Removing live primer from factory ammo?

That is the usual route.
You will hear stories about soaking in penetrating oil, etc. Might or might not spoil the powder and primer. Even oiling primers might or might not deactivate them.
 
bertn said:
Sounds like he held the cartridge in his hand
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It was in a drill press vise, which he was holding. Just as a drill bit starts to penetrate, temperature can spike. This is what was suspected as the cause of ignition.
 
" John Wayne" always said "Life is hard ... its harder if you're stupid"... I have that little sign hanging in my shop to remind myself not to venture into the "danger zone"...
 
What would be the reason you would want to do this? I’m not the sharpest tool in the box but I just can’t understand why you would want to do this.
I really want to know.
 
Reeferman said:
What would be the reason you would want to do this? I’m not the sharpest tool in the box but I just can’t understand why you would want to do this.
I really want to know.
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I just wanted to have a deactivated factory round that’s identical to a live round.
Same ammo of course.
Was gonna install a barrel and wanted to set up the barrel with the d activated round.

So there you have it, nothing dark about it:)
 
OMG, Just make a dummy round, before you hurt yourself, or someone near by helping you hold the dam thing.

But, I guess we all missed this. Someone should have asked if you are currently into reloading?
 
Brianma65 said:
I just wanted to have a deactivated factory round that’s identical to a live round.
Same ammo of course.
Was gonna install a barrel and wanted to set up the barrel with the d activated round.

So there you have it, nothing dark about it:)
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Ok I get it, pulling the bullet would be the way to go but hey it’s still a relatively free country.
 
Brianma65 said:
I just wanted to have a deactivated factory round that’s identical to a live round.
Same ammo of course.
Was gonna install a barrel and wanted to set up the barrel with the d activated round.

So there you have it, nothing dark about it:)
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First, if you want to remove a live primer from a factory round, I don't know of any easy, reliable and safe way to do it. But it would be easy to pull the bullet, dump the powder, decap and re-seat the bullet.

If you are installing the barrel and want to use the factory round as a gauge, the way to do this is to remove the firing pin from the bolt and just carry on with a live round, being mindful of muzzle direction.

But, for setting headspace, no need for the bullet. Pull it.

For checking for throat dimension, that can be set later, using a throating reamer.
 
Brianma65 said:
Scrap that one then:)

So the only way possible to get a deactivated factory round, would be to ,
Pull the bullit,
Remove the primer with a decapping die
Dump powder
Reseat bullit.

Sound about right?
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I would add 3 things to the procedure above:
- before starting measure COAL (cartridge overall length) or if you have a comparator, CBTO (cartridge base to ogive) for more accuracy.

- after pulling bullet, you may need to reset neck tension with a Lee collet die or a neck die

- when seating, seat back to original length measurement (COAL or CBTO)

Maybe as consider a dab of clear silicone sealant in the empty primer hole to decelerate the firing pin if you plan to dry fire.
 
This is essentially Applied Research. Sometimes there are others that want to do something for their own reasons, and developing methods that work are of no harm to you if you don't need it yourself, but the knowledge gained might be.

We know that light primer strikes will not set off a primer, but will dent it, so it seems that sharp impact is required to detonate a primer. It's possible then that drilling slowly into the primer and then leveraging it out with a sharply pointed object inserted into the hole might be a method with promise. If I was to try that method I'd first drill a bare live primer. We also know that when the primer for a live round that's "loose" (i.e. not constrained within a barrels chamber) is detonated, there's no "explosion" - typically the bullet is pushed out ahead of a mess of unburnt powder. There are certainly risks, and any clamping method that constrains the live round adds danger to any resulting detonation of the primer.
 
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