What do you do with spent primers?

[Blue68f100]

I run a HEPA filter in my shop vac.

 

[Strat Rider]

Interesting I didn't see one comment on re-using them. I'll be keeping some around as they don't take up much space. Doubt I would ever need to refill them but it's nice to know how to do such things. Learning is fun.

 

[jebova2301]

Interesting I didn't see one comment on re-using them. I'll be keeping some around as they don't take up much space. Doubt I would ever need to refill them but it's nice to know how to do such things. Learning is fun.

I think the reason most people aren't concerned about reusing them is the same reason most of us aren't worried about reloading 22lr. It is far cheaper and more practical to simply amass a stockpile of them and not have to deal with sensitive priming compounds or deal with weighing out a consistent amount of said primer compound. The vast majority of people shoot less than 2000 rounds a year. Let's say you start reloading at the time you are 20, and live to be 100. That is 80 years, or 160,000 primers for the average person(and it is probably going to be less since most of us didn't start at 20, and most of us aren't going to live to be 100). In other words, 14 cases of fiocchi primers(they come in cases of 12k). At 330 bucks a pop when they were cheap, under $5000 for what would amount to more than a lifetime supply for the vast majority of shooters, and probably even reloaders. Even if we say a nickle per primer, that is going to make it $8000. I'm gonna be straight up honest and say that at a cost of 8 grand(and this is assuming you pay absolutely nothing for priming compound, which isn't going to happen), I will happily make that sacrifice to not risk blowing my face off with priming compound. Even as someone who loads and shoots closer to 1000-1500 rounds a month, I would still rather pay for primers, even if they cost 10 cents a pop, than dealing with raw priming compound. Yeah, it would slow my shooting down quite a bit, but I would take that over missing chunks of my not so pretty face.

Sure, if it absolutely comes down to it and primers are illegal for sale, then I would consider looking into refilling them. That said, if we have hit the point where it is illegal to buy primers, I think we are going to have much bigger issues at hand than primers.

 

[nambu1]

I recycle mine to the recycle center. They are made of brass.