed ammo will turn your gun into a block of rust within hours, but this only applies to those that shoot and put their gun away without cleaning for weeks or months in humid conditions.

Correct, their not corrosive anyways, they are hydroscopic, meaning the residue left over from firing them will attract moisture, and that rusts the barrel.
So does black powder fired in muzzle loaders.
Shoot them and clean your barrel and chamber when you get home.

 

[GBExpat]

NorthBorder, just in case those old primers are also mercuric, after you fire them drink a big glass of milk.

I have read that the workers in British military ammo MFG facilities were fed milk so that it would, for some reason, combine with any mercury that had gotten into their systems during their shift and facilitate its removal.

Don't know if it works, just sharing a historical tidbit on the subject.

 

[tmd16556]

Mercuric primers also make brass brittle. I doubt those are mercuric though. I have some old ones like that too and limited notebooks. Those could be as old as the 1930s. I shot some last year and they all fired.

 

[NorthBorder]

NorthBorder, just in case those old primers are also mercuric, after you fire them drink a big glass of milk.

I have read that the workers in British military ammo MFG facilities were fed milk so that it would, for some reason, combine with any mercury that had gotten into their systems during their shift and facilitate its removal.

Don't know if it works, just sharing a historical tidbit on the subject.

Well, that is an interesting tidbit for sure.

When I think about it I realize that all these cases must have been fired before and reprimed with these round primers. The headstamps aren't all UMC, some Western and some Peters.
Looking at the bottom of the inside of these cases they appear similar in build to the inside bottoms of my starline brass. I don't think they are balloon head.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

There is a big difference between balloon head and modern "solid head" brass.
This is starline solid head brass next to an old UMC balloon head black powder brass.

Then their was a variant of "folded head" or often called "semi balloon head brass"
This is from Lyman's 38th edition reloading manual.

 

[Random 8]

They may or may not be corrosive (using the common vernacular so not to fall into TTs semantics trap.) In the present primer shortage, I would absolutely shoot them, just as I absolutely shoot WWII-1950s M2 ball (although I do avoid it in the Garand as it's a pain to clean after corrosive ammo). Swab your bore with a water based solution shortly after shooting, followed by a dry patch, a little air dry time, and a lightly oiled patch. A patch dipped in the window washer reservoir of your vehicle is a good field expedient, as is plain water. If you're shooting an especially dirty load, some light detergent added to the water will be helpful to swab out the gunk. This is best done hot.

I've fired 10Ks of corrosive primed Commie surplus rounds with zero pitting or bore damage following this cleaning regimen.

 

[Mk-211]

Random 8's info about using soapy water or windshield washer fluid as a cleaner is a good idea. You want to get the residue from the primers off your rifle.

There are cleaning solvents out there that will do that. If you can find some solvent from WWII, it was made for this purpose. The only problem with this is that finding any is pretty much impossible anymore.

Slip2000 and Boretech both make solvents that will neutralize the residue from corrosive primers. You need to clean everything that the residue is left on, barrel, bolt, receiver...

If you live in a humid area, doing a light cleaning before leaving the range is a good idea.

 

[GBExpat]

Potassium chlorate (KClO3) in the primer compound is the source of the issue with "corrosive" primers. KClO3 gives up its oxygen atoms to the reaction leaving potassium chloride. (KCl)

KCl, alone, will not harm the steel in your firearm, but it is hygroscopic and will attract moisture from the environment and start a rustfest.

Its hygroscopicity also suggests the best means for its removal: water. Clean or pre-clean with something water-based. The KCl will happily join the solution and can then be easily removed from the surfaces.

BTW, chlorate primers are not a big deal if you always add the simple pre-cleaning step. If you live in a very arid locale, it is must less to zero issue.

Oh, and be sure to clean all steel touched by the propellant gases. I recall a story about a fellow who had done some shooting of his milsurp with the bayonet attached. He cleaned his bore properly, but not the bayonet. Weeks later ...

 

[ballman6711]

As the others have said, shoot them and clean your gun shortly after. I would clean it just like a black powder gun using hot (VERY HOT) soapy water. Then dry and oil as normal.

chris