It's time we had a conversation about reloading primers.

Sun_and_Steel_77

Sun_and_Steel_77

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Crazy idea right?

We've got cars that drives themselves, phones that will do everything except wipe your a$$ for you and firearms with sighting systems and projectiles that can hit a mule deer in the eye at half a kilometer...so why has the industry not developed a method to reload spent primers?
Will it take a couple more years of Zero product? When product finally returns and the cost is prohibitive will it spark a primer reloading revolution?
Can we get anvils manufactured in China by the billions?
Am I day drinking again?

** EDIT ** well okay, maybe only large rifle primers as I can't even see a SP primer in my hand without muh glasses anymore!


OxPrs4w.jpg
 
There isn't any reason that you can't re use the anvils. They're usually quite loose after being punched out.

Anyone using the match head method to re load primers, better clean their bores very quickly after using because they are extremely corrosive.
 
I'm curious about my pile of Berdan primed 8x63, if they can be hydraulically deprimed, the primers dried and then loaded in Berdan primed 6.5x55.
 
bearhunter said:
There isn't any reason that you can't re use the anvils. They're usually quite loose after being punched out.
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So does it become an issue of procuring priming compound?
We can purchase smokeless powder and all sorts of domestic "explosives" without too much grief or regulation, so what's the secret sauce in the compound?
 
MiG25 said:
I'm curious about my pile of Berdan primed 8x63, if they can be hydraulically deprimed, the primers dried and then loaded in Berdan primed 6.5x55.
Click to expand...

Yes they can. Water only "kills" the primer if they are thoroughly wetted and then only until they dry out. In fact I've found that even oil is often temporary....

That said, I'd want to first check to see if the primers ate interchangeable. There was a bit of variation among countries during WWII when that ammo was manufactured.
 
I will confirm Andy's post #6 - I had unknown-to-me primers soaking in 0W30 motor oil about 2 years - they "popped" apparently just fine when I attempted to burn them along with some contaminated, mixed, unknown-to-me powder from someone else's hand loads - I was thinking the primer media would be "dead" - not that I would use them in a match with money on the line, but they were definitely not "dead".
 
A while back I saw an ad for a kit to reload .22 shells. A bit of a novelty yet I believe it contained a two part priming solution. Point is it shoulnd't be that elusive a compound.
 
Among other stuff, PETN is a large component of priming compound. The compound is vastly more energetic and sensitive than any smokeless powder. Take a look at a priming bunker used by Federal, CCI etc. It's by far the most dangerous part of the operation to make primers. Even if I could, I wouldn't.
 
Primers have always been the weak link probably from the day the percussion cap was invented.

IMO, if one has the foresight to buy the stuff to "reload" primers, they should have had the foresight to buy primers ahead of time.
 
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Sun_and_Steel_77 said:
Crazy idea right?

We've got cars that drives themselves, phones that will do everything except wipe your a$$ for you and firearms with sighting systems and projectiles that can hit a mule deer in the eye at half a kilometer...so why has the industry not developed a method to reload spent primers?
Will it take a couple more years of Zero product? When product finally returns and the cost is prohibitive will it spark a primer reloading revolution?
Can we get anvils manufactured in China by the billions?
Am I day drinking again?

** EDIT ** well okay, maybe only large rifle primers as I can't even see a SP primer in my hand without muh glasses anymore!


OxPrs4w.jpg
Click to expand...

You aren't the first to think of it. It's been done for years. Google: reusing primers, you'll find everything you want to know.
 
jethunter said:
You aren't the first to think of it. It's been done for years. Google: reusing primers, you'll find everything you want to know.
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Never claimed to be the first to think of it and I get the gist of the homebrew methods on youtube. I'm talking about some form of commercial tools and product that make it feasible for a hobbyist to re-prime in a reasonable amount of time and minimum amount of cost.

Necessity is the mother of invention and this is certainly not the first time we've been short on primers but never has the price gone up so rapidly.
To the fellas who repeat the saying "shoulda bought when available" I get it... but can these same people claim to know when we will see a steady supply again or most importantly will the price ever stabilize?

I've got thousands of primers on hand but realize that every single one I touch-off has to be replaced by a primer that went from 4 cents to 14 cents in a span of a year, a reality we all have to face unless we simply stop shooting.
 
B said:
Among other stuff, PETN is a large component of priming compound. The compound is vastly more energetic and sensitive than any smokeless powder. Take a look at a priming bunker used by Federal, CCI etc. It's by far the most dangerous part of the operation to make primers. Even if I could, I wouldn't.
Click to expand...

Makes sense. So this compound in a solid mass would be a no go, I wonder about small quantities separated physically in a package almost like a packet of primers themselves?
 
I don't see any way people could recharge primers at home, on an individual scale.

But a small business that took in fired primers and remanufactured them on a regional scale should be entirely doable.
 
Sun_and_Steel_77 said:
Makes sense. So this compound in a solid mass would be a no go, I wonder about small quantities separated physically in a package almost like a packet of primers themselves?
Click to expand...

Going that far it seems to make more sense for them to just make a primer. Different primers will have specific sensitivity ratings usually given in joules.

All common primer compound is sensitive enough to be easily initiated. The metal components of the primer themselves are basically a protective container on top of being a striking surface.

I believe Federal has a new priming compound that is supposed to be stable and lead free. Not sure if that stuff is supposed to be more or less of anything compared to the old mixes.
 
Lol it's not that the priming compound is somehow forbidden or dangerous for individuals to possess (Or maybe it is? IDK sh!t about explosives really), I would think it's just that nobody has ever bothered attempting to reload primers, as it makes no financial sense. Things (I.e. primer reloading equipment) typically aren't for sale that nobody wants to buy. Even a primer that costs 10 cents isn't worth the time and additional equipment (Again, that doesn't really exist on an individual scale) cost that would be required to reload it in any sort of economical way.

I would actually stop shooting before I pull anvils out of spent primers, hammer the firing pin dent out, measure out and add priming compound, and put the thing back together somehow. Not worth it to me. I'd be willing to bet that a lot of people would be in the same boat.
 
Making and re-charging primers is a very dangerous operation. Loose/bulk packaged priming compound is something I would not choose to handle even if it was legal, readily available, and cheap.
 
LUCK12 said:
A while back I saw an ad for a kit to reload .22 shells. A bit of a novelty yet I believe it contained a two part priming solution. Point is it shoulnd't be that elusive a compound.
Click to expand...

sulisa said:
I read amount reloading 22LR, probably same primer compound mix.
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'Prime-All' is the priming compound for reusing .22 casings and 'Cutting edge' makes the full.22lr reloading kits with new primed brass, projectiles and seating dies.
 
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