A MERC 9mm Brass

[garbageman]

I read that this brass is no good for reloading.

I just found about 125 primed 9mm A MERC cases I had primed a long time ago when just starting (I don't even reload 9mm anymore but am thinking of starting back).

How can I make them safe to trash or recycle?

Shoot the primers out or load them light and hope for the best?

Or is there some kind of chemical neutralizer I can use to disable the primers to make them safe for trash or, preferably, recycling .(I already have a coffee can full of brass for recycling and I recycle other metals as well).

[Number 6]

While AMERC is generally recognized as crap brass, you've already primed them. That means you've resized/deprimed them, thus providing you with the opportunity to inspect the cases for cracks, bulges or ruptures.

If they looked good enough to get that far, reload them. Just junk the brass afterwards. I reloaded a LOT of AMERC brass before it became problematic. While I won't even pick it up now, I never had a failure with any AMERC case I loaded.

NOTE: My experience was with .45 ACP primarily and, maybe, some .40. 9 mm is higher pressure than .45, but equal or less than .40.

[garbageman]

Thanks.

I was thinking along the same lines.

I have a Hi-Point Carbine that I can shoot them in.

Don't want anything happening to my BHP.

[Mal H]

Gotta agree with Number 6. If they're already primed (and the primers are tight), you've passed most of the problems people have with AMERC brass. Go ahead and use them. If they are very old, chances are good that they were made before American Ammo started buying defective brass.

[Smokey Joe]

+1 on Mal H and Number Six's answer to yr problem. However you also asked another question:

Or is there some kind of chemical neutralizer I can use to disable the primers to make them safe for trash or, preferably, recycling .(I already have a coffee can full of brass for recycling and I recycle other metals as well).

We have been around and around and around on this one; it seems that every so often somebody finds themself in posession of primed brass they want the primers out of, and then what to do with the primers.

It is irresponsible to discard unfired primers. What if kids found 'em and played with 'em, or a little old lady stepped on one, never mind the remoteness of the possibility.

Soaking the primers in water and in various oils and other household chemicals has been tried. The conclusion always comes up that there is no household (read: reasonably safe) chemical that will kill primers 100% reliably.

There are two things that will kill 100% of unwanted primers: Percussion, and Heat. You can run 'em through a gun and drop the firing pin on each one. You can deprime 'em (slow & careful) and hit 'em with a hammer. Or you can put 'em into a fire (using proper care and body protection). All 3 of these are noisy but effective.The first dirties up the gun in question something awful. Have never tried the fire method. The middle of these is my preferred way. The mashed, fired, primers will recycle along with all yr other "regular" fired & deprimed primers.

Rifle & pistol primers are all brass, so they'll recycle along with the cases.

[garbageman]

I did not know that primers were all brass.

I keep them in coffee cans and haven't decided what to do with them yet but now that I know what they consist of I can put them with the other brass I have and recycle.

Thanks for all the help to everyone.

[CrustyFN]

I have never tried this but have read where people will remove live primers very carefully from cases. Once you remove a primer from a case could you reseat it in a different case or would it be to loose? I would load the A-Merc, shoot it and throw it in the scrap bucket when I was done.
Rusty

[Smokey Joe]

Crusty FN--Having removed--carefully--the live primers from one set of cases, I have experimentally reseated the same primers in other cases, loaded those cases, and fired them in a firearm normally.

The primers don't detonate when you punch them out slowly--they are set off by percussion, not by slow pressure.

The primers seated a little more easily than usual, the second time around.

The reseated primers all fired, 100%, and the rounds appeared to behave in all ways completely normally. Same POI even, as similar rounds but with brand new primers.

However, I for one feel funny about reusing primers. I CERTAINLY would not use rounds with 2nd hand primers for SD, and having gone that far, I wouldn't want to trust them to go bang when the Jordan Buck is in my cross-hairs, nor for getting X's instead of 10's in competition. (Oh, all right, 8's instead of 7's!) It just seems too much like handing Mr. Murphy an engraved invitation to the party.

I would re-use primers at extreme need. Not in any other instance.