Removing Live Primers

I remove a live primer similar to the way I remove a spent primer, except:

Using a Lee Universal decapping die, I slowly raise the ram until the pin makes contact. Then, it is slow but increasingly steady pressure until the live primer pops out. That primer then gets pitched rather than reused.

Fortunately, never any detonations using this method.

The key is avoiding a fast, sharp ram movement on decapping a live primer....

My experience is the same as M. Bayou except that I use a FL sizing/decapper or collet die depending on the cartridge/application. Slow but steady. I have never had one light off. But wear eyes and ears for live ones - safety first.

I do the same.

Safety glasses, be prepared. I have never had one go off.

Generally I have reused removed primers. I have not had many crushed or damaged primers. Not sure how to deactivate them. I have read on here to soak them in various things but have not tested.

"But wear eyes and ears for live ones - safety first."


^^^ +1 on the eyes and ears! ^^^

Its really no big deal to remove a live primer with a decapping die or sizer die just go slow and easy with the press handle. Reuse the primers that aren't damaged and throw the others away. There are a ton of posts about soaking primers in this or that to deactivate them but the bottom line is once this or that drys out the primer can still go off so just toss them and be done with it. A live primer or two isn't going to hurt a garbage truck or the heavy equipment at the landfill.

I have used an awl on any sideways ones and just slowly and steadily pry it out.
I have also used an awl on upside down ones but with a different method.
Never had one detonate.
I used to have to fix them regularly when I used a progressive press.
Now that I only use single stage presses......virtually never a problem.
And as far as what to do with them once I removed the primers. I have been able to re-use them and
never had one not work in a gun.

Same as I do with a "dead" primer. Maybe a hair more slowly though I bet.

Yep, just go slowly with the fully seated ones, whether upside down or not. With the sideways ones I use a marlinspike to pry against the rim of the primer. Marlinspike knives are very handy tools.

When I first started reloading, I had several go off while installing the primer with a Lee Loader. No big deal. There was a defect in the priming base, which Lee replaced.
I've never had one go off removing on the press.

I have removed a handful of live primers from cases. I have a universal decapping die and that is what I use. As others have said I go slower. At the very least I have my eyeglasses on (which are ANSI rated). And I don't have my face near the press.

I keep my primers (spent and live) in a pill bottle away from everything else in my reloading room. When that bottle gets full enough I toss the whole thing in the trash.

So long as you just push it, and don't impact it suddenly, it'll be fine.

Use a decapping die or a resizing die with a decapping stem. Make your movements slow and deliberate. Primers go off as a result of shock, not pressure. Be gentle and you will have to problem. As other have advised, wear hearing and eye protection just in case.

If your municipality requires that sources of ignition be deactivated prior to disposal or if you want to deactivate them prior to local disposal, soak them in denatured alcohol. Deactivating them is probably preferred because if a bunch of live primers go off in the garbage truck and burn it to the ground, it will really ruin your day when the city comes looking to you to replace a $150,000 truck.

If one gets mashed or stuck or whatever, I put it in a gun and pop it if it will pop. If not, eyes/ears and carefully/slowly decap. Never had one go off in the press.

Leatherstocking said:

When I first started reloading, I had several go off while installing the primer with a Lee Loader. No big deal. There was a defect in the priming base, which Lee replaced.
I've never had one go off removing on the press.

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Me to.

You're a lot more likely to touch off a primer when you seat it than when you remove it. I've removed quite a few with no special effort to be gentle, go slow, etc. and to date have never had a primer detonate in removal or seating except with the Lee Loader years ago. I also reuse all primers that I remove; there is no reason not to.

Same here, deprime as usual, albeit quite a bit slower. Disposal will probably raise some eyebrows, but I don't want to toss a live primer in the trash. Eyes and ears, primer goes between a ball pein hammer and an anvil, and the ball pein gets hit with another ball pein. THEN, primer is disposed of.

Doublehelix said:

How are you guys removing live primers from a case? Let's say the primer goes in a bit crooked or get smashed, or for any other possible reason. How do you get it out?

