Primer inserted upside down...what if it was fired?

[M1ke10191]

I was inspecting my 9mm reloads before I put them into my ammo box and luckily I noticed one had a primer placed in upside down. Just wondering how catastrophic it would have been had I not noticed it and ran it through a pistol? Something tells me I'd have a KB but another part of me thinks it may just have been a FTF.

I'd imagine the primer doesn't care what side it's struck on but the explosion is probably designed to be in the direction of the non-covered (anvil?) side.

[Slamfire]

I don't think you would have had any catastrophic problems because I don’t believe the powder charge would have been set off.

I recall reading from an article by CCI that two things are necessary to ignite a primer (at least two) firstly the anvil has to be seated on something hard and it has to be pushed into the primer cake.

CCI said high primers are the most common cause of misfires precisely due to the fact the anvils are not seated but are dangling in the air.

Now, given enough firing pin protrusion I guess it is possible to drive the anvil down on the primer cake, and if it went off, you would get a bunch of crud into the firing pin channel and on the breech face. I doubt it would set off the main charge, but having never tried this, I cannot say that with 100 % certainty. If the firing pin hit off center, depending on the distance, it is likely nothing would have happened. Off center firing pin hits misfire the further they are from center on properly seated primers, so for an upside down one, probably even more so.

[dahermit]

A gun rag did an article about just that, some years ago. They seated several backwards and tried to fire them. As I remember, none actually ignited the powder charge, just FTF's.

[armoredman]

Having seen this happen with factory ammo, I can say with some certainty that absolutely nothing will occur.

[BuckRub]

Failure To Feed. That's all.

[allaroundhunter]

*Pull trigger*.... *Click*.

*Tap*, *Rack*, *Bang*.

[BillM]

I've seen it happen more than a few times. They will fire
in a 1911--POP sound, little puff of smoke from the breech.

Rack the slide to load a new round and get back to shootin'.

That's one of the reasons I case gauge every round of the
ammo I use for competition--there is usually at least one
flipped primer in each 100 rds.

[M1ke10191]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

[Scimmia]

*IF* your firearm has enough firing pin protrusion, it might have been able to ignite the primer. Most don't have that kind of protrusion, so nothing would happen at all.

If it did ignite the primer, you'd get a small puff of smoke and nothing else. There might be a tiny bit of damage to the breech face (erosion), but I'm sure a single instance would be unnoticeable.

[dahermit]

That's one of the reasons I case gauge every round of the
ammo I use for competition--there is usually at least one
flipped primer in each 100 rds.

I had that happen intermittently in my Dillon 550b, but it stopped when I adjusted the priming system (priming punch was not coming back far enough).

[4runnerman]

Will not ignite period. Been there done that. Pull load apart, and redo. You will need to redo your neck tension though

[Nick_C_S]

This would also be a good time to evaluate your priming procedures and quality control throughout the loading process. Adjust as necessary.

I don't mean to sound like a scolding father. But in the tens of thousands of rounds I've reloaded, I have never inserted a primer backward. Now I am a human being, and it would be foolish of me to say I will never make this mistake. It can happen to the best of loaders, to be certain. But I load very conscientiously, because I have had plenty of humbling moments in my life - reminding me that I am human.

When I prime brass, I look for the anvil before I insert the brass into the holder. And then visually inspect as well as feel the depth of the primer after the brass has been primed. (I also clean my primer pockets with every brass prep - but that's another string.)

[g.willikers]

A flipped primer isn't all that hard to accomplish, especially with progressive presses.
There's a number of ways the edge of a primer can catch on the rotating shell holder and flip sideways or completely over.
They can even get launched out of the press.
Done them all.

[GJSchulze]

A guy at my club seated a primer sideways and didn't catch it until he was loading his magazine. My first thought then was that he was reloading with no inspection of his rounds. I check every (9mm) round in a headspace gauge, both to check for case bulge and for primer seating. I've had missing primers (powder granules in the bin are a dead giveaway) and high primers, but none flipped so far. Squib loads and me are a different story, although I now look into every case and haven't had one in over a year. It doesn't take that long to check.

You said you were inspecting them, so I call that careful, not lucky.

[Nick_C_S]

g.willikers chimes in with thoughtful info.

Yet another reason to not bother with a progressive press - like I needed any more.

