Thread: Decapping live primers

Hi all, I've brought a handful of cases to reload but they look like they've been sitting for a while, gone all dark and some tarnishing inside the neck, I want to put them in my tumbler and resize them but they have been primed, is it safe to decap them?

ive done it and havnt had any go off wear ear muffs and glasses

Cool thanks thought it be ok with care but easier to ask lol

Just do it ... slowly.

I'd not do it with a hammer and Lee loader.

Originally Posted by Cordite

Just do it ... slowly.

I'd not do it with a hammer and Lee loader.

Haha yep I certainly won't be rushing

Greetings,
Have done it with the Lee Loader punch and base but applied the force with a vice rather than a hammer.
Grandpamac.

Originally Posted by Kiwiman

Hi all, I've brought a handful of cases to reload but they look like they've been sitting for a while, gone all dark and some tarnishing inside the neck, I want to put them in my tumbler and resize them but they have been primed, is it safe to decap them?

When I had to remove live primers in the past, I filled the cases with water to kill the primer, then tip the water out and decap them as per usual.


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I was wondering about the same issue the other day. I like the water trick. Could you not just shoot them in the chamber with no powder/projectile then decap?

@Mauser308 covers it very well including reseating them.
I always wear safety glasses when priming at any rate.
I have decapping my fair share of live primers, usually due to some cock up.
I don't normally reuse them but have done on occassion and used the loaded rounds for fouling rounds prior to group shooting.
Velocity and ES always appeared normal with them.
I wouldn't reuse them though to load my premium stuff.

As others have said, wear at least safety glasses for piece of mind and just decap them as you normally would without banging down the press arm. No over thinking or mucking around with pointless steps required. It works, go for it.

hadnt had any issue but you could always put your cases under water for an hour before decapping, dont forget eye and ear protection though

Originally Posted by G.I_Joel

I was wondering about the same issue the other day. I like the water trick. Could you not just shoot them in the chamber with no powder/projectile then decap?

That’s what I did when I had quite a few. Fired the primed case, suppressor on, into an old gumboot. Flames will come out the end of the barrel so watch where you point it or you will have scorched carpet!

Have soaked primers in water overnight and tried them next morning. You would be surprised how "healthy" they still are. May not be typical of all brands.
Light oil is supposedly the primer killer. I just treat them as still good to go no matter what.

Ha ha yes the sealant in them makes a mockery of the oft published warning (repeated forever on forums) about handling primers as skin oils will contaminate the primers and kill them.

Originally Posted by Mauser308

I never bothered trying to kill them. They are coated in a layer of sealant to protect the priming compound from oxidation and contamination, and it usually does it's job really well. It's actually quite an effort to reliably kill off a bunch of primers.

My advice is pull projectile and remove powder charge, and either decap live and treat with appropriate respect - or inert them by chambering the empty primed case, pointing in a safe direction and discharging into some old towels or similar. Note with the second method you are still going to get a bang and high speed projected gasses and debris from the priming compound, so hearing protection, eye protection, and neighbour protection (so you don't end up with a visit).

I think cartridge collectors sometimes use the penetrating oil method if there's something about the primer they want to keep intact when sectioning them. It does work, but when you can just fire them it's easier to do that. Take them to the range next time and fire them off before you get down to the shooting to get yourself in the groove. Or let a mate shoot them in then make fun of him when he can't hit anything