Used wash brass with unfired primer.

A friend of had a similar problem with some rifle brass.
We just duct taped/sealed a large jug (maybe 4 litres) around the end of barrel, chambered the primed brass in the gun and cooked them off that way... easy peazy.

I have never de-primed a live primer... probably 999 out of a 1,000 nothing would happen, but I just don't want to take the risk.
 
The easiest way to decap live primers is to run them through a Lee neck sizing die. I've done this thousands of times without a single problem. It's quick and safe because the case is contained in the die and the primer is also contained and just drops into primer catcher. Collect the primers and reuse.
 
QUOTE:- "A reloader attempting to drive out a live primer with a Lee Loader
decapper did it on his lap. The primer exploded and entered his leg
to the bone. Curiosity prompted me to chronograph the velocity of
a primer exiting the primer pocket. It checked an amazing 1412
fps! That's faster than a 22 rim fire and most handguns. It has to be
the world's shortest gun as a primer pocket is only slightly more
than an eighth of an inch deep."
edit - Quote is from Modern Reloading. - edit

The moral of the story is that if you hit a live primer with a hammer, it will likely go off.
For those who aren't familiar with Lee Loaders, unlike more modern die sets for use with a press, the Lee Loader is made to remove spent primers by manually inserting the de-capper rod through the case neck so that the de-capper pin contacts the spent primer through the flash hole. Then, hitting the de-capper rod head with a hammer or whatever, forces the de-capper pin on the bottom of the rod to drive the primer out of it's pocket. It needs a decent hit to do so which is fine if it's an inert spent primer. Not so fine if it's a live primer.
The de-prime chamber the base of the brass sits in has a hole in the bottom to allow the primer to fall clear, or in this case act as a barrel and shoot the exploding primer into the guy's leg.
 
There is a world of difference between driving a primer out with a punch and a hammer and pushing it out in a press.
 
Isn’t the Lee Loader the one you smack with a hammer to resize or seat bullets? Thats about the only way I see a primer going off de-priming. You would have to run the handle pretty fast and hard to set off a primer in a press, but maybe. Always a possibility, as you hear storeys of them going off in a hand priming tool.
 
Ganderite said:
How did you set off the primer?

I held a primed case with a pair of pliers and cooked off the primer with a butane torch.

I have deprimed thousands of live primers over the years. Never had one go bang yet.
Click to expand...

Maybe the camping pin in the flash hole would add some extra oomph. Still wouldn't want to get hit with a 500fps primer...
 
De priming case with live primer withput killing it first is just an accident waiting to happen. A drop of penetrating oil will kill them.
Why not play safe ??
Not because it’s done by a few maverick that this is safe. It is not. Complete disregard for oneself safety.
Nutz in my book.

If you have a few - shoot the bugger..if 500 ..trow them in your wet tumbler for 30 minutes with soap and water...that will make them dud.
 
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Janeau said:
De priming case with live primer withput killing it first is just an accident waiting to happen. A drop of penetrating oil will kill them.
Why not play safe ??
Not because it’s done by a few maverick that this is safe. It is not. Complete disregard for oneself safety.
Nutz in my book.

If you have a few - shoot the bugger..if 500 ..trow them in your wet tumbler for 30 minutes with soap and water...that will make them dud.
Click to expand...

To each their own...

I'd deprime all 500 and reuse in some plinking ammo :)
 
Well I also have about 500 .45acp that was given to me by a friend about two years ago. It was given to him by his friends sister who passed away so we have no any to know how these were loaded. They look like reloads. I don't want to take a chance on them so I'll have to pull them and reuse the cases. At this point I only have a hammer type puller so not likely to do 500 rounds with it. Have to wait to source a press mounted puller. Guess I'll have to decide then if I want to reuse the primers.

Having said that ... Back to a primer question... If buying used cases that were say wet tumbled and there are some unfired primers in the mix would the wet tumbling not make the unfired primers inoperable??

GT
 
I gotta add a funny story.....

I was washing a bunch of range brass a few weeks ago.
I pick it ALL, even the 22 stuff.
I sell all the damaged centerfire & rim fire to the scrap metal guy.

After washing it all....I laid it on a big towel to dry.
I grabbed my Princes Auto Heat gun and started to warm all the brass.......oops
alot of the 22 brass POPPED and flew off the table. It was like a friggen PopCorn Machine going off. LOL
Just the 22 brass did this.
so even when you wash 22 brass.....the primmer is still good. "you would think after they are fired that there would be nothing left to burn"

wont be mixing the rim fire with the centerfire anymore.
 
Janeau said:
De priming case with live primer withput killing it first is just an accident waiting to happen. A drop of penetrating oil will kill them.
Why not play safe ??
Not because it’s done by a few maverick that this is safe. It is not. Complete disregard for oneself safety.
Nutz in my book.
If you have a few - shoot the bugger..if 500 ..trow them in your wet tumbler for 30 minutes with soap and water...that will make them dud.
Click to expand...

This "maverick" has de-primed well over a thousand live primers over a span of fifteen years in a rockchucker press with a Lee decapper die without incident.
I would rather take a primer to the leg then destroy 500 perfectly serviceable primers...that's nutz in my book!
I also have been known to use a bench grinder with only muh safety squints, fry bacon with no shirt and drive two blocks to the mailbox with no seatbelt on occasion.
I'm a wildman.
Use your discretion and stay safe out there!
 
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Janeau said:
De priming case with live primer withput killing it first is just an accident waiting to happen. A drop of penetrating oil will kill them.
Why not play safe ??
Not because it’s done by a few maverick that this is safe. It is not. Complete disregard for oneself safety.
Nutz in my book.

If you have a few - shoot the bugger..if 500 ..trow them in your wet tumbler for 30 minutes with soap and water...that will make them dud.
Click to expand...

Then, I guess I am a Maverick as well. I have deprimed well over a thousand live primers on several different presses over the last 45 years.
Never had one go off. That being said, I would not recommend using the Lee hammer and punch method to deprime live primers.

Your suggestion to tumble in soapy water for 30 minutes is not valid. I would be quite surprised if most, if not all, were still quite live, and could
give one a false sense of security. Even WD40 or other oily products can take several hours, days, or longer to "kill" a primer.

Caution while reloading is a good thing.....paranoia, on the other hand, is not conducive to enjoying our hobby.
Listen to those who have many years of experience. Dave.
 
I'm pretty sure I've recycled many hundreds or maybe thousands of primers over the years. Many stayed in the case when the bullet and powder were pulled but most were de-primed and reused.
Never had the slightest issue. Not even any hangfires or duds. Usually I set them aside for fouling or plinking but it's not like I ever hunt cape Buffalo or rhinos.
 
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