Is there a law or rules that says primers can not be loose? Besides a safety aspect. A friend was at a gun store/reloading supply and he told me of white boxes with 3500 loose primers in them. I said are you sure they were primers and he said that is what they said and box was only like 3" × 2" so no way they were in any packing. He also said there were packs of 100 in sealed bags but loose laying next to these boxes. My question is beyond safety, is this even legal?
loose primers
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gamestalker
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I don't know about legal, but it sure is a dangerous way to store primers. You wouldn't see me any where near loose bulk primers like that, and especially in a baggie, wow!
Primers can very easily sympathetically detonate stored in that condition. I might have this wrong, but I think the primary concern here is primer compound dust, add to that bouncing against each other when picked up, or a static spark, BOOM!
GS
Primers can very easily sympathetically detonate stored in that condition. I might have this wrong, but I think the primary concern here is primer compound dust, add to that bouncing against each other when picked up, or a static spark, BOOM!
GS
ReloaderFred
Member
Remington primers have dividers in their boxes, with 10 primers to a row. They're the last to package them that way. Everyone else puts each primer in it's own little hole, surrounded by the plastic tray. This is to prevent sympathetic detonation in case of fire or impact.
There is a name for loose primers in a bag or box. It's called a bomb. The lead styphnate priming compound is an actual explosive, and combined in large amounts, can be quite dangerous. I wouldn't buy them myself, and they're probably not labeled as to what brand or kind......
Hope this helps.
Fred
There is a name for loose primers in a bag or box. It's called a bomb. The lead styphnate priming compound is an actual explosive, and combined in large amounts, can be quite dangerous. I wouldn't buy them myself, and they're probably not labeled as to what brand or kind......
Hope this helps.
Fred
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
I doubt if it is legal under common fire & insurance codes.
And it for sure isn't safe.
They are likely rejects or reclaimed primers from commercial or military pull-downs.
But, how to know what they are in plastic bags??
No manufacture would package them that way for shipment or commercial sale.
And they never in history have.
DOT wouldn't allow shipment under ORM-B regulations either
If one goes off due to shock from someone dropping them?
Or a fire in the store?
You have what is basically an anti-personal grenade / grenades that will take out anyone standing in the general blast radius.
rc
And it for sure isn't safe.
They are likely rejects or reclaimed primers from commercial or military pull-downs.
But, how to know what they are in plastic bags??
No manufacture would package them that way for shipment or commercial sale.
And they never in history have.
DOT wouldn't allow shipment under ORM-B regulations either
If one goes off due to shock from someone dropping them?
Or a fire in the store?
You have what is basically an anti-personal grenade / grenades that will take out anyone standing in the general blast radius.
rc
W.E.G.
Member
Blue68f100
Member
If they are just loose how to you identify what they are? SPP SRP SPM SRM They are all the same size.
This is pretty much what I feel. I haven't witnessed it with my own eyes but this is a rather large gun store with lots of reloading supplys. My buddy said it was a box of what said 3500 primmers for like $120. I would just be scarred to handle them this way.
ksimons
Member
In the peoples republic of MA the law states primers must be kept in the original factory packaging. So unless you could prove the factory shipped them out in a unmarked white box or loose plastic bags you would have a problem.
I can tell mine apart by color of the material in them, at least Winchester. The small pistol are red, the small rifle look dark green/blue, I assume the color coding is to tell them apart, or that's how I do it! This is with Winchester primers, CCI small pistol primers are yellow. These are all the primers I have used, I assume not everyone codes them like this? And as far as CCI, I have only used their small pistol primers...they all be yellow for all I know. I do have a few thousand of their #41 types...havent had any out of the box yet.
If the seller doesnt know what the type of primer they are, yep you only have a potential explosion there. They are explosive. I saw the results of what IIRC, RCBS press setup that used an upright tube full of primers. I dont know what these guys did, but they blew up the whole tubefull. The metal tube was mostly unrolled and stuck in the ceiling! I can imagine what 3500 primers could do all at once, yikes!
Russellc
If the seller doesnt know what the type of primer they are, yep you only have a potential explosion there. They are explosive. I saw the results of what IIRC, RCBS press setup that used an upright tube full of primers. I dont know what these guys did, but they blew up the whole tubefull. The metal tube was mostly unrolled and stuck in the ceiling! I can imagine what 3500 primers could do all at once, yikes!
Russellc
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One of the reloading books i read talked about an employee carying a gallon jar of primers. At least thats what they thought since the employee was vaporized along with the container of loose primers.
it was either the hornady manual or the abc's of reloading... hmm
it was either the hornady manual or the abc's of reloading... hmm
JLDickmon
Member
I think I'd never buy anything there..
A: you have no way of knowing exactly WHAT you are buying.. extremely important in our hobby..
B: what ELSE has he repackaged that is not only dangerous, but could prove deadly?
This guy is a shyster.
The only thing that should be in a sandwich bag is brass. EVER.
"shyster" Really? The OP has said that this is seconded handed info that he doesn't quite understand his self so that is a pretty harsh word.
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