depriming live primers

FLHTCUI said:
Well, if you have the time, fire each primed round in your gun.
Place a 2l pop bottle over the end and fire away.
Yes time consuming, but effective.
As for rendering loose primers inert..as shown by the ewe toob demo provided by Wendell.
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I am not sure that is an option for the OP - he described how he could not chamber the primed brass, so I do not think he will be able to fire those primers?

Some years ago, on CGN, I bought some 7mm Weatherby Magnum brass - it was probably from an estate - I do not know. Mixed in there was 30 - some loaded rounds - when I pulled the bullets, there was three different weights - two of the weights looked identical when loaded up. I poured out the powder - at least two colours of powder. It likely all made perfect sense to whomever had done so, but I could not figure out the system. There was no notes at all - so I did not even know what brand or type of primers was used - I pressed them out and dropped them into a small glass jar and filled that with some motor oil. As is typical here, that ended up hiding on a work bench behind other stuff - was likely a year later that I found that again - so I set up an iron plate - set that on a metal saw-horse, and spread out that powder - I lit up a propane plumber's torch and burned off that powder. I had decanted the oil off the primers - I assumed they would be "inert" by then - dumped them into a tuna can - and played that lit torch in there - every primer "popped" - they were not "inert", but I never tried to ignite them by striking them - just paying the torch onto them - once I found the primer cups and anvils that had gone flying, I was done with that idea. The next batch that I wanted to deprime, I "fired" off in my garage - no powder or bullet - just popped all the primers - they made a flame scorch mark on the painted cupboard in here - I was holding the barrel muzzle maybe two inches (5 cm) away when I fired those primers in the rifle.
 
redshooter said:
Go slow, and in the end who cares, don't stick your face, or fingers near the die, and even then it's a primer, not going to hurt the die/press, not that big of a pop.
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Not that big a pop? OK; it probably won’t scare you to death. On the other hand I had a primer pop in an inertia puller awhile back, and it flew up 14 feet to the shop ceiling and went through 1/2” drywall. Sort of gives you pause for some thought or solitary introspection.😂 Now turn that situation upside down and point that primer more or less at your pecker…….😳
Richard Lee got mentioned above; he was curious enough to chronograph an exiting primer. If I remember right he got 2000 fps out of it. Commented that it was probably the world’s shortest barrel.
 
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My apologies PM, I'm probably being obtuse and unclear. New neck die won't chamber - Full length die chambers and cuts bullseyes. I've had good success in neck sizing another caliber. I think you pegged it when mentioning a sloppy chamber. If I could chamber and fire I would.
It's obvious I don't have the knowledge and experience of you gurus regarding dies and their use. I'm not trying to fool anyone, but accidentally fooling myself I've done before.
FTR it's a older Ruger M77 in 300WinMag. In a weak moment, I put it on the EE but have since pulled the ad as it's a great backup rifle and I don't want to ruin my perfect trader rating by upsetting a buyer by handing off an imperfect rifle. It may be a little "shot out". The jump to lands is hilarious but AFAIK from my googlefu that's common for this model.

(EDIT: I'm think I'm with DogLeg on this one. I've tired of losing things I can't get back so I prefer to err on the side of caution.)
 
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Removing primers isn't a big deal, if as many have already mentioned you go SLOW.

However, there are other issues created, such as potashminer states in his post.

It's quite likely those primers will not be re usable.

Not because they won't do the job of ignition properly but because the primer may not seat with a seal, after being "swaged" by the primer pocket of the case.

There was at time, when cash was very tight, that I would go through all of the effort and procedures necessary to "save" these primers. I went so far as to use nail polish as a sealant to ensure no blow by when shooting.

If you're going to reclaim these primers for shooting, make sure they're tight when seating.

another issue with reusing these primers is the "anvil" has been pushed back hard into the cup. This can lead to erratic ignition, if fine accuracy is an issue. They will be fine for most hunting ammo.

I remember many stories from back in the day when primers ignited during decapping. Most often this was with milsurp ammo being the culprit.