Add on question for bonus points (!): How do you dispose of live primers? I read somewhere to soak them in lye for a week or two or something silly like that. There has got to be an easier way...

Thanks in advance!

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This comes up often. If you would have done a search you could have calmed your nerves quickly.

I'm not sure you could get one to go off if you tried. Primers are made to ignite when struck sharply against the cup when the primer is seated. Pushing a pin against the anvil from the back with do it. (of course anything can happen)

As for killing the primer, they are tough to kill. If you remove the anvil and throw them away you are good. You can even dig the compound out with a small screwdriver if you don't want to throw them away with compound in the cup. Soaking in oil, solvent or water Wil rarely render them inactive for long if at all. When the water dries they are again active.

Put a drop of 3 in 1 oil in the primer cup, better yet, put a drop of Liquid Wrench or similar product in the cup before disposing of it.

Ole Joe Clark said:

Put a drop of 3 in 1 oil in the primer cup, better yet, put a drop of Liquid Wrench or similar product in the cup before disposing of it.

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Do that with 10 primers and let them dry foe a day or so. Then load them up and try to fire them. You will be very surprised how many go bang. You should do that before you again recommend that method of killing primers.

Here's my primer disposal story -

I had similar questions so I called the guys at CCI. They said soaking in oil, etc did not deactivate a primer. And although individual primers usually are no big deal they get to be a risk if you accumulate a bunch. Their advice was to put bent/mangled un-discharged primers back into the original partitioned package and to contact my local fire department, they would have a way to dispose of "explosives".

So I go see my local fire Marshall who said they have no way to handle anything like that. But, he happened to be an avid reloader himself and shared his personal advice - discharge the primers while using appropriate safety gear (eye protection, especially) and hammer them one at a time on a flat surface. And do this often, before you accumulate a big pile.

Worked for me. Follow at your own risk.

--Claus

ArchAngelCD said:

I'm not sure you could get one to go off if you tried. Primers are made to ignite when struck sharply against the cup when the primer is seated. Pushing a pin against the anvil from the back with do it.

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I agree and here's what I'm going to do. For the next few live primers I have to remove (I'm not sure how soon it will happen), I will remove them in the most brisk nongentle way possible. I very much doubt you could handle a primer so roughly in removing it that it would detonate.

Claus said:

But, he happened to be an avid reloader himself and shared his personal advice - discharge the primers while using appropriate safety gear (eye protection, especially) and hammer them one at a time on a flat surface.

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Don't do that either. There would be a risk of shrapnel from the primer entering your clothing and your skin. I got to see a guy who did something stupid with a shotgun primer and got it in his finger.

I have yet to remove a primer that was then deformed and unusable. Just use the primer.

If I wanted to dispose of live primers, I'd just take them outside and throw them on a bonfire. It wouldn't be as bad as firecrackers and you would have plenty of time to get out of the way before they went off.

If I crunch one (probably do this at least once every 500rds on average), I just chuck it in the trash.

If I want to remove a live one for some reason, I just run it (slowly) into the normal FL size die; I have my pins set low enough that they will push the primer out before any serious contact is made between the case and the size die. I've re-used them each of the few times I've done this with no problem, but I would also make sure they end up in a pile of ammo that is 100% destined for practice... I imagine it is at least POSSIBLE to upset the anvil location doing this, which could potentially lead to a failure to fire, but again, I've never had a dud that came as a result of removing and re-seating a live primer, to my knowledge..

Primers aren't as delicate as nitroglycerin (like in the old western movies when one drop blows up a whole stage coach), and are designed to work even it they get "contaminated". Think about how a primer works and you'll see that it needs to be supported and the anvil needs to be solid or nuttin' will happen (like in a trash can).I've tried to "kill" some with WD40, unsuccessfully though and never had one fail to go off when I handled them individually with "dirty, sweaty" fingers. I've been playing with primers for a long time (I've had to change my shorts on more than one occasion priming .44 Magnum brass with my Lee Loader) and have removed "live" primers my share of the time and never had one go off. Just remove them like the fellers above do and you'll be fine...

P.S. I rarely use the search functions on forums as most don't work very accurately and some just direct you to Google. I normally go to Google first...