decapping live primers???

[nico243]

As above, I have aquired some already primed .243 cases, but I want to de-cap and resize them, but, as I have never de-capped live primers what is safest/best practice way of going about it??
I still currently have eight fingers and two thumbs and I wish to keep them hence my asking the dumb question in the first place;)
many thanks in advance:)

[Chocchip]

If all you want to do is resize them then the easiest option is just to temporarily remove your decapping pin from your resizing die. Then resize them and reinstall the pin in the die.

[nico243]

The only problem I have is that I don't know the history behind them, as in I don't know what they're primed with, could be magnum primers or std large, what make etc etc.
So I reckon the best/safest bet is just to de-cap and reprime myself.

[TonyB]

Never tried it but I remember a post on here from a while back where is was suggested a few drops of oil in the case will deactivate the primer enabling a safe removal. A search on this forum should bring up the old posts.

[dicehorn]

as I have never de-capped live primers what is safest/best practice way of going about it??
I still currently have eight fingers and two thumbs and I wish to keep them hence my asking the dumb question in the first place;)
many thanks in advance:)

Similar to you I was given some primed cases several years back and not knowing what brand the primers were, needed to replace them. Like you I had the jitters re poking then out with the die.

In the end (as they had no bullet and powder in the cases) I put them in my rifle and fired them - was surprised they did not make any sort of bang when I pulled the trigger - which is what happens.

Just would add that unless you are 100% sure of the source I would be very careful using 2nd hand brass as their history may have been massaged - it may not only be your 8 fingers and 2 thumbs that are at risk!:eek:

Peter

[loiner1965]

As above, I have aquired some already primed .243 cases, but I want to de-cap and resize them, but, as I have never de-capped live primers what is safest/best practice way of going about it??
I still currently have eight fingers and two thumbs and I wish to keep them hence my asking the dumb question in the first place;)
many thanks in advance:)

just de prime as normal.......only go bang if they have been military crimped

[baz]

Yep hes right, I have decapped loads never had one go bang, even had them in sideways before now:D

I do hold a book against the press though, just in case;)

[lilguy43uk]

There used to be a hydraulic de-capper for Berdan primers on the market. It was a cast square box about 2.5" square with a hollow tube in the centre. You dropped the case into the tube, filled it with water and inserted a plug in the top of the tube which was then clouted with a mallet.

The hydraulic shock drove the primer out.

[MikB]

I too have decapped live primers without incident. But I think if I was doing a quantity, I'd have a can of WD40 to hand, and put a squirt into the bottom of each case before putting it in the shellholder. Then wash the dases in detergent water and dry them over the radiator before repriming.

Regards,
MikB

[EMcC]

Just de-prime as normal using a steady smooth stroke.
Done it a few times with no problem.
I wouldn't bother too much about the primers, if I had a few I would do as previously suggested take the de-capping pin out of the die and re-size and carry on from there, unless you intend using them in a 600yd competition!!lol

[Marlin.45]

When I first had this problem I used to fire off the primed cases. Later I found that careful use of the depriming pin in the press worked fine. I must have pushed out a 100 or so over the past year without incident. :cool:

Just don't leave anything flammable or easily ignitable around the press - just in case ;)

[bob64]

decap as normal in the press with out any problem at all.same as the rest have said on here
bob64

[stalker1]

what do you do with the live primmers once you have removed them,if you know what thay are can you re-use them ???

OK OK if you dont ask you don't know :D

[Hares Ear]

what do you do with the live primmers once you have removed them,if you know what thay are can you re-use them ???

OK OK if you dont ask you don't know :D

Being a born and raised resident of Gods County I hate waste, so any primers that I have removed from loaded cases get used in my Black Powder rifle. It isn't as primer fussy as my .243.

[roughshooter]

Don't let them get into the garden bonfire - makes for an exciting moment or three:eek:

If unsure of their make/age etc, soak the lot in oil, then scrap them.

