Primer Detonation on Lee PRO 1000 PRESS

[toadywart]

For the first time ever I had a primer detonation while reloading. I was reloading 9mm on a Lee Pro 1000 using CCI 500 Primers. Looks like a primer got wedged sideways (see picture below) going into the primer pocket and detonated. It in turn detonated the one next to it (see press picture below) which you can not see because it is below the plate. The chain reaction detonated 4 more primers which are shown in the picture below. Of the four primers that are shown in the picture the anvils were ejected out of the primers. So what you are see are four blackened empty primer caps. Note that the chain reaction stopped at five primers and did not continue on an up into the primer tray, which would have been bad. I did not get hurt in the mishap. Had safety glasses on but did not feel any thing bounce off them. How common is this? Has anyone else have this happen to them?

[Jeffm004]

CCI is a hard primer, were you really putting an arm on it? I sometimes duck on a tight one but nope, knock on wood, never here.

[243winxb]

Online there have been 2 Dillons & 1 Hornady that I seen.. All progressives.

[skizzums]

It seems about every three of four days someone on this forum talks me out of going progressive. I really wanna give it a shot someday too, but dang.......it's just always something. Are there any progressive loaders here that have NEVER has a mishap? Even if you caught it w/o messing anything up. I mean, never a double or a squib or a primer boom or upside down primer, or is SOMETHING going to happen and you just have to be vigilant in QC not to hurt anything?

[Sevens]

I have primed more than 100,000 pieces of brass on a Lee Pro-1000 and I have managed to make a not at all insignificant collect of completely crushed and mutilated primers and STILL have never even once managed to detonate one on the press. I did once pop a primer that got wedged between the bottom of the base and the ram.

I would say that your experience is rare and becomes more rare as your familiarit with the press grows.

[sawdustdad]

It seems about every three of four days someone on this forum talks me out of going progressive. I really wanna give it a shot someday too, but dang.......it's just always something. Are there any progressive loaders here that have NEVER has a mishap? Even if you caught it w/o messing anything up. I mean, never a double or a squib or a primer boom or upside down primer, or is SOMETHING going to happen and you just have to be vigilant in QC not to hurt anything?

I have loaded tens of thousands (probably close to 50,000) rounds on a pair of square deal presses. Never had a primer go off. Never had a double charged cartridge, never had a squib. 9mm, .44spl, .44mag, .38spl, .357 mag, .45colt. I've had a couple (less than 10 out of the 50,000) primers upside down or sideways, but never a detonation. I wear safety glasses when loading nonetheless.

[skizzums]

thats good to hear. also, when i do window shop progressives, i always think i'm settled on the square deal, looks like a solid system. very unique design, but it looks like it takes out "play" more than the others

[F. Guffey]

Then one day I decided I would make an effort to set off a primer. To give me a chance I started with Federal primers, then I loaded the Federal primers into one of My Lee Auto hand primers. Next? I gave up and moved the Federal primers to one of my RCBS Auto hand primers and started again. It took a while but finally I managed to mangle a primer and set it off.

I tried to stay with one of the Dillon primer explosions on another forum, the only way I could see how that failure happened was if the reloader dropped the tube, THEN! reached for the tube. In his effort it appeared he folded the tube, to me it looked like he hit the tube with a Ki-rack chop. The sympathy vote went for dust and static electricity.

The reloader did receive serious injuries, I have no interest adding folding, bending and collapsing loaded primer tubes to my effort when testing primer.

F. Guffey

[GJSchulze]

I've loaded almost 30,000 on my Hornady LnL with no problems, including no flipped primers.

There is a difference in the design of the Hornady vs. the way your primers are fed. On the Hornady the primer is fed off the bottom of the vertical primer feed tube and moved into position by a shuttle. If the primer did ignite it is over one inch away from the rest of the primers and is isolated from them. Yours are just sitting there in an open tube begging for a spark. You could could probably cover that up with some foil.

Primers need a sharp impact to set them off. If you squeezed them in pliers they would likely not go off. You can decap a live primer and it is very unlikely to go off because you just can't get the ram moving fast enough; the long lever arm you're pushing results in the ram moving slowly compared to a firing pin.

