Primers

Known this for 30+ years.
Our range meetings brought this subject up almost every month.
So, we put 20 pistol primers and 20 rifle primers in a jar, poured in WD40 to cover them and let them sit for 2 months. Dried them off and let sit upside down on absorbent paper shop cloth for 2 additional weeks.
Loaded them in cases, no powder or bullet, all primers fired without issue.
I have never had a primer fail to fire, even those that I have taken out and re-used.

Cheers.
 
Back in the early 80's a friends was dredging the potomac river and dug up 50 bmg and 20mm from WW2 that had been dumped in the river. He brought some in and I took them home and opened them. Powder was fine and burned perfectly. No doubt the primers were fine too after 40+ yrs in the river
 
Thirty years ago, I used WD-40 to clean my brass and it worked really well. But on my elk hunt, when I pulled the trigger, the primer didn't go off. It is the only failure to fire I've had in 50 years of reloading. I won't use WD-40 to clean my brass after that.
 
Seabeeken said:
Back in the early 80's a friends was dredging the potomac river and dug up 50 bmg and 20mm from WW2 that had been dumped in the river. He brought some in and I took them home and opened them. Powder was fine and burned perfectly. No doubt the primers were fine too after 40+ yrs in the river
Click to expand...
Now whoever produced those primers should have used that for an advertisement!
 
bluedog69 said:
Now whoever produced those primers should have used that for an advertisement!
Click to expand...
LOL, I doubt they ever knew their product ended up at the bottom of a river and may not want it known. LOL Friend said there were thousands of rounds in the river.
In 50 yrs of handloading, I've touched thousands of primers and never harmed one that I know of. I was always careful to keep hands clean though
 
I don't touch my primers.... not because it would hurt them somehow, but because I can't physically pick them up! The click-adjust primer seaters (like he showcases in the video) probably works great, but I use CPS and Dillion so I don't have to play bajillion-primer pickup every time I load

I have found some primers on the floor of the garage before, usually tucked into a corner covered in dirt and cobwebs. They always pop when I bash them with a hammer before vacuuming up 🤣
 
QuietTexan said:
I don't touch my primers.... not because it would hurt them somehow, but because I can't physically pick them up! The click-adjust primer seaters (like he showcases in the video) probably works great, but I use CPS and Dillion so I don't have to play bajillion-primer pickup every time I load

I have found some primers on the floor of the garage before, usually tucked into a corner covered in dirt and cobwebs. They always pop when I bash them with a hammer before vacuuming up 🤣
Click to expand...
I'm with you about not being able to pick up a primer. It only get worse with age. It's a habit I got into when I started loading in 1972. I'm not worried about contamination since I habitually use surgical gloves, mainly to keep my hands clean.
 
Last edited:
David_h said:
Had some misfires when I stared reloading decades ago. I traced it to not washing case lube off of my hands/fingers. Had one misfire when lined up on a deer. Nowadays I don't mind touching primer with bare hands if I have cleaned hands thoroughly.
Click to expand...
I've only had two not go off. I attributed it to case lube on my fingers also. I use 1 shot spray now and rarely have to touch them anymore anyway.
 
Lead styphnate, the stuff inside primers that makes them explode is classified as a low velocity explosive subject to heat, static electricity and impact. The lead styphnate will not explode if is wet and is almost insoluble in water and will remain inside the primer and will explode when dried out - bang. Lead is toxic so wash hands after priming. The only primer failures that I have experienced were caused by being wet, light or inadequate pin strikes. I don't trust priming tools that are fed with tubes (chain reaction explosion) and the priming tools that use ribbed trays (unflipped primers) can allow upside down primer seating. I use a cheap, inexpensive Lee Ram press mounted priming tool & inspect each primer before seating - like does it have an anvil & a paper wafer.
 

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