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Have you ever set off a primer while loading?

Okay - Time to come clean. I have done it twice and both times completely different ways. Both of these incidents were +15 years ago... I learned a lesson and then reinforced it.

1) Making a vintage style powder scoop. I found that a 9mm case was approximately 9gr of Bulleye, which was perfect charge weight for 80% fireforming brass (Cream of Wheat / Southern Cornmeal technique). What I didn't realize is the loose case I grabbed off my bench actually had a live primer. The primer went off as I was soldering the brass rod (handle) to the side of the case.

2) When I was younger I took my RSO commitment to keeping the range safe a little too serious. It was/is common to find live rounds, both pristine or mangled, laying abut. I have never been a fan of putting unknown ammunition into my firearms so that left me with one course of action... take apart the cartridge. Kinetic hammer to remove the bullet, flush the powder, and finally using a decapping rod and decapping base/anvil. Gentle taps with a ballpeen hammer and no fuss, except once. Primer indention in the maple butcherblock bench top and hole in ceiling sheetrock from decapping rod. Now, I remove the bullet, flush the powder and then fill the case with water to deal with the primer. After it sits submerged for a few days I toss the defunct case into the recycle bin.

The village idiot wasn't injured from the repercussions of his poor decisions. Oh yeah, I wear plugs or muffs whenever I am dealing dealing with primers with anything that uses more force &/or speed than a hand primer :)
 
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Twice. Once because I have a habit of swinging my priming arm on my Big Boss II down against the press body to smack out debris. I had a primer stuck in there and just smacked the arm down, and pop!

The second time was this year. Seating some primers in mixed 9mm brass. Hit a stiff one and was trying to muscle it in a little an it popped. I now sort my 9mm brass to just use PMC since it's the most common brand in the pile without tight pockets or crimps.
 
Good day,

I've done it a number of times and ways over 50 years. Usually decapping pulled down cases. Done it with an old style Lee loading set and with hand priming tools. Modern primers or fulminate primers all ignited unexpectedly. EtronX primers are the only ones I have set not off.

Now you know why I single prime and wear safety glasses, at all times.

HTH,
DocBII
 
I have a friend that was loading pistol ammo on a progressive. A primer in the tube went off and set off the whole tube chain reaction style. Upstairs neighbors thought he was shooting inside the apartment. Sure enough about 10 minutes go by and the police were knocking. His hearing came back and he also emphasizes use of safety glasses. LOL
Have a friend that it happened to twice
No idea why
 
I annealed (socket/torch) handful of primed 22-250 brass ONCE. Last one rolled on the concrete floor touched an all ready annealed case. Primer popped instantly I saw it roll but didn't even try to stop it(hot). It shot the case into the top of my foot. Case mouth made a nice round cut In the skin thru my sock. Last and only time for that activity.
 
No.

For the last 30+ years I have hand primed all my reloads, including pistol. If I encounter any unusual resistance, I stop and investigate.

By applying slow and steady pressure to the priming lever and easing the primer into the pocket one should be able to avoid any possibility of a denotation unless there is a defect in the primer rendering it more sensitive which I am not sure is even possible.
 
My dad said he set one off in the 70's. He was using my mom's nearly new Kenmore canister vacuum when it went off...She got a new vacuum!
Thanks for sharing this. I had no idea a vacuum would set one off. So far I don’t think I’ve ever given up looking for a live one that I dropped, and I certainly don’t think I would give up searching after reading your post.
 
Here awhile back I had deprimed a bunch of unshot brass . A few days later, I was walking around in my shop and dropped a hammer in tha same area and I thought someone was robbing me and they just happened to miss me. Took a few minutes til I figured out it was a 450 the hammer fell on. Scared me to death,,,,about
 
I've been at it since 1957 . Started with my dad when I was seven. I had one go off for the first time last year in a single stage RCBS Junior Press that I have had for 40 + years. 9mm military brass got mixed in with some commercial brass. Damn that was loud. I wear reading glasses anyway but now when I prime I put in the spongy ear protectors and go through the brass tossing the military brass. Be safe guys.
 
No not yet.

It seems like pieces of loose primed brass and/or live primers out of their containers is a common theme.

I have been in the habit of loading 25-50 pieces at a time. Always using a hand-forced priming tool so if the resistance is unexpectedly high I can start over. I count out the primers required and thus make sure all primers are accounted for. I also make sure to collect all spent primers and get them in the trash since 1) they're full of toxic dust and 2) a pile of spent primers is a perfect hiding spot for a live primer. It hadn't occurred to me until now that I should keep doing this for better safety.
 
I'll say not yet, even with taking some live primers out when things were more difficult to get. I do pay attention when I'm priming cases, as I've forgot to prime cases in the past and then put a powder charge in those unprimed cases. (FYI: it makes a mess). I have gotten to where I prime using the LEE ram system most of the time, but when getting ready for a varmint shoot, I'll pull out the LEE benchtop primer and cuss the little white folding tray. Keeps my attention on the task at hand.
 

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