Most milsurp ammunition has heavily "crimped" primer pockets and this is where the issues arise.

I have seen primers ignite while "seating" but none during the decapping process.
 
I have deprimed hundreds of live primers of all kind of sizes and brands and never had one pop off.

Used a Lee universal decapping die in my rockchucker. Going normal spent primer decapping speed and force and no soaking or anything.
 
I've crushed primers in my Dillon Progressive press and not have them go off. (press required alignment then all was good). That being said I still like to pull the leads dump the powder and soak the cases in WD40 before depriming. These crushed primers are already compromised so no tellin what would happen when depriming.
 
Wendell said:
In Modern Reloading, Richard Lee recounted a story of a guy who decapped a live primer right into his own leg.

Like John Farnam often says: "It's not the odds, it's the stakes."
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I would like to know how that happened and what damage. There is nothing to contain the explosive from the primer, I do not expect that a primer going off would do anything more than scratch the skin, but that is why you should be wearing glasses, the eyes are sensitive.

I have a friend who put a 50 BMG round in a vice and smoked the primer with a hammer and nail, he did this while he was in the military, to prove that the case has to be contained to be dangerous. Apparently it was quite loud but besides that the bullet made it about 8ft and nothing more than a little weak shrapnel from the brass case. A primer is going to be significantly weaker than this.
 
Aim both ends of the case in safe directions.

I have had to do the removed-deprime-pin thing before, and it worked.
 
Wendell said:
See Chapter 5 - Priming, Modern Reloading.
https://archive.org/details/Modern_Reloading_1st_Edition_by_Richard_Lee/page/n63/mode/2up
https://archive.org/details/modernreloadings0000rich/page/6/mode/2up

It's all there in black and white.
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So the guy had the primer essentially against his leg when he decapped it, ok, I can see this potentially happening but not on a press.

On a press the primer would drop down inside the shell holder and nothing much could happen in this situation.
 
Thought this was an interesting article about the subject (seems more scientific than the masses of anecdotal posts):
https://www.theboxotruth.com/threads/the-box-o-truth-39-oil-vs-primers.363/

Internet scuttlebutt is all over the map on this subject. 90% say oil (WD40/penetrating oil/motor oil). Wendell's video says use brake cleaner. Other seeming knowledgeable post suggests denatured alcohol. Acetone was suggested but then rebuked.

I'll be soaking for weeks and may try more than one solvent, starting with brake cleaner. If I had more time I'd try to redo the boxotruth experiment with different solvents.

(EDIT: weeks may be overkill and I don't want to harm the brass so days instead of weeks)
 
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Potashminer said:
I am not sure that is an option for the OP - he described how he could not chamber the primed brass, so I do not think he will be able to fire those primers?

Some years ago, on CGN, I bought some 7mm Weatherby Magnum brass - it was probably from an estate - I do not know. Mixed in there was 30 - some loaded rounds - when I pulled the bullets, there was three different weights - two of the weights looked identical when loaded up. I poured out the powder - at least two colours of powder. It likely all made perfect sense to whomever had done so, but I could not figure out the system. There was no notes at all - so I did not even know what brand or type of primers was used - I pressed them out and dropped them into a small glass jar and filled that with some motor oil. As is typical here, that ended up hiding on a work bench behind other stuff - was likely a year later that I found that again - so I set up an iron plate - set that on a metal saw-horse, and spread out that powder - I lit up a propane plumber's torch and burned off that powder. I had decanted the oil off the primers - I assumed they would be "inert" by then - dumped them into a tuna can - and played that lit torch in there - every primer "popped" - they were not "inert", but I never tried to ignite them by striking them - just paying the torch onto them - once I found the primer cups and anvils that had gone flying, I was done with that idea. The next batch that I wanted to deprime, I "fired" off in my garage - no powder or bullet - just popped all the primers - they made a flame scorch mark on the painted cupboard in here - I was holding the barrel muzzle maybe two inches (5 cm) away when I fired those primers in the rifle.
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I should have added a preface of If unknown make I just write them off and burn them as in run through the de-capping die with eye and ear protection or as chamber and fire with considerations for safety.
The method I mentioned of chambering did not damage to the plastic bottle other than to discolour and collect the primer residue.
Lrge Rifle Magnum primers from a 270 wsm
 
