And that is exactly why I would want to try some of the ugly looking primers just to see how they perform.
500 old reloads pulled
- Thread starter dearslayer
- Start date
And that is exactly why I would want to try some of the ugly looking primers just to see how they perform.
A heavy bullet has more inertia than a lighter bullet, so pressure will be higher.
So - heavy bullet gets 5 gr.
Light bullet - 6 gr.,
dearslayer
Regular
- Location
- On The Edge
I couldn't agree more .
To be honest I think those primers look a lot worst in the photos ( super Macro ) than they really look in person. I went through them today and counted 91 with the "questionable " primers and 382 with OK looking primers. I have a feeling even the questionable ones will go bang ( I could be rookie wrong just the same ) .
GT
dearslayer
Regular
- Location
- On The Edge
Is this higher pressure because the "bullet " is seated further down in the case with less room for gas expansion therefore more kaboom ... More inertia??
LordEvilPepper
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Under a rusty barge in BC
If thos damaged primers pop it could be bad,
From a jet out on your bolt face righting off your bolt to a gas blow back to the face/hands bad... (Can pop a mag apart on a pistol)
I would deprime them all... Obviously something was wrong when they were inserted.
I've had primers go off while punching them out... and a couple going in to military brass that I didn't swage well enough.
if they were pushed do hard they got damaged going in, the pressure to punch them out can set them off for sure
Usually costs you a decaping pin at worst. Wear your ear and eye pro and it will be all ok.... It's just a little startling lol.
All the projectiles in the pics look deformed or damaged.. I wouldn't use them, melt em down and recast them or toss them in the trash.
From a jet out on your bolt face righting off your bolt to a gas blow back to the face/hands bad... (Can pop a mag apart on a pistol)
I would deprime them all... Obviously something was wrong when they were inserted.
I've had primers go off while punching them out... and a couple going in to military brass that I didn't swage well enough.
if they were pushed do hard they got damaged going in, the pressure to punch them out can set them off for sure
Usually costs you a decaping pin at worst. Wear your ear and eye pro and it will be all ok.... It's just a little startling lol.
All the projectiles in the pics look deformed or damaged.. I wouldn't use them, melt em down and recast them or toss them in the trash.
Actually you are quite right. i only suggest running them through a sizer to iron out any burrs or scrapes that might prevent them from seating properly. You can see in his pics that quite a few of them have irregularities (probably from pulling them).
dearslayer
Regular
- Location
- On The Edge
Bare in mind that the bullets in the first photos at the start of this thread were the worst of the worst, along with the brass. The rest shown in the later photos shown beside the scale are the ones that are in much better condition. Still a couple with some jagged edges but nothing compared to the first photos. I still don't think I'll be reusing them at this point... maybe down the road if I get a sizer I'll clean them up. For now I have new Campro bullets that I can install, and new primers if I decide to.
fingers284
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Alberta Cowboy Ranges
This is a "loaded" statement...primers, in proper use do go off from impact but not just with impact, they can also go off if the anvil is scratched across the priming compound the same as striking a wood match.
I have had 4 primers detonate in progressive press's, two in a Lee Loadmaster and 2 in a Dillon 650 . The ones in the Loadmaster happened when the primers did a 1/2 flip in the plastic primer feed slide (very common occurrence in the Loadmaster) and were crushed a bit when I unknowingly tried to seat them sideways...no "impact" at all just the regular primer feed pressure. The two in the Dillon happened when the primers were still in the primer feed plate, not even up to the primer seating position yet. I suspect the primer anvil was slightly "proud" from what a well formed primer should have been and when the feed plate rotated, that anvil hooked on an edge in the mounting casting, scraped on the priming compound and lit like a match...no impact here neither....just very loud f#@$'n "bang" when you least expect or want it...It will get your undivided attention immediately!!
I want to add that I have had many primers feed sideways in that Loadmaster and not detonate so they dont always do that...but some do.
Probably a combination of things, but I always figured it was the fact that a heavier bullet will resist being pushed forward for longer, allowing more time for pressure to build (Another way of explaining inertia I suppose, like Ganderite said). It will take a heavier bullet longer to move/ than a lighter bullet with the same powder charge, so you end up with higher pressure. Also explains why using a fast powder with a very heavy bullet is dangerous (This is why .50BMG powder is among the slowest you can buy).
Is that last statement correct? Yes, 50bmg powder is very slow, but wouldn't that be more due to the case volume than the bullet weight? 500S&W magnums can be loaded with 500+gr pills, and those loads use pistol/shotgun powders or very fast rifle powders.
You must just have bad luck. I've been running two Loadmasters for well over 20 years, loaded umpteen thousand rounds and never had a primer detonation (some squashed primers but no "BANG". I am pretty gentle on the downstroke, however.
dearslayer
Regular
- Location
- On The Edge
Remember I'm a reloading rookie. An old one but rookie just the same. How would I tell the difference?
I dont know for sure. Depending if they are regular or magnum..you would have to change your powder load.
maybe some are regular...maybe some are Magnum.......who knows what was used.
Perhaps some one else on this forum might know how to tell.
Help !
fingers284
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Alberta Cowboy Ranges
Ha Ha Ha. Yah, If I had any luck at all it would be bad for sure...more a case of just "$hit happens" tho i think.
Not sure I agree with the "gentle on the downstroke" statement with a Loadmaster. The loadmaster does it's whole process on the down stroke so seating the primer is done at the same time you are sizing, expanding & seating so the force required is also transferred to the primer seat. I loaded very good ammo with my Loadmaster but the fact that the Dillons seat the primer on the up stroke of the handle, separate from every other operation was a revelation to me on my first loading session with one...I could feel every primer being seated from start to finish. With a Dillon, seating the primer is the only resistance you feel on the handle, not the rest of the operations combined.
It's not that simple. The burn rate required has more to do with bore diameter in relation to case capacity. The .458 WM uses a fairly hefty bullet, but uses a relatively fast powder ( I used H335). My 9.3x62 needs a medium burn rate and likes the same powders that are suitable for a .308 Winchester. The .270 Winchester, which has essentially the same case capacity as the 9.3, but with a much lighter bullet, requires a much slower burn rate for optimum performance.
The larger the case capacity for a given bore diameter, the slower burning the powder needs to be.
Right. You can add variables to make it more complicated. This is why I used the 500sw as a comparison, they have basically the same bore diameter and can be loaded with bullets of similar weight, so that narrows your list of variables down and allows a meaningful comparison based primarily on case capacity.
Your caveat on bore diameter is a good addition though.
Last edited:
