Flash Over Incident with Hornady Hand Primer

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Scrumbag

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Hi folks,

Had a small scare the other day whilst reloading that might be a helpful reminder to people to keep safe and follow your procedures not being sloppy. Primer popped when being seated and flashed over into try causing other primers to detonate.

This happened using a Hornady Hand Primer

My set-up post incident

hmaMYMWl.jpg

Close-up of hand primer – not sure where rest of pieces are.

zLfRUjvl.jpg

Close-up of “flashed” primers (Note empty but dented cups)

Mu5NzK3l.jpg

And this is the resulting cuts to hand – fortunately they seem superficial. Blast also blew my glasses off my face and they landed ~6 feet away.

NAa0kSel.jpg

Fortunately I was wearing latex gloves so some protection.

Be careful folks and wear your eye protection.

(Just in case people are interested, didn’t notice anything different from usual. Cases were PPU factory on ~4th firing. Primers were Federal Large Pistol. Cases had been sonic cleaned and primer pockets checked prior to priming and I’d primed ~50 that session. This process has served me fine for ~3 years of loading)

Best wishes,

Scrummy
 
I am glad you are Okay. Thanks for sharing, I always seem to think that crap don't happen...My big fear is detonation going out the cartridge case, not to the other 99, behind the loading gate.
 
Jonny2guns said:
May have been the Federal primers, I have heard other stories about them being super sensitive. Dillon does not recommend using them in their progressive loaders.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I have reloaded several hundred of these primers into these cases without issue. One to think on perhaps.

Scrummy
 
Jonny2guns said:
Somewhere here on the reloading forum there was a post about primers going off in a Dillon feed tube. Not sure how to search for it.
Click to expand...

Before I joined THR, there was one on the Dillon forum, I believe, about 2-3 years ago. The post was about the primer tube exploding, but that was not the first one I heard of with a Dillon. I can remember when I first started using my first Dillon XL 650 in 2004, having too get used to the priming seat feel and the first time I tried to seat a primer in a case that was not fully swaged. If I had forced it, I can only imagine the results. Thank goodness I didn't. this has always remained a reminder to wear safety glasses and remember that feel for seating a primer.

The results could have definitely been a lot worse looking at his arm and broken pieces of the hand primer. He was pretty lucky. Be safe!
 
Scrumbag said:
Interesting. I have reloaded several hundred of these primers into these cases without issue. One to think on perhaps.

Scrummy
Click to expand...
Oh possible interest, Robert Lee in his reloading manual openly criticizes Federal primers and recommends not using them in certain equipment due to safety reasons. He obviously has/had a running feud with Federal.

I use a Lee safety loader on a single stage (where the primer being seated is unable to contact the awaiting primers). With it, I use Federal as frequently as CCI, Remington, and Winchester without problems. It’s made of plastic and is not the smoothest operating contraption, but it seems to reduce risk.

Btw, are you really in the U.K.? They permit firearms and reloading?
 
#2 Federal primers are indeed much more sensitive than CCI. In fact, according to the MSDS sheets provided by the hospital the only common ones still to contain Nitroglycerin.
Click to expand...
From link in post #11. The Federal safety data sheet (SDS) shows same.

Primer dust? If its really a thing? My Dillon primer tubes get cleaned on my old RL-450. A wet patch with 91% Isopropyl Alcohol, then a dry patch.
Hornady progressive press, primer kaboom set powder hopper on fire. View attachment 1016482 Internet photo from pafoa.org
 
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Seating primers is THE most dangerous part of reloading ammo. Tight primer pockets and tryimg to force primers in seems to be the oft mentioned combo. The Federal primers are known to be more sensitive as well. Glad the OP fared as well as he did. I still use the old Lee round tray hand primer unit. I only put 20-25 primers in at a time. This for safety and if crap happens I dont want to loose a bunch of primers ( I am cheap). I also stop seating and check when things "feel" different. Just go slow with even pressure and don't slam things. So far no problems but time will tell. Be carefull out there.
 
Jonny2guns said:
May have been the Federal primers, I have heard other stories about them being super sensitive. Dillon does not recommend using them in their progressive loaders.
Click to expand...

This is not correct.

Here is what Dillon says about Federal primers in their loaders:

DillonHelp <[email protected]>
Thu, Feb 20, 2020, 2:04 PM

Federal primers can be used in any Dillon loader. However, they are more sensitive than other brands and more likely to ignite if a case has a crimped primer pocket, or a deformed rim prevents the case from centering in a shellplate.

If it feels like excessive pressure is needed to seat a primer, stop.

Remove that case.

Dillon Precision Products, Inc.
 
243winxb said:
From link in post #11. The Federal safety data sheet (SDS) shows same.

Primer dust? If its really a thing? My Dillon primer tubes get cleaned on my old RL-450. A wet patch with 91% Isopropyl Alcohol, then a dry patch.
Hornady progressive press, primer kaboom set powder hopper on fire. View attachment 1016482 Internet photo from pafoa.org
Click to expand...
Nitroglycerin—hah. I had a heart attack last Saturday night 230am—no kidding—and now have this cute little bottle to carry with me. The tablets are smaller than an SPP.
97F0E1BD-9F9B-4F63-8588-E6438F602A71.jpeg
 
Question... If it flashes through the case, how can it ignite the primers in the tray?
Did it go in crooked and unnoticed... and flashed out that way?
Curious, because I've never had a primer go off accidentally. That being said, I use a had primer, but it's a KM and doesn't have a tray.
Thanks
 
Thanks for posting about your experience. I've heard the internet tales about Federal Primers and Lee Priming tools but this is the first/best related experience that I've seen. Glad you were not more seriously injured.

I prime with a hand tool but its not a Lee and it doesn't have a tray. Federal makes up a high percentage of my large rifle primer use and inventory.
 
I have that Hornaday priming tool as well as a similar RCBS tool. They both work basically the same. I can see where it could happen with either tool. Safety glasses and latex glove for me going forward.
 
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