[CowTowner]

or is SOMETHING going to happen and you just have to be vigilant in QC not to hurt anything?

Being vigilant in QC and safety is part of reloading.
When you forget this, bad things can happen. Murphy, I think, loves us reloaders.

[dyl]

I have a Lee Loadmaster, never set off a primer. The Loadmaster looks to be a set up a little different with a slider involved.

I've had a few sideways primers but they feel stiff at the handle and then hang up the rotation, so I know before they proceed any further.

I've rarely had an upside down primer.

I bought the screw-in blast shield just in case of detonation as I was told it was cheap insurance.

What are those electrical wires for?

[GWS]

I've been around a half dozen gun forums for about 6 years. I've read about primer detonations from all progressives, even including a single episode from an RCBS Pro 2000.....and that's really hard to do! He maxed out the damage managing to lite 2 primers on either side of the mangled one, by trying (with crazy perseverance) to prime a case already primed!

But thankfully a blackened strip was the maximum damage due to the primer strip design with their primer system.

I've heard you can't fix stupid.....and being that all of us qualify at one time or another....I bought the Pro 2000 myself. I'm convinced that I am capable of lighting 100 primers at a time in a Dillon unit.....so I decided to stop Murphy before he had a chance to work at my house. Been a wonderful 4 1/2 years....safe too.

First lesson to digest when handloading on ANY press, progressive or not, is......don't force anything....period. If it doesn't go easy....stop. Carefully find out why and correct it!

Corollary: Handloading and being in a "big hurry" aren't compatible. Only load when you can do it depressurized with no interruptions!

Safer RCBS strip:

[wogpotter]

I've been reloading since 1968. I went progressive with a Dillon RL 450b in 1983 & upgraded to an RL 550B a couple of years back.

Round count in .303 Brit, 7.62mm/.308 & .357 is over 18,000.

So far nothing has fizzed, whooshed or BANGd.

I recall 2 stuck primer incidents.
One got stuck in the plastic feed tip of the primer tube when I first used the press. Simple fix, carefully remove the feed tube & empty it, call Dillon & they just replaced the tube & feed tip. I drowned it in WD 40 for a couple of weeks the gently pushed the old primer out & cleaned a burr off the plastic. One turned sideways in the pocket but didn't ignite. I discovered it on final inspection & broke down the case carefully. The primer was slowly pushed out (not hammered slowly pushed) & it slid out so I could reuse the other components.

The primer in the pic seems to have a semi-circular depression, that looks like a second primer was offset behind it & maybe slammed into it when the press tried to seat it? It does not look like a sideways primer.

[g.willikers]

The Lee 1000 does have a less than ideal primer feed setup.
What with all the primers in contact with one another, from shell plate to tray.
An arrangement providing a distance between the primer at the shell plate and the rest of them in the storage tube, as many progressives do, would be better.

[lee n. field]

a Lee Pro 1000 using CCI 500 Primers. Looks like a primer got wedged sideways

<sarc>
Surprise!
</sarc>

Primer feeding at the bottom of the chute was a problem, back when I was using my Pro 1000.

The Lee 1000 does have a less than ideal primer feed setup.
What with all the primers in contact with one another, from shell plate to tray.

Lee's Safety Prime uses a similar system. Doesn't seem to have those issues (in my experience).

[tlm225]

That happened to a close friend of mine back in the late 80's-early 90's. Lee Pro 1000 with federal primers. Chain reaction lit off most of his tray. His face looked as if he had been peppered with birdshot. Fortunately he was wearing glasses.

[toadywart]

Originally Posted by dyl

I have a Lee Loadmaster, never set off a primer. The Loadmaster looks to be a set up a little different with a slider involved.

I've had a few sideways primers but they feel stiff at the handle and then hang up the rotation, so I know before they proceed any further.

I've rarely had an upside down primer.

I bought the screw-in blast shield just in case of detonation as I was told it was cheap insurance.

What are those electrical wires for?

They are for my bullet counter. If you go to my YouTube channel "NotAnExpert"and look through my videos you will see it in there.