Up-side down primer

[Patrick Sweeney]

So, the question stands.  If previous tests that produced inactivated ammo from exposure to WD-40 (or whatever solvent was at hand) didn't kill the primer, what happened?

How was the ammo made inert?  Physical blockage of the flash hole?  Sogged powder at the base of the case, impeding flash?  Solidifed powder residue smegma created by the WD?

If not the primer, what?  If it doesn't happen, then what did earlier experimenters see?

An old article idea, but maybe I can figure out a way to update it.  How can I thank you guys?  And Duane, no fair poaching.

[Detlef]

well, in the true spirit of this forum, I suggest some of us go back and repeat the experiment. I will, because what I reported was done *long* ago. All I have at home now is Federals, so I will report back....

--Detlef

[Duane Thomas]

Patrick,

Poaching?

[Duane Thomas]

Pat (aka BOOM-BOOM!),

How 'bout this one:

The time: a few years ago. The situation: I'm at an IDPA match at Marty Hayes' Firearms Academy of Seattle. Myself and the rest of the match attendess are standing at the end of Marty's 100-yard rifle bay, talking about the next match stage we're about to run. On the next bay over Gila May-Hayes, Marty's wife, is running a women's-only handgun class. (This is already sounding good, right?) The little pocket range the ladies are on is located over a berm but down at the other end of our range.

Now, there are some sounds that, even if you've never heard them before, you instantly know what they are. The one we heard sounded like this:

(soft from the other end of the range and over the berm) bang! (followed almost instantly, WAY too close, by) Bzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

For those you who've been fortunate enough to never have an incoming bullet pass really close to you, I can tell you what it sounds like: a very, very angry wasp whizzing past your ear at a thousand feet per second. It sounds MEAN. Definitely something you do not want to intercept.

The first to react is my friend Tony Newhouse. He instantly drops to a low crouch. Everyone looks around, someone says, "Was that what I thought it was?" I say, "Hey, I'm with Tony," and don't just crouch, I lay down on the ground, looking like something out of Maxfield Parrish's The Conversation. Then the women really open up, and suddenly there are angry wasps ALL OVER the place. You never saw a group of men hit the ground so fast anywhere outside a combat zone.

What had happened was that the ladies were practicing head shots, and had failed to notice that the upward angle on their targets' head-boxes was sailing bullets over the berm, and into the next range. Someone of our group has to run down to the other range and tell the ladies, "Hey, you might want to lower those targets because you just, ya know, almost killed every man at the IDPA match."

An obvious group of feminists.

[JimP]

I pull the bullet - reclaim the powder and the bullet - but I dump the case with the upside down primer in it in the trash. I wouldn't recommend trying to punch the primer out - let alone reusing them.

We're talking about $ 0.02 or less each here guys ... for primers at $ 18 / 1,000 and that's expensive depending on where you buy them. It can't be a good idea for 2 cents ....

[Nolan]

Interesting! I reload mostly on a 1050 but I also have a 550. I've routinely decapped properly inserted live primers with no problems and also decapped backwards/sideways primers without ever getting one to go bang. Even if it did go bang other than giving me a freakin' heart attack, about the worst it would do on a 550 is possibly bend the spent primer chute/flipper thingee. YMMV on other presses.

I discard the decapped primer, but reuse the case.

Oh yeah, all the other normal safety precautions apply! Safety glasses, plug your ears, and don't try this at home

Nolan

Edited February 10, 2006 by Nolan

[tightloop]

I just dump the whole thing..

[Merlin Orr]

Let the good times roll and the rough edges drag... Toss it without a glance or second thought.

[firematt100]

I guess this shows the poor broke student in me.  I pull the bullet, and reuse everything.   You can empty the primer cup and carefully push the upside down primer out, then put it back in right.  Safety glasses on at all times of course.  No warranties express or implied.  Man I'm cheap!

Can I have your stuff when you get your hads plown off?

[JD45]

Somebody call Mythbusters. We should get them to do the WD-40 thing, plus decap a bunch of live primers. Including Federal, upside down.

It is not wise to decap live primers. However Mythbusters needs more material.

The Glock .40 KB problem would also make a hell of a show. They could try everything. Seat bullets from .040" too deep all the way to crammed out of sight.

[HSMITH]

I toss them in a can on my bench, the 'oops' can. When I get enough in there to be embarassing I pull them down and salvage the components.

DB got nailed bad enough that I won't admit to decapping backwards primers and re-using them, but I will publicly admit that I agree with Nolans assesment of potential damage.

[XRe]

I put a drop of oil on the primer then trash it. Sheesh. The things you guys will do to save a nickel (literally)... and don't give me "nickels add up" - if you're having that many backwards primers, you need to look at what's wrong with your press!!! :lol:

[Nolan]

I toss them in a can on my bench, the 'oops' can. When I get enough in there to be embarassing I pull them down and salvage the components.

