RA 42 headstamp corrosive ?

[BigSlick]

Hi guys,

I picked up some 30-06 brass at the show over the weekend. It is in great shape and the price was right - 2.00 for 50.

I got it home and was going to start prepping it and noticed it is primed. Looks like the original primer, since the crimp is still in place. I am not about to load with 63 year old primers.

Before I started to get rid of these and swage the crimp out I have a couple of questions:

Are the primers from RA 42 corrosive and what are the chances they are still live ? If so, any idea on the best way to deprime ?

Thanks in advance for any insight

BigSlick

 

[Poodleshooter]

Hi BigSlik,
That's Remington Arms brass made during WWII. It is definitely corrosively primed if the priming looks original. RA didn't start using non-corrosive priming in that headstamp until '52 or '53
Pop 'em off in an easy to clean bolt gun for safety sake. I'd be wary depriming live primers that old.
BTW, for anyone who references 30/06 headstamps: http://www.odcmp.org/1101/USGI.pdf

 

[g56]

Definitely corrosive.

 

[Khornet]

1942 ammo

I have 5 boxes of WRA 42 M2 Ball. I fired 10 rds, all went bang just fine, so I'll bet those primers are quite live.

 

[Jim K]

Poodleshooter said, "I'd be wary depriming live primers that old."

I am wary of decapping any live primers, new or old. So wary I don't do it.

As to primers "that old", I have fired a fair amount of WWII ammo over a 50 year period, and none failed to go off. That ammo was loaded with the old FA70 primer mix, corrosive as heck, but very stable. That is why the Army kept corrosive primers through WWII - because non-corrosive primers were still new and they didn't know about stability. (Carbine ammo was an exception because the carbine was considered a secondary weapon and non-corrosive priming was essential if it were to be kept functional.)

Jim

 

[Poodleshooter]

My statement was based on a wariness of older explosive materials. I'm admittedly no chemist, but I've never heard of a percussion sensitive material that gets less sensitive with age.
I've deprimed newer primers with no problems,though I avoid it whenever possible. It must be done very slowly if at all.