Removing live primers

jaytee

Can live primers be removed from a case just like spent ones?

bpost

Yes, do so slowly and wear safety glasses.

If you're decapping live military primers with a crimp they tend to go bang once in a blue moon. But I have never had a problem with commercial primers and cases.

Setting off a primer takes a sharp blow, decapping slowly will not ignite the compound.

HandgunHTR52

When I have had to do it, I put a little water in each case first to kill the primer. It never hurts to be too safe.

fire for effect

You can always put then in the gun and fire the primers.

TULARE269

quote:Originally posted by fire for effect
You can always put then in the gun and fire the primers.
If you're trying to salvage some brass whose primer is corrosive, that defeats the point of the drill...

Explorer1

I doubt water will have a real impact with a short exposure. Use WD-40, it typically penetrates well and kills primers.

akfanatik

yep, ive extracted quite a few live primers, i dont kill em because about the worst thing thats gonna happen is itll make a loud pop, no sense in wasting them

Mr. Gunz

Yeah...it wont hurt them, if it scares you spray them with WD-40

akfanatik

if it scares you, you need to quit being a little girl

bpost

quote:Originally posted by akfanatik
if it scares you, you need to quit being a little girl


That is not nice. [V][V][xx(]

The member is asking a question to learn something. I am sure you may learn a thing or two if you sit down and read rather than typing drivel. Smack talk is for the General Forum and to a more narrow extent politics.

Treating primers with oil to kill them has been covered before as a topic. It is not a sure thing. De-capping live primers is fine as long as you go easy. I would tend to avoid using oil because in my mind contamination of the powder in the next charge is a real possibility without proper solvent removal of the oil.

akfanatik

alright, i apoligize for my rudeness

jonk

I use a universal decapper die. Do it slowly, make sure your primer catch tray is empty so you can find the bugger. Works fine, I've done it hundreds of times, had one go off once. As the fire all went into the die body or down the primer hole on the press, no chance of damage whatsoever, no need to even wear safety glasses (IMHO) as there is no chance of anything going anywhere. Made me jump, but that was it.

fire for effect

quote:Originally posted by TULARE269
quote:Originally posted by fire for effect
You can always put then in the gun and fire the primers.
If you're trying to salvage some brass whose primer is corrosive, that defeats the point of the drill...


Good point, but if you clean guns, that isn't really a problem either.

RCrosby

For what it's worth, W-D 40 or not, always assume that it might blow; as unlikely as that may be.
Someone once handed me a 7.7 Arisaka with a live round stuck in the chamber. I don't recall the exact sequence of my efforts to dislodge it, but at one point I sprayed liberal quantities of WD40 in from both ends and let it sit for a week.
Removed the bolt and tried to whack it out with a stiff cleaning rod. No go. Finally reinserted the bolt, tied the rifle to a tree and string to the trigger, hid behind another tree and gave the string a yank.
What I got was an instant and very load noise. Ended up having to open the bolt with a length of 2X4. No apparent damage to the rifle, but the brass was melted to the point that the primer pocket was approximately twice its prior diameter and no lettering was left on the head. To this day I have no idea what round had been jammed in there. I can only guess at what the pressures must have been. Appareantly T. Whelan was right when he said the Arisaka was one of the strongest actions made at that time, bar none.