That's my method as well. When the Oops can gets full enough (6 months or more) I pull the bullets, dump the powder (for my rocket car) decap the primer (if it had one) and reuse the bullet and case.

Actually I don't see how decapping a backwards primer can set it off? The anvil has nothing to hold it in place. In order for the primer to work the anvil has to be held in place against the bottom of the primer pocket. That's why high primers don't go bang!

Sideways primers??? Well I figure if mashing it into the primer pocket hard enough that it's flush with the case doesn't set it off nothing will.

Nolan

[TCK]

I have a plastic grocery bag hanging from the end of my bench thats a trash can, everything that doesn't come out right, goes in there and then to the dumpster. I had an upside down primer tonight....bullets, primers, cases are too cheap to try and salvage 1 or 2 components out of every so many thousand loaded.

[Jake Di Vita]

Anyone else notice this thread started 5 years go?

[D.Hayden]

Anyone else notice this thread started 5 years go?

I was thinking yesterday about that - how a thread this old get resurrected... I guess people are using the search feature...

[Stuck in C]

I fired, or attempted to, a round with a backwards primer just after I started reloading on a progressive press. Squeeze (or knowing me, jerk) trigger, a weird PHPHTTTTT noise, a puff of smoke and a flash. The powder did not go off, the bullet didn't move in the case, but the slide must have opened slightly because my hand was covered with residue. No damage to the gun or to me. I check my reloads a little more carefully now.

[Front Man]

Anyone else notice this thread started 5 years go?

Roger that!

I thought that was cool too!

And with a huge time lapse to boot.

Almost like an unearthed Time Capsule.

FM

[Clay1]

I want the follow up on the WD40 soaked primers. At a recent training that I attended they told a story of an officer who when finished with his service weapon sprayed it with WD40 and wiped it off. When he went to qualify all six of his carry rounds failed to go bang and they taught this as a reason not to use WD40 around ammo.

So it looks like I will be soaking some primers in WD40 and loading them to see if they go bang. If they don't go bang, I'm a renoun cheap bastid and will be pulling the bullets and using the brass over.

[AlamoShooter]

I want the follow up on the WD40 soaked primers. At a recent training that I attended they told a story of an officer who when finished with his service weapon sprayed it with WD40 and wiped it off. When he went to qualify all six of his carry rounds failed to go bang and they taught this as a reason not to use WD40 around ammo.

So it looks like I will be soaking some primers in WD40 and loading them to see if they go bang. If they don't go bang, I'm a renoun cheap bastid and will be pulling the bullets and using the brass over.

I tryed a few with just the primer and WD40 sprayed in to the case- waited 10min and both still worked. It may be an out dated thing = Old School

Edited February 17, 2006 by AlamoShooter

[bagdrag]

I don't know about cheap but I'm a little worried about throwing live primers in the trash, especially as a loaded round. I've had the same experience as Nolan and DB and removed a live upside down primer from a case. ****I don't encourage or advise anyone else to do this however!!!!!!!!!**** My safety precautions include but are not limited to removing all primers and powder from the press, and wearing safety glasses. I'm very careful to note any resistance in the pull of the press handle. Spent primer catch is empty so no live primers will be mixed up with spent primers. ALL primers and ALL powder is nowhere near the vicinity of my reloading bench.

BE SAFE.

[Clay1]

"I tryed a few with just the primer and WD40 sprayed in to the case- waited 10min and both still worked. It may be an out dated thing = Old School"

Alamo, so you tried two of them and both of them went bang? Or did you try 5 of them and only 2 went bang? In other words did the WD40 deactivate any of the primers? Thanks,

Rick

[Chris Keen]

Actually I don't see how decapping a backwards primer can set it off? The anvil has nothing to hold it in place. In order for the primer to work the anvil has to be held in place against the bottom of the primer pocket. That's why high primers don't go bang!

Sideways primers??? Well I figure if mashing it into the primer pocket hard enough that it's flush with the case doesn't set it off nothing will.

Nolan

+1 goes to Nolan

[ihatepickles]

Pull the bullet and put the brass/primer in water for a few days. After it's been in water for a few days, deprime and recycle(or throw away) as you wish.

The people saying deprime the live primer (regardless of whether it's sideways or upside down) are reckless.

Edited March 6, 2006 by ihatepickles

[John Heiter]

A few of us got together after our match yesterday and this subject came up. I personally just toss mistakes (upside down primers, etc.) in the trash because I don't get enough of them to really be worth my time trying to reclaim. That said, we generally agreed with Nolan and DBChaffin. If you are depriming a live primer that is properly inserted, it is possible to set it off however with upside down primers, it would be almost impossible to do so since the anvil would have nothing to press down on it.