Old Primers??

[gkdir]

Recently acquired about 300rds of .300Wheatherby reloads. Intend to pull the bullets, and dump the powder. I'm at a stand still on whether to de-cap, or try some of the rounds with the old primers. The stuff is easy 10yrs. plus--not even sure if they are mag primers. I have probably answered my own question while typing this--but please throw your opinions out there if you have had the same experience.
G

 

[Craigman]

I would dump some and weight em out. Might be good loads. No info on whats in them? In any case, the primers are probably ok. You can even reuse them (after popping them out)if they all look the same, in working up your own loads.

I might be being too risky, but someone loading for a WBY most likely knew what they were doing. I would prob shoot em, after checkin some of course

 

[jcwit]

I would pull all the reloads, I never shoot anyone elses reloads, regardless what rifle they may have, treasure what health I still have to dearly.

Regarding the primers themselves, I'd use them. Very doubtful they are bad.

 

[kingmt]

If you don't trust the loader dump the powder. 10 years is nothing on the primers. If your cartridges are already showing signs of pressure I would probably replace the primer with a known primer but other wise I would use them.

 

[bergmen]

Do you know how these were stored? In a cool closet or out in the hot garage?

I reload in my garage and in the summer it can get over 100F during the day easily. I used to store powder and primers at my reloading bench before I wised up and set up a temperature stable store room down at the barn (used to be a tack/feed room). It is always cool in there even on the hottest of days.

I know powder can degrade quicker in hot conditions. I don't know about primers but personally I would not trust them, they are too simple and too cheap just to replace. Then you will know.

Dan

 

[gab909]

what primers did he reload? Does he remember? Did he have to think? Was it written on the box? If you had to think of any of these, pop them out and be grateful for the brass. If you can match the primers with known primers, then you are in luck. Reloading blindly with primers, not knowing if they're mag or regular, probably won't kill you, but it can affect your grouping, if you can group it at all. That is why the data dictates, magnum or regular. I am kind of a by the book guy when it comes to reloading things that can mess up my day.

 

[jcwit]

I know powder can degrade quicker in hot conditions. I don't know about primers but personally I would not trust them, they are too simple and too cheap just to replace. Then you will know.

With this logic ammo stored in bunkers in the middle east would be unusable there. They're daytime temps reach 130 degrees let alone how hot it is in the bunker. Plus much of it is stored in steel shipping containers.

I've got ammo with Nazi stamps on them that I have used with no problem other than the primer is corrosive.

Still refuse to shoot others reloads.

 

[jcwit]

what primers did he reload? Does he remember? Did he have to think? Was it written on the box? If you had to think of any of these, pop them out and be grateful for the brass. If you can match the primers with known primers, then you are in luck. Reloading blindly with primers, not knowing if they're mag or regular, probably won't kill you, but it can affect your grouping, if you can group it at all. That is why the data dictates, magnum or regular. I am kind of a by the book guy when it comes to reloading things that can mess up my day.

Many folks interchange mag primers with std. primers using slightly different powder quanties. Especially if loading near max loads.

I even use Small Rifle Primers for Pistol rounds, but not the other way around. Again, its a primer, not a bomb folks.

 

[bergmen]

With this logic ammo stored in bunkers in the middle east would be unusable there. They're daytime temps reach 130 degrees let alone how hot it is in the bunker. Plus much of it is stored in steel shipping containers.

I've got ammo with Nazi stamps on them that I have used with no problem other than the primer is corrosive.

Still refuse to shoot others reloads.

Linky:

http://zrxoa.org/forums/showthread.php?t=265674&page=3

Post #61. (Oops, need to register there to see it. I can re-post if interested).

Exploding ammo dump in Albania:

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=13c_1205681217

I do not know of issues personally and it may not be an issue functionally. As a result of expressed concerns by experts I have consulted, I store my powder and primers in year-round cool/dry rooms.

Dan

 

[jcwit]

Doesn't say heat was the cause. Wonder what was the cause.

 

[FROGO207]

I will use the primers as they are if they are already in the brass. OK to remove them and reuse them though. Just dump the propellant if it can not positively be identified and reload with new that you know is correct. I would take the decapping pin out and run the primed brass into the sizing die to add some neck tension before assembling so the bullets will not move any. Just do not load at MAX due to the unknown primer question to keep the pressure safe in case it is a MAG primer, or use MAG data and you will have reduced velocity loads if it is not one.

 

[snuffy]

Standby for the rest of the story;

Back about 2 years into my reloading, 'round about 1974, my cousin came home from the Army with a Belgian 300 Wheatherby. I immediately said,"I can load shells for that"! He said, boy would that ever same me a bunch of money!

So I went ahead, bought the dies and loaded some 180 Hornady round nose,(we hunted in thick woods, lot of brush). I used standard primers. He took some to the range during site-in-days. They all were perfect keyholes! Of course I got a call, hey these don't shoot! I picked them up to re-do them with magnum primers. Same powder charge, the only difference was the mag primers. They shot beautifully.

Not knowing or guessing what type of primer is in them makes it a good idea to replace them, with magnum primers.

 

[jcwit]

What powder were you using?

 

[snuffy]

What powder were you using?

My memory is foggy as to what I had for breakfast, trying to remember something that long ago isNOT going to happen.

My point is that the 300 Weatherby magnum requires a magnum primer. It has a LOT of very slow burning powder to get lit.

 

[gamestalker]

This is a really good topic, that often rasies really good debates. I have encountered the near exact same circumstance when I bought a bunch of 7mm rem. mag. brass at a gun show a year or so ago. It was an easy decision for me because I load exclusively with slow, or the slowest of burning powder which require magnum primers, other wise bad things happen, as I had learned. I didn't hesitate to deprime and toss the primers.
My experience was I bought some standard primers during the big shortage a while back and figured I wouldn't likely experience a problem, but the result was clearly a problem. I ended up with burning and unburned powder blowing every where, including back into my face. In addition to that, pressures were spiking extremely high, which made sense since slow powders do strange and unpredictable things when the burn is not complete. Pressures wind up being too low, or as in my experience, spike high. This was my first time ignoring published data and my last.
I have read some posts though in which reloaders have had no ill effects substituting, but those circumstances were slightly different and involved loading light to middle of the road loads.