Making Primers?

[Ruger4570]

Interesting procedure nevertheless. Unfortunatly at about 6 minutes+ per primer, it's gonna take 10 hours to make 100 primers. My flintlock is starting to look better all the time.

[Mike Irwin]

Problem with using those strike anywhere kitchen matches?

Those things are getting harder to find than primers.

[jimgiven]

You can checkout Ammosmith.com where he has a two(2) part video using the strike anywhere kitchen match tips. It takes about 12 match tips to work OK.

I will also quote you from a US Army Technical Manual (page 44):

IMPROVISED MUNITIONS HANDBOOK
TM 31-210 Department of the Army Technical Manual
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WAR OFFICE
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

"Section III
No. 5
REUSABLE PRIMER
A method of making a previously fired primer reusable.
MATERIALS REQUIRED:
-------------------
Used cartridge case
2 long nails having approximately the same diameter as the inside of the
primer pocket
"Strike-anywhere" matches - 2 or 3 are needed for each primer
Vise
Hammer
Knife or other sharp edged instrument
PROCEDURE:
----------
1. File one nail to a needle point so that it is small enough to fit through
hole in primer pocket.
2. Place cartridge case and nail between jaws of vise. Force out fired primer
with nail.
3. Remove anvil from primer cup.
4. File down point of second nail until tip is flat.
5. Remove indentations from face of primer cup with hammer and flattened
nail.
6. Cut off tips of the heads of "strike-anywhere" matches using knife. Care-
fully crush the matches tips on dry surface with wooden match stick until the
mixture is the consistency of sugar.
CAUTION: Do not crush more than 3 match tips at one time or the mixture may
explode.
7. Pour mixture into primer cup. Compress mixture with wooden match stick un-
til primer cup is fully packed.
8. Place anvil in primer pocket with legs down.
9. Place cup in pocket with mixture facing downward.
10. Place cartridge case and primer cup between vise jaws, and press slowly
until primer is seated into bottom of pocket. The primer is now ready to use."

I hope this helps out,

Jim

PS: Be sure to clean your weapon after using this method thoroughly!!!

[Dannyl]

Hi Guys,
between your shortages and the rubbish laws our gonvernment is concocting, a lesson or two in archery may come in handy one day....
Cheers,
Danny

[Delmar]

[/quote]You can checkout Ammosmith.com where he has a two(2) part video using the strike anywhere kitchen match tips. It takes about 12 match tips to work OK.[quote]
Do check out his video. Pay attention to the test fire.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p1Xv...eature=related
Then check out mine!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZdaE...eature=related

[csmsss]

Interesting stuff. You could probably speed up the process by processing more matches at a time and using a mortar and pestle to get the resulting primer compound to a more uniform consistency. Also, you could probably devise a different tamping tool to make the tamping process faster and more consistent.

That's the one problem I see with the process - consistency. There doesn't seem to be a way of consistently assembling these primers so that you know it will burn the powder in the case the same way each time the case is fired. I would imagine that, as a result, velocity would be all over the place, and accuracy would likely suffer too.

That said, given the current unavailability of primers (far worse than loaded ammo - who'da thunk it?), this might not be a totally off the wall way of staying in the game.

[kraigwy]

As I mentioned before, I'm a retired LE officer. I was on the APD Bomb Squad for about 13 years.

One of my duties as a bomb tec was policing up fingers and other asssorted body parts for individuals who were stupid enough to try to make their own fireworks, gun powers and primers.

DONT DO IT. DONT TRY IT LEAVE IT TO THE PEOPLE WHO KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING AND HAVE THE LABS FOR QUALITY AND CONTROL.

$40 per K primers beat the hell out of paying for artificail hands and such, or seeing eye dogs.

[Delta4570]

Delamr: I sure wouldn't want to have to do that all the time; but it would beat having to go back to the old sling shot! video was good info!

[14cm]

delamr, I feel your pain. i have done stuff like this before. i turned avalible cases from brass stock. y, because i could and it was interesting. I have made bat **** powder. y, because i could and it was interesting. last but not least i put a 15hp nitros kit on my rhino. y because i could and it was interesting.

keep on keeping on.

[sgtpepper]

In a future post apocalyptic world without factory loaded ammunition or a steady supply of primers for self loading, I would resort to using a good crossbow.

Creating my own primers looks to time consuming, and just as there will be a shortage of primers, there will most certainly be a shortage of strike-anywhere matches .