[g.willikers]

But they go so fast.
One way to deal with progressives is to churn out that ammo and discard the mistakes.
Throw them in a bucket and deal with them later - or never.
Just like it's done at the factories.
They make good projects for those long winters.

[BuckRub]

Case checkers don't check for upside down or sideways primers. You still have to visually check - with the case checker or without.

[GJSchulze]

Yet another reason to not bother with a progressive press - like I needed any more

Rifle or bullseye shooter? it is not hard to be careful with a progressive press. I'll grant that a single or turret makes you go slower which makes it easier to be careful. If you shoot pistol for IDPA or USPSA, then either of those are a little too slow.

Case checkers don't check for upside down or sideways primers. You still have to visually check - with the case checker or without

That's what I do. Put second bin on bench close to the bin on the press. Pick up round in right hand, slip round into gauge in my left hand, slide left index finger over case head, turn gauge so rounds slides out. If it doesn't slide out, small nudge with finger nail. If still stuck, but flush, pull the round out and blow on it and inside gauge in case a single powder granule made it stick. If it still is tight or the head sticks out, I put it away to deal with later. I'm going to get a Lee Factory Crimp die to fix these. If I like it, I'll just replace my regular crimp with it.

[Boomer58cal]

That's one of the reasons I case gauge every round of the ammo I use for competition--there is usually at least one flipped primer in each 100 rds.

1 in 100

Not cool if you ask me. I'd be doing something different procedure wise.

I've never had a backwards primer, not once.

Boomer

[Nick_C_S]

Actually, I'd be okay with a progressive press for volume rounds with new brass. And yes, I do shoot IDPA, and practice a lot. Me and my single stage press are busy.

The show-stopper with me and progressive presses is the primer pockets. The thought of the brass being de-primed and re-primed without a primer pocket cleaning doesn't sit well with me.

I've considered a progressive; and haven't completely ruled it out. But I'm not so sure I could make it work with my meticulous (OCD lol) loading style.

[Overscore]

I've seen it happen more than a few times. They will fire
in a 1911--POP sound, little puff of smoke from the breech.

Rack the slide to load a new round and get back to shootin'.

Careful there. Just hearing the pop of a primer will more often be a squib, and it's best not to train yourself to just rack the slide and start firing again. If you hear only the pop of a primer, stop.

[Overscore]

The show-stopper with me and progressive presses is the primer pockets. The thought of the brass being de-primed and re-primed without a primer pocket cleaning doesn't sit well with me.

How is that dependent on the press? I dry tumble my range brass to make it clean enough for my decapping die, decap it all, then wet polish it. So, the primer pockets get just as clean as the rest of the case.

This reminds me that I'm dreading that I have to go back into decapping mode tonight.

[Wreck-n-Crew]

I stack my ammo primer up in the cases in case I missed a bad primer set. just one of those little OCD things I do when reloading.

[hodaka]

I cannot imagine anyone loading any volume of ammo with a progressive press that hasn't flipped a primer or two. I have and does happen. Annoying but not a big deal. If you don't catch it with a final inspection nothing will happen when the firing pin hits the backside of the primer. At least that has been my experience.

[GJSchulze]

The thought of the brass being de-primed and re-primed without a primer pocket cleaning doesn't sit well with me

I clean my brass with an ultrasonic and don't deprime until I'm loading them. I've examined some primer pockets and see only a little black. It doesn't seem to amount to much. I have only heard of a few people that clean pistol primer pockets. What is it that makes you uneasy about it?

Just hearing the pop of a primer will more often be a squib, and it's best not to train yourself to just rack the slide and start firing again. If you hear only the pop of a primer, stop

I had several squibs when I first reloaded. Shooting IDPA and IPSC indoors it is hard to hear or feel the difference. Even the RO didn't hear it. Fortunately, the next round wouldn't chamber because the bullet only went far enough to engage the rifling. If you're competing you're going fast and will probably rack the slide. I would if I had noticed.

I cannot imagine anyone loading any volume of ammo with a progressive press that hasn't flipped a primer or two

I haven't. Not one in just over a year; about 8000 rounds. I have missed a few primers, but those are easy to catch from the powder you see in the catch bin.

I stack my ammo primer up in the cases in case I missed a bad primer set. just one of those little OCD things I do when reloading

Me, too, but just because they go in easier and are easier to grab. I suggest you take that as your story and stick to it.