Making a cartridge safe

[DaveT]

In my view there is 'getting lucky' and reloading safely.........two quite different things.

I have no idea of the OPs experience but our advice posts should be based upon safe practice with caveats for those new to reloading.

[Kungfugerbil]

As Dromia said, if using any at-home methods that involve striking the primer ensure ear protection is used. A 12B shotgun primer in a garage makes for painful ears for quite some time....I would imagine...had I ever been daft enough to do that....

[TattooedGun]

As Dromia said, if using any at-home methods that involve striking the primer ensure ear protection is used. A 12B shotgun primer in a garage makes for painful ears for quite some time....I would imagine...had I ever been daft enough to do that....

Sounds like a very similar experience I had with a deformed large rifle primer in my garage. put it on a big solid vice and hit it with a hammer.

It was as loud as a .22lr to my ears. Something I vowed instantly not to do again.

As for pushing out live primers, I have decapped them with a press/dies before, as mentioned, take it slow, wear safety goggles and work as if you expect it to go off so that if it does, you and your limbs, digits, eyes and ears are safe...

[HALODIN]

Well the chap that was resizing live rounds has been doing it for years, luck doesn't come into it over that time frame. It was well discussed at the time and the thread is here if you're interested.

http://www.full-bore.co.uk/viewtopic.ph ... med+rounds

I wouldn't suggest anything unless I was 100% sure it was safe, neither would anyone else.

In my view there is 'getting lucky' and reloading safely.........two quite different things.

I have no idea of the OPs experience but our advice posts should be based upon safe practice with caveats for those new to reloading.

[HALODIN]

Sorry I missed your reply. I had the same concerns, but now I've resized primed cases, I'd consider it. The link I posted above is worth a read.

Now that does strike me as highly dangerous.... I know its unlikely, but if a round should go off in a die, its basically a bomb...I doubt steel dies are proofed the same as a chamber...

If I have a deformed primer, it gets a drop of 3-in-1 oil for a couple of days, then into the rubbish bin..

[Maggot]

Re last post.....You don't need to have any special qualification....but keep it safe.

Bashing a primer is not safe.
WD40 WILL NOT MAKE A PRIMER INERT....at least not reliably.
Fl sizing a primed case is bad practice....you usually have a decapper in place in any event and lateral die pressure on primers is not a great idea.
As for filling a case with water first...I can only imagine it would make a primer 'let-off' more hazardous.

Gently decap or put in an enclosed brazier......needs be no more complex.

This. A primer in a case will always behave badly as it is enclosed so without a bolt face the point of least resistance is out of the case like a bullet.

Oil will certainly bugger a primer up but is not 100%. I use it to kill off primers in my collection. One authority suggests vinegar as it eats through any protective film but it needs neutralizing in a collected cartridge. We burned many thousands of rounds in a steel drum full of sawdust and petrol back in the day. We had a grid over the top to keep large debris in place but generally they and primers tend to just pop and flash when not enclosed, but ideally dismantle the things first.

[snayperskaya]

I stuck a load of primed steel 54r cases in a pop bottle full of very salty water some time back and that has rendered them useless.....some of the primers have corroded away completely!.

[Mattnall]

Primers in a bonfire (outside, of course, not in the living room) aren't a problem, they pop and crack but don't jump out.

Batteries are a lot worse in an open fire.

[snayperskaya]

Primers in a bonfire (outside, of course, not in the living room) aren't a problem, they pop and crack but don't jump out.

Batteries are a lot worse in an open fire.

Many years ago whilst camping with some mates someone threw a live 8mm blank on the fire......the primer blew out, shot about 5ft and lodged in the back of someones hand!.

[Dark Skies]

Primers in a bonfire (outside, of course, not in the living room) aren't a problem, they pop and crack but don't jump out.

Batteries are a lot worse in an open fire.

Many years ago whilst camping with some mates someone threw a live 8mm blank on the fire......the primer blew out, shot about 5ft and lodged in the back of someones hand!.

Well that's because the ignition components were in an enclosed space and the primer followed the path of least resistance under pressure. A primer in a case with no round in will usually just go pop in a fire. Every now and then an odd lost primer on the garage floor ends up on the bonfire amongst the sweepings and nothing untoward has happened.