Making primers safe

[Dougan]

I needed to pop a load of live small primers out of .357 cases - I didn't want to fire them off, as the lever action was clean, and didn't want to use the 'punch' method on so many - So I put a small drop of oil in each case (was told this makes primers inert) and eased them out with a de-capping die in the press; with no problems...

...just for good measure, I then put them in a small dish and submerged them in water - The dish was in the garage for days, and when I went back to it the water had evaporated - At this point I was considering putting them in the bin, but they still looked bright yellow and good as new - to be sure I stuck one on top of a vice and gave it a tap with a lump-hammer.....and it went off just as normal!

I had no idea that primers were so resilient - So, how do you make primers safe for throwing away?

[Dave 101]

You hit them with a lump hammer . :}
I always believed the oil would do the trick .

Dave

[Bullseye]

Oil does destroy the primer compound.. but WD-40 a good soak of it does it. :)

is best to pull the bullet off and tip the powder out and fire them...

I did once fire a primer off in an 8mm blank!!! I put the case mouth the flat surface and hit the primer with a drill bit and file!! it when off with a good bang and I forgot about blowback! The primer blow out the pocket and the anvil hit my thumb cause a black pinch mark!

I was hoping for a toy cap gun bang..... :roll:

If you do fire them off in the gun, de-cap them and send them to me. :)

[Alpha1]

to be sure I stuck one on top of a vice and gave it a tap with a lump-hammer.....and it went off just as normal!

Take my advice my friend find another hobby. Forget about reloading you are likely to do your self a injury.

[Dougan]

is best to pull the bullet off and tip the powder out and fire them...

That's what I would usually do, but my Marlin had recently had it's annual clean...and the cases were damaged...

[Dougan]

to be sure I stuck one on top of a vice and gave it a tap with a lump-hammer.....and it went off just as normal!

Take my advice my friend find another hobby. Forget about reloading you are likely to do your self a injury.

Please advise me what's so wrong with that? - I weighed up the risk...at worst the primer could shoot out between the hammer and vice, but not with that much force, and I considered eye protection to be enough...my main concern, with more than a dozen to do, was the noise...if there were no neighbors I'd happily take them all out onto the lawn with a hammer and a brick...

...I actually take a very cautious approach to reloading, and sometimes like to confirm some things for myself rather than just believe everything I'm told.

And if you take my advice Alpha; if you're scared of things that go bang, then you're in the wrong sport...

[Hauptman]

Obtain a large old saucepan with lid. Wait until Nov 5th. then put on protective glasses/face shield, place primer anvil side up in centre of pan, put on lid, hold pan above head height, and apply heat (blowlamp?) to centre of pan base and wait for bang.
The anvil will leave the primer at around 1800fps, so DON'T forget the lid or the face protection.
Might also be worth alerting the neighbours, to avoid the sudden appearance of a swat team.........

Hauptman

[Sim G]

You've gone through all this and still failed at the primary objective because you didn't want to wipe your Marlin through again? Something which only gets cleaned annually?

The safest and most effective means of getting rid of primers in cases is, putting them through the appropriate gun. Hitting primers with a hammer, tiny bits of primer can fly off everywhere and pentrated all sorts of material....

[Hauptman]

So you would have to do this at a range, then?..................I wouldn't want to risk "discharging a firearm" in my garage or garden...........

I've used the saucepan technique, and I can tell you that the anvil will come out in one piece, leaving the primer cup intact.

As for "firing them off", I wouldn't want to be standing there, rifle in hand, explaining to an armed response unit what I was up to.......................

H/man

[GazMorris]

So you would have to do this at a range, then?..................I wouldn't want to risk "discharging a firearm" in my garage or garden...........

Get a large piece of junk carpet and roll it up so that the hole in the middle is just large enough to fit in the barrel/foresight of your rifle. Stand this on end on a concrete or other surface, e.g. inside a garage. Point firearm into it, load primed case, fire. Rinse, repeat. This will (allegedly) massively damp down the noise. PLEASE BE VERY CERTAIN THAT YOU ONLY DO THIS WITH PRIMED CASES AND NOT LIVE ROUNDS.

If you're doing this with lots of cases, once you've made your firearm safe, cleaned it and locked it back up in your safe get plenty of ventilation through the garage before you do anything with the carpet to avoid inhaling too much lead from the primers.

Gaz

PS - Or just do it the way I used to with occasional cockups: use a vice, a pin punch and a hammer with good eye protection.