Hi All, hoping someone might have an answer to this question...have been reloading for about 10 yrs mainly 45acp and 9mm, thousands of reloads. Put fired cases in a wet tumbler with some lemmi shine and dawn to clean them and then dry them on a tray with an old paint stripping heat gun. Again these are all empty fired cases....couple days ago one of the spent primers in one of the cases went off while drying. Question is how could this happen? Thank You
used case 45acp primer ignition
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Obviously not a spent primer...
As implied by Englishmn above... not your case that you fired ?
N555
Member
Or a primed case got dropped in with your brass.
Jim Watson
Member
Had to be a live primer in there somehow, two means cited.
But enough heat to fire it was a lot. I dried BPCR cases in the oven at 250F. I never had a primer slip through so I can't say if that would pop one.
But enough heat to fire it was a lot. I dried BPCR cases in the oven at 250F. I never had a primer slip through so I can't say if that would pop one.
Water will dud a primer, that is why the primer cake is under a water proof coating. The coating typically is a polymer and it won't dissolve in water. So, you have to work at dudding a primer.
Stuff like this happens. I think this is the reason some recycling centers are refusing cartridge cases. In the garbage cans at my range, there are lots of cartridges that did not go bang, and if they were tossed into a ladle, the gunpowder would at least go off!
Stuff like this happens. I think this is the reason some recycling centers are refusing cartridge cases. In the garbage cans at my range, there are lots of cartridges that did not go bang, and if they were tossed into a ladle, the gunpowder would at least go off!
Jim Watson
Member
A friend got a fair amount of pin money for some years' accumulation of fired primers.
But I am pretty sure there are some live ones in my cans. Might annoy the foundry man.
But I am pretty sure there are some live ones in my cans. Might annoy the foundry man.
lysanderxiii
Member
This is why scrap brass (brass cases intended to be melded down) are cooked prior to going in the ladle.
lightman
Member
A live primer had to have worked its way into your fired brass. A fired primer will not fire again. Be careful with that heat gun. Mine will easily exceed the amount of heat needed to anneal brass.
Carl N. Brown
Member
I'll agree with some others: a unfired primed casing must have gotten mixed with the fired casings.
Found brass at the range may have had the bullet pulled and powder dumped if it was a bad load or a dud round and the user did not want it picked up & fired.
Found brass at the range may have had the bullet pulled and powder dumped if it was a bad load or a dud round and the user did not want it picked up & fired.
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Carl N. Brown
Member
I decap fired cases before washing them.
I preheat the oven to 220°, turn it off, put the drained cases in a reused pie pan, stick it in the oven, in a hour or so they're dry.
I preheat the oven to 220°, turn it off, put the drained cases in a reused pie pan, stick it in the oven, in a hour or so they're dry.
Carl N. Brown
Member
Slamfire, post: ".... I think this is the reason some recycling centers are refusing cartridge cases. ...."
The recycler I take my unusable brass to stopped taking brass when primed cases or live ammo exploded on them. Then they upgraded to equipment that would safely handle it. "Brass shells" bring a higher price than mixed brass so it was worth it to them. I do run a magnetic tool retriever through my scrounged brass since brass plated steel casings showed up.
Steel $0.05 per pound.
Brass shells $1.80 per pound
The recycler I take my unusable brass to stopped taking brass when primed cases or live ammo exploded on them. Then they upgraded to equipment that would safely handle it. "Brass shells" bring a higher price than mixed brass so it was worth it to them. I do run a magnetic tool retriever through my scrounged brass since brass plated steel casings showed up.
Steel $0.05 per pound.
Brass shells $1.80 per pound
ArchAngelCD
Member.
I'm surprised you don't remove the primers before wet cleaning. Most reloaders like to have the primer pockets cleaned while in the solution.
As the others said, it's impossible for a fired primer to fire again so there had to be a live primer in that case.
You must have gotten those cases very hot to ignite a primer. Like "lightman" said, be careful not to anneal the brass or you will get a surprise much worse than a primer popping on a tray.
As the others said, it's impossible for a fired primer to fire again so there had to be a live primer in that case.
You must have gotten those cases very hot to ignite a primer. Like "lightman" said, be careful not to anneal the brass or you will get a surprise much worse than a primer popping on a tray.
gwpercle
Member
Deprime cases then wet clean them ... helps get the pockets and flasholes dry without a primer in there .
Water and primers can corrode the primer walls in place , when you go to deprime , the primer decapping pin doesn't remove the primer but pokes a hole in it and the primer walls are stuck in the pocket .
Best Practice is decap then wet tumble . Dry tumble is ok to leave fired primers in place .
It's the water and primer residue that will cause the primer walls to stick in the pocket .
Be careful what you do ... a fired primer will not fire twice and the heat it takes to pop a primer is high ... watch how hot you heat brass and watch for primed brass mixed in with your fired brass ... you can't be too careful in this hobby !
Load Safe
Gary
Water and primers can corrode the primer walls in place , when you go to deprime , the primer decapping pin doesn't remove the primer but pokes a hole in it and the primer walls are stuck in the pocket .
Best Practice is decap then wet tumble . Dry tumble is ok to leave fired primers in place .
It's the water and primer residue that will cause the primer walls to stick in the pocket .
Be careful what you do ... a fired primer will not fire twice and the heat it takes to pop a primer is high ... watch how hot you heat brass and watch for primed brass mixed in with your fired brass ... you can't be too careful in this hobby !
Load Safe
Gary
jmorris
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Too much heat and a primer that wasn’t spent. You can even tell what case it was, it will be the one that’s now deprimed.
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