Bad Bullet Load, Now What???

[Tony C]

Okay,

In my third round of reloading and my first with .38 Special, I reloaded two bullets that ended up going in too crooked and one side of the bottom of the bullet had bent the case out.

I used my handy-dandy Cabelas mallet style bullet puller and took the rounds apart. My question is around the primers. Can I punch them out with the resizing die? That sounds like a bad idea. I could take them to the range and fire the primer in the case, but if it is reusable I would prefer not to.

Thanks for the help,
Tony

[zxcvbob]

You can punch the primer out and reuse it. Go easy with it; don't jab it with the decapping pin. Wear safety glasses. Don't use the recycled primer in your match or SD ammo, use it for plinking in case you damage the anvil or something. (I've done this several times and never had a problems)

[Shoney]

tony
Over the past 5 decades I have deprimed hundreds of live primers, in frontways, sideways and backwards, None have ever detonated. Just be carefull. This diity should say it all

Removing Live Primers!

Got live primers? Take this to heart,
It’s not hard, it’s not an art;

How to remove? you might ask
Always safety first, on this little task;

Goggles and ear plugs; guard your senses;
Put up a board for good defenses;

Recycle those primer, any ol’ way;
For fowling shots, or just for play;

No primers to toss, no brass to pitch;
Jus decap the hole on’at son-of-a-b-b-b-b-b---gun!
Shoney

[dahermit]

Crooked bullet seating? You had better explain what tools you are using.

[whiplash]

dont forget to "bell" the case mouth...

[FredT]

Or bell it a bit more than you did. I just did that on a .45-70 and a cast bullet trying to get away with as little flaring and possible. Trashed the case, added a bit more flare and was good to go.

[bcarver]

shot of wd 40 let sit, decapp and dump all. They cost pennies and are jinxed,

[Tony C]

Thanks for the concern,

I am using good equipment. Hornady LNL Classic, Hornady dies, "experienced" brass and Berry's Plated bullets. I just put the bullet in too crooked and in too much of a hurry and forced it in at an angle less than optimal.

[Sport45]

shot of wd 40 let sit, decapp and dump all.

That may be just a waste of WD-40. Many have tested different solvents and none have been proven to reliably kill primers. That said, it can't hurt to possibly kill the primer if you're really concerned about it going off. I just do as zxcvbob said in his post.

Here's a quote from May '07. The upside down primer quandry is probably as old as reloading itself.

Originally Posted by Mal H

TimRB speaks true. There have been fairly scientific tests on the very subject of killing primers. They were soaked in various liguids (water, gun oil, WD-40, kerosene, Kroil oil, etc.) and tested for effective flash when fired in the normal manner in a firearm. Several brands were tested. If was found that some primers would be deadened a little by some of the liquids, but most would go off and some would go off as if there was nothing on them. It was further found that the primers soaked in the more volatile liquids (e.g., water, kerosene) would go off as usual after the liquid had been allowed to evaporate for a few days. IOW, the effect of the liquid was only temporary.

The compounds used in primers is of a percussive nature. If they are soaked in a liquid, there is not necessarily going to be a chemical change in the compounds. Even if there is, it may not go all the way through the primer pellet. So a percussion will still set it off.

Trying to kill primers is iffy at best and may give you a false sense of security about them.

I guess I don't understand the paranoia about throwing one or two of them in the trash. If there are children around who might rummage in the trash for little shiny objects, you may have a bigger problem than having them find a primer. Even so, if there are small children around, any adult worth being one can find a way to keep unusable primers away from the kids until they are firmly in the trash collector's hands. Once they are at a landfill, if they go off - so what? The "explosion" from them would pale in comparison to the aerosol cans and small propane bottles that go off there on a regular basis.

Also. those who are a bit paranoid about one going off as it is being removed from an empty case have never used one of the old Lee Loaders! Sure they might go bang very loudly, but in general it's not all that dangerous as long as the proper safety precautions are taken. Everyone should be wearing safety glasses when reloading anyway, whether removing live primers or not, strictly on a just-in-case basis.

One thing I would caution about is hitting primers with a hammer when the primer is out of a case. 99 times out a hundred, it's going to be relatively safe, but there is a chance that the anvil will not be caught by the hammer and can go flying at a very high speed. Now, the odds of it hitting anything important are even lower than that 99/100, but don't forget what everyone told Ralphie in "A Christmas Story" - "It'll put your eye out!" Eyes tend to be magnets for flying objects even behind safety glasses.]

Shoney's poem has grown since then too. Here it is from the same thread I grabbed the above quote.

This little limerick may help.

Backward primers!

Backward primers? Take this to heart,
Every ‘loaders done this little brain phart;

Recycle those primer, any ol’ way;
For fowling shots, or just for play;

How to remove? you might ask
Always safety first, on this little task;

No primers to toss, no brass to pitch;
just decap the hole, on that son-of-a-