decapping unfired primers

[Inrut24/7]

I had some sizing issues with my 270wsm lee full length die,making for tight fitting and bad shooting rounds,I pulled the bullets,Is it alright to full length resize and deprime live primers? or should i shoot the primers first?thanks

[Wingman26]

Depriming live primers is risky, an easy solution is to fill the cases with water and let them sit for an hour or so to get the priming mixture wet, they can be deprimed safely as long as they are wet, when they dry out again they can be set off, main thing is to be carefull about bubbles, make sure they are filled with water.

[iiranger]

#1).  WEAR SAFETY GLASSES at all times IN THIS SITUATION!... DO IT! ------ Good idea most of the time.

#2). Ever had a "lady finger" firecracker go off in your fingers? Large rifle primers remind me of this when they "let go." I was doing some cases with a Lee base/de priming rod and plastic mallet. Maybe 1 in 10 would "let go." Maybe 20? With safety glasses, no big deal, just obnoxious. I am sure, without safety glasses, you might get "debris" into your eyes, possible, and hurt yourself... Otherwise... Blood poisoning, I doubt it, but I suppose possible. ERGO: What is it worth to you? If you fire the primer, none of this is a consideration. Your call. I would guess, with a press, maybe slightly less likely and same risks...

#3). Even if you get the primer out without it popping? Then what? Probably enough deformed to make reuse unlikely... And even if you get it re seated, you have mangled it enough, what will the reliability be? If this were an early tv episode with your snowed in in the Yukon and desperate to collect another young moose for food... otherwise, fire the things, be done with it and follow ordinary procedures... luck.

[OR-E-Gun Bill]

If it's a LEE full length die, couldn't you loosen the decapper pin and slide it up as to not contact the primer? Resize without depriming?

[quickdtoo]

I've done a bunch of em for various reasons, never had one go off yet, but just in case, I wear eye and hearing protection and decap slowly, works for me.

Tim

16. If you must decap live primers, wear eye and hearing protection and use slow, steady pressure to lessen the chance of detonation. Do not allow decapped live primers to build up in the primer catcher.

http://www.speer-bullets.com/default.asp?s1=5&s2=18


To kill a Primer

[Questor]

In this case, I strongly recommend that you remove the decapping pin from the die, and then resize the case. This will solve your safety issue and allow you to recover your brass without having to decap it.


Instead of decapping live primers, the vastly preferred method is to chamber the case and discharge the primer with the rifle. Alternatively, and a very distant second, deactivate the primer with oil. Deactivation won't work with some primers because there is a wax seal on it. Federal magnum rifle primers come to mind. I'm not sure what safety glasses will do for you to prevent a piece of primer anvil from puncturing your cheek, forehead, lip, tooth, or jugular vein. Tests performed for the benefit of firemen have shown that ammunition in a fire is dangerous because of primer discharges. The impact of a primer part can be powerful enough to penetrate to the skin through a fireman's heavy jacket.

Confining the primer to the die mitigates this danger, but you're still not making the process safe.

Decapping live primers is one of those activities that falls under the cliche: There are old reloaders, bold reloaders, but no old bold reloaders.

[Inrut24/7]

Thanks guys. I have alot of primers,so instead of risking setting them off or taking my die apart I think i will just shoot em off, Thanks

[quickdtoo]

I strongly urge you not to shoot them off in your home or an enclosed area, the risk of lead exposure to anyone exposed to that area far exceeds the risks associated with the alterative of safely depriming them.

Just a note, because of the risk of lead inhalation, I use a shop vac to limit my exposure to the dust created when I empty my vibratory case cleaner, I'm sure there's a bunch of lead dust accumulating in the media each time it's used.

Tim

Firearms and Exposure to Lead

The exposure to lead on the firing line occurs as soon as the shooter pulls the trigger and the hammer falls. This action causes the primer of the cartridge in the chamber to explode, which ignites the main powder charge. At this point, a breathable cloud of lead particles is expelled into the air, with lead dust spraying the shooter's hands.

Lead particles also shear off as the bullet travels through the barrel. When the bullet leaves the barrel, a second cloud of contaminants, in the form of the muzzle blast, bursts into the air. Then, as the bullet strikes the impact area, another contaminated cloud rises.

When shooters inhale these clouds of contaminants, lead particles go directly into their lungs and are quickly absorbed into the bloodstream. The blood then transfers the lead to soft body tissue and bone. Heat from smoking, sweating, or physical activity accelerates this process.

Lead can also settle on the skin and hair, and in turn, be absorbed through the pores of the skin. If lead particles reach the mouth, they can be ingested into the digestive system.