FLHTCUI said:
I should have added a preface of If unknown make I just write them off and burn them as in run through the de-capping die with eye and ear protection or as chamber and fire with considerations for safety.
The method I mentioned of chambering did not damage to the plastic bottle other than to discolour and collect the primer residue.
Lrge Rifle Magnum primers from a 270 wsm
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On the range in a variflame muzzle loader :D
 
I'd like to see a primer go 14' up and then through 1/2" of drywall, I say that because I've had more than a few primers not set off the powder charge, and they don't have the energy to unseat a bullet in a loaded cartridge, not even change the COL.

Regardless, the situation in question is decapping in a die, that primer isn't doing #### to you unless you have your eye at the base of the die.
 
safehunter said:
Time to laugh at my expense.
Some years ago I thought I'd give it a go with neck sizing. Worked great for the 220 swift. Accurate AF and brass has zero stretch.
So I bought another neck die for a different cartridge. Thought it be the same as the swift so I arrogantly just threw myself into it. Cleaned and neck sized 50 rounds, then primed.
When I tried to chamber one to my surprise the bolt wouldn't close. Tried a handful of rounds, none chambered. No powder, no projectiles, just brass and primers.
I put the box of 50 primed & neck sized brass aside and forgot about it for a couple years. I'm just recently starting to purge the gun room, so I just pulled the box out and I'm staring at it thinking "now what?"
Do I scrap the whole 50 rounds? Probably safest, but I'm wondering how dangerous is it to deprime live primers. I'd like the brass back. I had no issue running a full length resizing die. Could I "deactivate" the primers, perhaps by soaking them in oil or some solvent? I also wondering about disposal of brass with live primers, and disposal of live primers in general. I'd hate for one to go off when the garbage truck compacts.
Lesson learned I guess, try chambering before priming on a new die. Googlefu says no issue depriming live primers (safety glasses of course), however I wouldn't mind the guru's opinion on this one.
Thanks in advance.
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Take the depriming pin out of your sizing die and set the shoulders back a touch. Should solve your problem and save your components. - dan
 
redshooter said:
I'd like to see a primer go 14' up and then through 1/2" of drywall, I say that because I've had more than a few primers not set off the powder charge, and they don't have the energy to unseat a bullet in a loaded cartridge, not even change the COL.

Regardless, the situation in question is decapping in a die, that primer isn't doing #### to you unless you have your eye at the base of the die.
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The hole is still there😂
 
safehunter said:
'll be soaking for weeks and may try more than one solvent, starting with brake cleaner. If I had more time I'd try to redo the boxotruth experiment with different solvents.
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I did an experiment a # of years ago, soaked some primers in water & some in WD40 for a week...every primer I tried fired so I wouldnt trust any attempt at killing them.
 
redshooter said:
I'd like to see a primer go 14' up and then through 1/2" of drywall, I say that because I've had more than a few primers not set off the powder charge, and they don't have the energy to unseat a bullet in a loaded cartridge, not even change the COL.

Regardless, the situation in question is decapping in a die, that primer isn't doing #### to you unless you have your eye at the base of the die.
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Depending on your press if it actually pops it will go into the ram body and out the hole to the side, both my single stage’s and turret have a hopper/tube to catch spent/removed primers that uses the ram to funnel them into the hopper.
 
I deprimed 100 .300Win cartridges recently with my co ax press and lee depriming die. No issues when you apply steady pressure. Stored them separately for the time being. Oil does not kill primers, nor water. Even fired they still pop in a fire. Treat all primers with respect and keep face and body away from path of possible flame/flight. Don't fear them, respect them.
 
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