im not sure if this is covered in my loading book, if it is i havent found it yet. is it possible to safely de prime an un fired primer? say you load a primer into a case with no bullet or powder and want to remove it. also from those who have had it happen, if a primer pops while being pressed in what kind of damage are we talking about it doing? little pop? some skin redness? is my dog gonna loose an eye because he wasnt wearing safety glasses?
depriming live primers?
- Thread starter uchi
- Start date
This has been covered here dozens of times, and there are several opinions ranging from "Chicken Little" to mine.
Chicken Little - not safe. You must fire it off then remove.
In-Between - soak it in <insert here> (water, oil, etc.) to kill the primer, then remove.
Mine - deprime as if it was a fired primer. Wear safety glasses, keep your face away from the press and go slow. Re-use the primer.
Chicken Little - not safe. You must fire it off then remove.
In-Between - soak it in <insert here> (water, oil, etc.) to kill the primer, then remove.
Mine - deprime as if it was a fired primer. Wear safety glasses, keep your face away from the press and go slow. Re-use the primer.
It has been covered on here, but the Reader's Digest version is it can be done. Resize as usual, but go gentle. Slowly push out the live primer, it takes a sharp hit to detonate the primer. Wear glasses and gloves, and keep important body parts away from the press. As for when seating, same applies no sharp blows and you should be good to go. If you use a hand held primer seater, point case mouth in a safe direction. As usual, common sense applies.
- Location
- Timmins, Ontario
Where safety glasses. I have done it a few times without any issues. just be slow and steady when you pull the arm. I'll check the primer for any obvious signs of damge. If I don't see any I reuse the primer. Again, this has worked for me. Just be careful.
YMMV
YMMV
No, it is not possible to do it safely (in my opinion, your veiw of safety might differ). If you do it slowly and carefully you might be able to do it without it popping, but it will likely be too deformed to re-use, but if the couple cents a primer costs is that important to you give her... might cause a misfire though. Hit the search bar for results of primer explosions... one going off is not too bad but if it chain fires your primer tray you are looking at quite a bit of potential shrapnel.
Toss the primed case in your gun, aim it in a safe direction and fire the action before depriming.
Toss the primed case in your gun, aim it in a safe direction and fire the action before depriming.
- Location
- Timmins, Ontario
Yes it is possible as quite a few of us have done it and lived to tell the tale. (See above) Why would the primer tray be there if he is in the de-prime stage.
It all depends on the size of your huevos...lol.
You're new to reloading. Prime a case, put it in your gun, aim in a safe direction and fire, just to get an idea of what a primer sounds like when it goes off. Some people prime their cases with great anxiety, shaking hands, sweat dripping on their backs, etc.
These are the same guys that might start a post titled "My wife won't let me have more than one hunting rifle in the house. When is it safe to ask if I can grab my testicles out of her purse?"
Safety is about common sense, not being scared of your own shadow...
You're new to reloading. Prime a case, put it in your gun, aim in a safe direction and fire, just to get an idea of what a primer sounds like when it goes off. Some people prime their cases with great anxiety, shaking hands, sweat dripping on their backs, etc.
These are the same guys that might start a post titled "My wife won't let me have more than one hunting rifle in the house. When is it safe to ask if I can grab my testicles out of her purse?"
Safety is about common sense, not being scared of your own shadow...
Deprime it in a sizing die, or a special decapping die so your brass isn't sized again. If it's just for plinking ammo you can re use it if you choose.
As with all priming operations wear your safety glasses.
There will be no chain reactions, it is only one primer. It will not hurt you, and since you deprime gently it will not even go off. No need to call the bomb squad or turn it in to the local police.
As with all priming operations wear your safety glasses.
There will be no chain reactions, it is only one primer. It will not hurt you, and since you deprime gently it will not even go off. No need to call the bomb squad or turn it in to the local police.
I agree with Andy's method.
If you think about the way a primer is constructed, it is just as dangerous to seat a live primer as it is to remove one.
When seating, the anvil contacts the bottom of the primer pocket and compresses the priming charge.
When depriming a live primer, the decapping pin pushes on the anvil to remove the primer.
Not much difference IMO. I've deprimed hundreds of live primers with no incidents.
Perfect thanks guys. I thought about just loading the empty brass and pulling the trigger but wasn't sure if it would cause any sort of issues with the gun or safety. Ill shoot it off later I'm not concerned with reusing the primer. I just loaded a couple while playing around without properly cleaning the pocket and rather than tossing the brass I figured I'd re use it. Thanks again guys.
- Location
- Prince Albert, Sk
I'll put it to ya this way.
When we prime our brass we are pushing on the side that is designed to make the primer go off and we are doing this with a moderate amount of force and nobody seems to be uneasy about that process.
IMO use the same amount of care when you de-prime live primers as you do to prime live primers.
No issues ever when I have done it.
When we prime our brass we are pushing on the side that is designed to make the primer go off and we are doing this with a moderate amount of force and nobody seems to be uneasy about that process.
IMO use the same amount of care when you de-prime live primers as you do to prime live primers.
No issues ever when I have done it.
ye gods; what a bunch of pussies- as long as you're not using a lee whacker and not pushing against a hard surface,( like a load of washers or something- the primer DOESN'T deform, and WON'T GO bang- i'd much rather deconstruct a misformed round for whatever reason than fire one- ( squib round, too much powder in there, etc- the ONLY problem to watch for is the primer UPSIDE DOWN- that happens from time to time- there you're actually bearing agains t the striking surface, and it should DETONATE if struck sharply- so pressing it out is key
I'm generally with Andy - just deprime it in your press. I've done it a lot of times (learning from each goof, of course) and have only had one go off. Damned loud, but no damage whatever. If you're wearing ear plugs, safety glasses and a pair of leather gloves, you're totally safe.
the primer looks to be sitting flush, id rather just clean the pockets for my own piece of mind. i wasnt sure if pushing a narrow pin into the exploding end would cause an issue with it thats why i asked. ill throw on my gloves muffs and eye protection and pop them out just to clean the cases in the tumbler and the pockets. thanks for all the help guys, again you guys have come through and helped me a good bit 