Exposure increases at cleanup time, because handling empty casings can result in lead being transferred to the skin. The cleaning process also removes much of the remaining lead in the barrel and transfers it to the cleaner's hands. Oils and solvents used to clean and lubricate weapons cause the natural oils in the skin to evaporate, leaving dry skin and open pores through which the lead can pass.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2194/is_n8_v62/ai_14507485

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?itool=abstractplus&db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=abstractplus&list_uids=2301251

[FourBee]

I have to recant my previous statement....   One should not attempt to decap unfired primers.   Shoot them before depriming.     Two months after I supposedly neutralized some primed brass with gasoline,  I thought about what many of you said here, and test fired every one.    75% fired to some extent.     It appears that primers exposed to harsh treatment can still be dangerous wet or dry.

[Lloyd Smale]

I was making grip medaliions for my 41 special out of case heads and wanted primers that looked unfired in them but inert. I soaked primers all night in penetrating oil and to test them primed cases. EVERYONE of them went off! Water certainly wont work as primer compound and gun powder is made in water. Me id just decap them but i surely wont tell you too. The best idea here was to remove your decaping pin and just resize the case without it and load as normal.

[quickdtoo]

Read the "To Kill a Primer" link I posted earlier, here it is again, both pages.

Tim

http://www.predatormastersforums.com/killprimers.shtml

http://www.predatormastersforums.com/PrimerTest.htm

[Lloyd Smale]

I would have never guessed water would do it. It would be neat to take some federals and get them to the point they are dead with water and then dry them and see if they would go off again. Id bet they would

[PaulS]

If you want to have the look of primed cases without the danger of live primers you can soak live primers in a soapy water solution for a week and then while they are still very wet remove the anvil and priming compound in the same soapy water. Remove and dry your primer cups and use them to "prime" your decorative medallions. Inlay them into your grips and you have it.

[Lloyd Smale]

problem is Paul that when your remove the anvil and the primer compound you are left with a copper cup and its just not sturdy enough to push into the case without deforming it. I guess a guy could fill it with jb weld though.

[PaulS]

Lloyd,
You can do it with a hand priming tool. It's not copper, it's like guilding metal - a brass alloy and it is pretty tough as long as you are pushing with a "cup shaped" priming tool.

[Chuck White]

I would have never guessed water would do it. It would be neat to take some federals and get them to the point they are dead with water and then dry them and see if they would go off again. Id bet they would

---------------------------

As a matter of fact:

After reading this post the other day, I took several CCI 200 primers and put them in a shot glass filled with water and tried it!
1. After 15 minutes, I put a primer in a primer in a case, chambered it and stuck the barrel out the window, and it fired.
2. After 4 hours, SAME THING.
3. After 24 hours, the primer was dead and wouldn't fire.
4. I then took a primer out of the glass and dried it with a paper towel, left it on my bench all day and when I got home from work that afternoon, (about 9 Hours later) I put the primer in a case and stuck the barrel out the window and "pow", it fired.

Now I know!

[Graybeard]

Lots of folks advise against against decapping live primers. I'm not gonna tell you to do it but I will say that like Tim I've done a LOT over the years. Never-NOT one single time have any ever gone off. Actually the way primers are designed I think it is practically but perhaps not explicitly impossible for them to go off. Primers are designed so that a sharp blow from the REAR  not from inside fires them. For some reason it seems to me after all the ones I've knocked out that the decap pin from inside the case just doesn't seem to do what is needed to fire one. So do as you please but me I'll just continue to decap when I feel the need.

Now I will say that I've found out quite unexpectedly that a shotshell primer will fire if you have a #9 magnum shot pellet in the little cup on a MEC press when you try to seat the primer. Talk about waking you up, that will sure enough do it. Was loading .410s and I seem to at least once in most every session manage to have shot bridge and not enter the case but dump all over the place once the case has been removed. That time I failed to check for loose shot down in the hole of the primer station. The noise made sure got me to thinking and I won't do that again.

[Chuck White]

Lots of folks advise against against decapping live primers. I'm not gonna tell you to do it but I will say that like Tim I've done a LOT over the years. Never-NOT one single time have any ever gone off. Actually the way primers are designed I think it is practically but perhaps not explicitly impossible for them to go off. Primers are designed so that a sharp blow from the REAR  not from inside fires them. For some reason it seems to me after all the ones I've knocked out that the decap pin from inside the case just doesn't seem to do what is needed to fire one. So do as you please but me I'll just continue to decap when I feel the need.

--------------------

I agree with GB on this one 100%.

In the past, I have "shielded" myself from my press and actually "tried" to see if I could get a primer to go off when resizing/decapping a piece of brass. 
I tried first going "easy" and not one ever went off.
I tried actually slamming my press handle down and couldn't make one go off.

Now I wouldn't advise anyone to do what I did, I'm just saying I couldn't get a primer to go off.
The rest is up to each individual as to whether or not they want to remove live primers.

[beemanbeme]

I'm with GB or with anyone that said remove the decapping pin and go at it.

One thing, when you put oil and kerosene and water and soap and such in the case to "kill" the primer,  isn't it a real pain to get out??