[MikB]

what do you do with the live primmers once you have removed them,if you know what thay are can you re-use them ???

OK OK if you dont ask you don't know :D

If you knew what they were you probably wouldn't bother removing them. But oiling them is a decent way of getting rid. So long as we're talking tens and units - get into hundreds and you'd better find some other way.

Unless you're a really tight git, re-using them is just pointless. Even if you knew what they were before you decapped 'em, there's no guarantee they'll perform with any kind of consistency once you've shaved to OD by unseating them from the pocket, and crunched the anvil into the priming compound with the decapping pin. You could sensitise the primer to the point that it makes the loaded ammunition dangerous to handle and carry. Forget it.

Regards,
MikB

[stalker1]

lmao some one had to ask, why not me :D

now no one else needs ask it :rolleyes:

[nico243]

Cheers guys, as usual plenty of good advice:):)

[nico243]

cheers guys, job done, although I did wimp-out and play it safe with some wd-40 in each case;)
the bonus is though 106 cases and 106 live primers later, I still have all eight fingers and even both thumbs are still intact so it looks like I got it right for a change!

[MikB]

cheers guys, job done, although I did wimp-out and play it safe with some wd-40 in each case;)


Wimp? If you'd decapped them without, and by some unlikely chance you had been hurt, would you have thought it a heroic wound? :D For about 2p? I don't think so.

Regards,
MikB

[Ruger_shooter]

I let my wife do this job for me! ;)

[Hares Ear]

Unless you're a really tight git, re-using them is just pointless.

That will be aimed at me then.

[rossandjet]

Use normal methods without banging (no pun) the press through, I had a primer in the wrong way on a 223, I just got the dead mans click when I fired it but it put the sh*ts up me a bit.

If you do NOT intend to use the removed primers, just put them in a glass of water for about 3 days to render them useless.

[MikB]

Use normal methods without banging (no pun) the press through, I had a primer in the wrong way on a 223, I just got the dead mans click when I fired it but it put the sh*ts up me a bit.

If you do NOT intend to use the removed primers, just put them in a glass of water for about 3 days to render them useless.

Wrong way round is different - you're not forcing the point of the anvil into the priming pellet when you decap, and it's not particularly likely that you did when you primed it in the first place, because of the stop on the priming punch.

Water evaporates - I think the primers would work again if they were dried out. I've actually once managed to get a primer soaked in WD40 several warm months earlier to go off. Better use proper machine oil like 3-in-1 or heavier to deactivate. I dunno if this is still the case, but collectors' inert rounds used to have an oiled primer and the powder replaced by oiled sand or oil-soaked tissue to prevent the oil in the primer from evaporating over years.

Regards,
MikB

[jonno1972]

"There used to be a hydraulic de-capper for Berdan primers on the market. It was a cast square box about 2.5" square with a hollow tube in the centre. You dropped the case into the tube, filled it with water and inserted a plug in the top of the tube which was then clouted with a mallet.

The hydraulic shock drove the primer out."

There was indeed - I have one, may be tempted to sell if there was any interest

[MikB]

"There used to be a hydraulic de-capper for Berdan primers on the market. It was a cast square box about 2.5" square with a hollow tube in the centre. You dropped the case into the tube, filled it with water and inserted a plug in the top of the tube which was then clouted with a mallet.

The hydraulic shock drove the primer out."

There was indeed - I have one, may be tempted to sell if there was any interest

Back in pistol days I made a similar gadget out of alli tubing with an 'O' ring piston, a steel nozzle to fit 9mmP and a rod made out of an old toilet cistern float arm - the thing looked like a short bicycle pump with a handle you hit with your mallet. IIRC I used a Lee Loader decapping stand for the cases with a slot milled across the base - so the water could get out - to prevent backpressure. This worked very well on the S&B Berdan cases then in plentiful supply - I could do 25 a minute on one fill of the water cylinder. 2z were a much more difficult proposition, though - and even when successful the pocket was so heavily staked it was hard to get new primers in.

Regards,
MikB