What to do with "bad" live primers

locknloader · January 5, 2019, 01:56 PM

Say you have a bullet that is way out of spec and will not fit your case gauge so it needs to be pulled down and disposed of, or you accidentally get a nato case with a crimp still in the primer pocket hole and primer gets seated 1/2way or so and jams...

Do you de-cap and re-use them? If not how do you render them "safe" enough to dispose of in some way?

I have a handful of screw ups in 9mm i'd like to get out of my drawer.

Thanks!

chris in va · January 5, 2019, 03:02 PM

I've just slowly and carefully decapped, or just toss them in the trash.

Sharkbite · January 5, 2019, 03:13 PM

I just throw em in the trash with everything else. I guess if you are ultra paranoid, you could soak the old primers in WD-40. That will kill em

mikld · January 5, 2019, 03:17 PM

I have decapped cased after I have disassembled/"pulled" the bullets from the cartridges. Normal sizing/decapping procedure.

RC20 · January 5, 2019, 03:20 PM

I will caution anyone and not recommended this per liability issues, but I have run tests on what it takes to make a primer go bang from the side of the decap tool.

While it can be done it takes a hard blow and a pretty sharp object. I won't say you can't do it with a small round object like a de-cap pin.

With that testing I have no issue personally de-caping a good primer if needed.

As noted above, slow and gentle to be on the safe side.

Nodak1858 · January 5, 2019, 09:19 PM

I have deprimed hundreds of surplus 30-06 rounds with live primers. I did have one go off, scared the &^%$ out of me but no harm done. I wear safety glasses when I do it as a precaution, but still have no hesitation to do it.

T. O'Heir · January 7, 2019, 12:40 PM

There's no 100% guarantee that WD-40(or anything else) will kill a primer. Gently decapping works though.
A new primer won't go in a milsurp case with a crimp.

Sure Shot Mc Gee · January 7, 2019, 05:03 PM

Don't want to hear my trash man had to stop along side the roadway having to dump his trucks trash load because something /somehow caught fire or was observed smoldering. The disposing of all my primers take's place out in the garage into a 5 gal capped container purposely used for dirty engine oil. To me? That's the safest way I know of to dispose of.

LE-28 · January 7, 2019, 05:28 PM

Quote:

you could soak the old primers in WD-40. That will kill em

That's what I do with them. It will at least get them to the land fill.

Seriously, if you push them out slow they won't go off and you can use them over. If you break the primer pellet under the anvil by accident, they will never go off.

gwpercle · January 10, 2019, 04:37 PM

I decap , slowly and carefully, and reuse the primer if it's not deformed.
I'm not sure you can 100% deactivate a primer...they can be submerged in flood waters, dried out and they will work just fine. I wouldn't trust oil or WD40 to kill a primer....
Gary

January 5, 2019, 01:56 PM	#1
locknloader Senior Member Join Date: August 28, 2017 Posts: 164	What to do with "bad" live primers Say you have a bullet that is way out of spec and will not fit your case gauge so it needs to be pulled down and disposed of, or you accidentally get a nato case with a crimp still in the primer pocket hole and primer gets seated 1/2way or so and jams... Do you de-cap and re-use them? If not how do you render them "safe" enough to dispose of in some way? I have a handful of screw ups in 9mm i'd like to get out of my drawer. Thanks!

January 5, 2019, 03:17 PM	#4
mikld Senior Member Join Date: February 7, 2009 Location: Southern Oregon! Posts: 2,891	I have decapped cased after I have disassembled/"pulled" the bullets from the cartridges. Normal sizing/decapping procedure. __________________ My Anchor is holding fast! I've learned how to stand on my own two knees...

January 5, 2019, 03:20 PM	#5
RC20 Senior Member Join Date: April 10, 2008 Location: Alaska Posts: 7,014	I will caution anyone and not recommended this per liability issues, but I have run tests on what it takes to make a primer go bang from the side of the decap tool. While it can be done it takes a hard blow and a pretty sharp object. I won't say you can't do it with a small round object like a de-cap pin. With that testing I have no issue personally de-caping a good primer if needed. As noted above, slow and gentle to be on the safe side. __________________ Science and Facts are True whether you believe it or not

January 5, 2019, 09:19 PM	#6
Nodak1858 Senior Member Join Date: September 7, 2009 Location: N. Dakota Posts: 435	I have deprimed hundreds of surplus 30-06 rounds with live primers. I did have one go off, scared the &^%$ out of me but no harm done. I wear safety glasses when I do it as a precaution, but still have no hesitation to do it. __________________ We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true.

January 7, 2019, 12:40 PM	#7
T. O'Heir Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 12,453	There's no 100% guarantee that WD-40(or anything else) will kill a primer. Gently decapping works though. A new primer won't go in a milsurp case with a crimp. __________________ Spelling and grammar count!

January 5, 2019, 03:02 PM	#2
chris in va Senior Member Join Date: December 26, 2004 Location: Louisville KY Posts: 13,806	I've just slowly and carefully decapped, or just toss them in the trash.

January 5, 2019, 03:13 PM	#3
Sharkbite Senior Member Join Date: November 4, 2013 Location: Western slope of Colorado Posts: 3,679	I just throw em in the trash with everything else. I guess if you are ultra paranoid, you could soak the old primers in WD-40. That will kill em

January 7, 2019, 05:03 PM	#8
Sure Shot Mc Gee Senior Member Join Date: January 2, 2012 Location: Minnesota Posts: 3,876	Don't want to hear my trash man had to stop along side the roadway having to dump his trucks trash load because something /somehow caught fire or was observed smoldering. The disposing of all my primers take's place out in the garage into a 5 gal capped container purposely used for dirty engine oil. To me? That's the safest way I know of to dispose of.

January 10, 2019, 04:37 PM	#10
gwpercle Senior Member Join Date: November 30, 2012 Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana Posts: 1,752	I decap , slowly and carefully, and reuse the primer if it's not deformed. I'm not sure you can 100% deactivate a primer...they can be submerged in flood waters, dried out and they will work just fine. I wouldn't trust oil or WD40 to kill a primer.... Gary