The time I save not having to gather matches and create my own primers I could spend perfecting my crossbow skills so that I can hunt more game and kill more radiation mutated zombies .

[snuffy]

Everybody thinks we will be getting our meat by hunting. What do you think everybody else will be doing? How long will the meager population of game animals last, a couple of months?

Real survivalists know that the only way to have anything to eat after the SHTF, is to store it up while we can still get it. THEN be able to defend your supplies.

Anybody watch the program Jericho? A good look at a post atomic obliteration of every major city by home grown terrorists. Nobody can exactly predict what would happen, but one thing was for sure, all cows, pigs, and all game animals were gone in months.

[Doodlebugger45]

It's always interesting to learn how to do something just from a curiosity standpoint. This is one thing that I will never be doing myself though. And if you're being realistic about it, there's no way a person would ever truly need more than a couple hundred rounds of ammo. I shoot because I enjoy it, not because of any practical reason.

But it does show you though that if the anti-gunners truly want to attack the shooting sports, the place to do it is the primers. As someone else mentioned, brass lasts many many times, bullets are fairly easy to manufacture. Powder? Hmmm... yeah I know you CAN make it but again it's not something I ever see myself doing. But a few cans of powder goes a long ways. Those pesky little primers though seem to disappear at an alarming rate. All the anti-gun folks have to do is to show that primers are inherently hazardous to safety or health in the home and bingo! they are gone.

[SamStafford]

I have made a lot primers by using spent primers. I have used match sticks and paper roll caps with out any problems. Just my 2 cents.

[HiBC]

All the high points have been mentioned!
Someone once said "Smokeless powder is a passing fad" Maybe.
Truly,a flintlock has merit,you can even recover and re-use the ball.I cannot imagine improvised primers giving consistent enough performance to equal a flintlock,and a squib load will disable the firearm.

Primers are pretty compact and easy to store.5000 will wear the peak accuracy from a barrel.Consider,if ammo /components are not legal,shooting attracts attention.We won't have opportunity to shoot much.If you can procure/stash powder,you can procure/stash primers.

In short,the percieved merits of home made primers are largely daydream material.Have fun,but buying real primers might be a better effort.

I recommend paying particular heed to Kraigwy's advise.

Improvised explosives might make for good fantasy,but everything about it is incredibly dangerous.There was advise above about using a mortar and pestle on strike anywhere match heads.Think about that a while.Very bad idea.

Look at the news shows on our Veterans who have been harmed by IED's,like the ones on Fisher house.Imagine the doctors trying to put your hands or face back together.
Then,of course,there will be a police investigation.Making primers to be reloaded? Somehow,I think the BATFE,FBI,office of homeland security,etc are going to look at you as the next McVeigh.

I had the pleasure of knowing a wise old gentleman who was a senior Seargeant Major in the Army He is long gone now,But I'll quote him:
"There is no sense in practicing something you can only screw up once"

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Everybody thinks we will be getting our meat by hunting. What do you think everybody else will be doing? How long will the meager population of game animals last, a couple of months?

Real survivalists know that the only way to have anything to eat after the SHTF, is to store it up while we can still get it. THEN be able to defend your supplies.

Anybody watch the program Jericho? A good look at a post atomic obliteration of every major city by home grown terrorists. Nobody can exactly predict what would happen, but one thing was for sure, all cows, pigs, and all game animals were gone in months.

I wasn't talking about when TSHTF. I was talking here and now. There are poeple out there that do hunt not so much for the joy of it, but to feed their family. It is called self-sustenance. These people don't rely on grocery stores. But, infact you are right. If TSHTF, the meager supply of wild game would not last long. I never did mention if TSHTF. We were simply talking about lack of primers and inability to create your own ammunition. I create my own ammo for fun. Some people MUST create their own ammo to live.

[snuffy]

I wasn't talking about when TSHTF. I was talking here and now. There are people out there that do hunt not so much for the joy of it, but to feed their family. It is called self-sustenance.

I didn't single you out in my post. Just the general feeling I was getting stated by some others.

As far as sustenance hunting, the only place in the U.S. that I know of it can be practiced is Alaska. It is not something we can do now, at least not legally. Poaching is a real problem, but eventually they get caught. I don't have a problem with a farmer tipping a deer over now and then, as long as the meat gets used. In Wisconsin, there's such a thing as crop damage tags. Easily obtained, they can be used to reduce problem herds.

[tpareloader]

That is surprisingly easy. Thanks for the how to video.