What components in primers?

[FoghornLeghorn]

I've used "search" here and elsewhere, as well as the interwebz.

The anvil is brass? The cup is brass? What chemicals?

[Jim Watson]

Brass and brass, yes.
There are a lot of priming mixes. The stuff in the rimfire reloading kit is close to the old H48 which is a chlorate ("corrosive") mixture. There is some discussion of DIY priming at
https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...pound-question

[seanc]

I've searched too and have only found old corrosive recipes like H48. I guess anyone with a non-corrosive recipe will guard that like the recipe for Coke. You can also look at some u-toob videos searching on "bullet primer recipe".

[Bart B.]

Page 4 has a table listing primer components.

Other stuff on why primer mix was changed.

https://forum.accurateshooter.com/th...4031871/page-5

[Jim Watson]

Hatcher has priming compound discussions too.

Problem is, those are just lists of ingredients.
I worked in a very different area, not pyrotechnic, but the pattern was the same. I could calculate a formulation in short order, but it did not say where to procure or how to combine the ingredients.

So what you need is a how-to for noncorrosive primers and I don't know if there is one.

[Unclenick]

Given the plant explosions related to primer ingredients over the last couple of decades (Lake City & Sellier & Bellot; though S&B now claims Russian sabotage was responsible for theirs, you never know when that kind of claim might be someone dodging responsibility), I'm not inclined to believe handling lead styphnate, even if you could get some, would be a good thing for amateurs to do. Every once in a while you hear of a terrorist's clandestine bomb factory spontaneously sending its occupants to meet their maker, and I think attempts at making primers would have a pretty good chance of heading a number of enterprising folks in that same direction. If the professionals can't always do it safely...

[hounddawg]

just looking for components could get you a visit from some government agency

[std7mag]

This has been discussed on another more match shooting oriented forum.

My take..

Don't do it...

[Sevens]

I really feel like I’m cheating my own values to walk in to a discussion just to dump on the idea. Lots of folks do that in gun forums and I don’t want to be that kind of contributor.

With that said I just can’t wrap my head around why anyone would even consider this crazy Rube Goldberg exercise.

A brick of primers pre-worldgonenuts was like $32+tax. Right now if you are lucky and living right, you can snag a brick for $70 if someone has ‘em in stock for that 3 minute window you are looking. $Crazy at the gun show has ‘em for $100 or $125 or $200 for the real tools.

That’s a THOUSAND primers. Now consider the work it would take to make home brew primers even if you somehow had this secret explosive formula. You’re still talking about taking old dead primers and removing the anvil? Are you pushing out the firing pin dent already in them? Are you scraping out all the dreck?

Are you going to do this a thousand times?

In the last year, I have paid $50 for a thousand primers, and I did that 11 times. Even paying $50 peeved me off, but I did it. But if someone told me that I had to make a thousand primers doing all the work I listed above -AND- also screwing around with an explosive wet slurry? -AND- hoping this home brew works and works reliably and I won’t ever get to find out that answer until I drop the hammer on my silly patchwork & duct tape handload?

OR… I could skip that by throwing a hundred dollar bill at a brick of them? For the one part of the loaded round that takes the LEAST amount of space to store, by far?

Y’know, we sometimes spitball dumb ideas, it’s fun to be honest.

This is a royally dumb idea. I can’t see even the slightest bit of value in it.

[44 AMP]

I'd like to point out that there is NO mention of an interest or desire to make primers or where to get components to do that in the OP.

ALL that's asked is literally "what's in them?"

Over the years many different chemicals have been tried, and many different variations of formulas. Early on were the mercury based ones, including fulminates. Later Mercury was replaced with other chemicals, one being Potassium and still later even lead compounds in chlorate, azide and styphnate formulations.

You don't need to fear giving away state secrets by telling someone the base chemicals or even compounds used in anything. Detailed step by step "how to" instructions are another matter.

And actually doing something with that information is yet something else, entirely.

[FoghornLeghorn]

Originally Posted by 44 AMP

I'd like to point out that there is NO mention of an interest or desire to make primers or where to get components to do that in the OP.

ALL that's asked is literally "what's in them?"

Correct. Thank you.

I'm merely curious as to the components that comprise the manufacture of primers. Where they come from, etc.

I have no interest in trying to "roll my own."

But, thanks to all for the responses.

[stagpanther]

I have no interest in trying to "roll my own."

If you change your mind, put me down for about 20,000 of them.

[hounddawg]

well you can find anything out with a internet search

https://www.google.com/search?q=how+...hrome&ie=UTF-8

third link down https://www.bevfitchett.us/ballistic...roduction.html

which referenced this https://www.bevfitchett.us/chemical-...positions.html

and if you do want to reprime your old primer or .22 LRs, you can buy the kit here

https://22lrreloader.com/products/pr...iming-compound

if you put your eye out don't blame me

[Unclenick]

FoghornLeghorn, if the names of the principal chemicals are literally all you are after, the MSDS sheets will tell you most of that. There is also an article on the new Federal Catalyst primers that compares its composition to that of conventional primers, naming what goes into a conventional primer and what goes into the new Federal one by showing them both in pie chart form.

[std7mag]

I'm with Stagpanther.
If somebody went that route and they perform consistantly, put me in for 20 bricks also.

[Zorro]

But what about Berdan Primers?

Seems you can't get them anywhere anymore. Wondering if it would be possible to raid shotgun primers to reload European Berdans.

[44 AMP]

Seems you can't get them anywhere anymore. Wondering if it would be possible to raid shotgun primers to reload European Berdans.

Berdan primers have always been scarce in the US. And I do not think their sizes are identical with US primer sizes. Close I think, but I don't know for certain.

"raiding" shotgun primers?? do you mean disassembling them? I think that's not a good idea.

The best solution is simply to use boxer primed cases. This can be difficult if you have one of the rare obsolete European rounds, but it can be done if you have enough $ to put into the project.

If you're using one of the more common and in current production rounds and just want to reload the cheap berdan surplus cases available for it, you'll find that even if you can get berdan primers, its not worth the cost when you can get boxer primed brass instead.

[Unclenick]

Yes. There are at least fourteen Berdan primer sizes identified here, and none are an exact match to the Boxer primers we normally use. When there was a TulAmmoUSA site, it used to list a few of them, but the original company disappeared, was taken over by a Texas outfit for a time and now the tulammousa.com site appears to be gone and done.

[seanc]

Berdan primers:
You can convert some berdan primer cases with the following:
https://sharpshooter-22lr-reloader.m...reign-domestic