Help with a primer issue!

[its only light]

I've been loading for a savage 338 lapua lately, I've put around 100 rounds through it and have been very pleased. The other day I was priming some of the Norma brass I have for it and something weird happened. I was using the priming tool that comes on the rock chucker press. So I'd raise the case up push the priming arm into the slot in the press ram and lower just like always but this time I heard a little click right as I was seating it. When I took the case out the primer was upside down in the pocket. This happened 3 more times in the 100 that I primed. I discovered how I was making it do this after the fourth one. It seems that if I didn't push firmly on the primer arm the primer would flip upon seating. So I know how to avoid this but am still wondering why it happened.

The real reason for this post however is that I want to pop these primers out because these cases cost 2 bucks a piece and it would kill me to throw them out. So how do I render these primers useless so I don't turn my press into a mini bomb?

 

[thefitter]

Don't hold me to this but I think if you go slow they won't ignite. But wear eye protection to be safe. 8)

 

[L.Sherm]

Dunk them in water first.

 

[TimP]

Turn them upside down in a loading tray put a drop of oil in the primer cup and let them sit overnight.
When you push them out go slow ad easy.

 

[its only light]

Thanks, I was hoping it was going to be something easy like that!

 

[MrMajestic]

I have done it several times in my reloading career. Never had one go off when I decapped it on a press. Be safe, wear eye protection and don't hammer it when contacting.

 

[expiper]

just go reeelll slo on the handle when decapping,,it will be fine,,Roger

 

[Outrider27]

Like others above, been there - go reeeell slow, like they said, and the oil trick is cheap insurance. I've used it to decap rounds with primers installed in the normal orientation that were probably live but had to be removed. Between oil and gentle, never had one pop.

 

[big bad bill]

I have had the same problem when priming with the rock chucker. Now I prime using one of my hand priming tools.
Bill

 

[Beau]

I think the primer holder "cup" is getting caught on the edge of the primer pocket. When it pops loose...tink! it catches the primer's edge and flips it.

 

[NateHaler]

Thanks, I was hoping it was going to be something easy like that!

Forget the water and the oil, IMO. Just use a decapper die, and your press, going very slowly, to push the primer out of the case. Be sure to set the die (or use a generic decapper) so you're not sizing the case again.

Push the primer out, and then use it again. Primers ain't getting any cheaper either! Were I you, I'd also wear eye and ear protection. If one pops, it will be loud and you might jump. So, eyes and ears. Nice and slow. Should be no problem.

 

[Kingfisher]

Obviously you'll want to go slow and wear safety glasses (you should be wearing them already) however it should not be possible for one to go off upside down. Since the anvil in the primer is not "cocked" against the he bottom of the primer pocket, technically it shouldn't be able to go off. That's the theory anyway. Doesn't mean I'd be nonchalant about it though. I've punched out more than a couple over the years that were in the pocket right side up, never had any issues. That was without any oil, water, etc. I actually have some primed 50 BMG cases that spent 4 hours in an STM tumbler. I haven't checked them yet but I was going to fire them empty and punch them out and re-load new. My money is that they're going to fire.

 

[Old Navy]

They aren't blasting caps. Later! Frank

 

[VaniB]

A simple fix for you may be to make yourself this simple device you see in the photo.
It is a .162" steel rod (aprox 5/32") with a plastic bottle cap placed over one end of it.

You slip this rod inside your RCBS primer tube on top of the column of primers and it serves to put a little weight and pressure on the primers being fed so they feed more positively into the primer cup. The soda bottle cap also serves to protect your eye from injury. Do yourself a favor while you're at it and spray paint your primer tubes red so you can see them easier when you are hovering over them. I had already broken one steel-gray primer tube out of the primer arm because it was in my blind spot and I didn't see it while I was busy working around the press. I had quickly reached down to get something from off of the storrage shelves below the press. Thankfully I broke the tube with a brush of my shoulder and not my eye socket.

You can find this size steel rod at the" K&S Tubing" rack at your local hobby shop. It is common size sold as a guide rod for launching Estes Model Rockets. Your Lowes and Home Depot probably has it too in the hardware department where they sell tubing, brass, and steel rods out of a rack.

 

[Shynloco]

I've been loading for a savage 338 lapua lately, I've put around 100 rounds through it and have been very pleased. The other day I was priming some of the Norma brass I have for it and something weird happened. I was using the priming tool that comes on the rock chucker press. So I'd raise the case up push the priming arm into the slot in the press ram and lower just like always but this time I heard a little click right as I was seating it. When I took the case out the primer was upside down in the pocket. This happened 3 more times in the 100 that I primed. I discovered how I was making it do this after the fourth one. It seems that if I didn't push firmly on the primer arm the primer would flip upon seating. So I know how to avoid this but am still wondering why it happened.

The real reason for this post however is that I want to pop these primers out because these cases cost 2 bucks a piece and it would kill me to throw them out. So how do I render these primers useless so I don't turn my press into a mini bomb?

What you describe is part of the very reason why years ago I went to using a hand primer seater (RCBS). This also gave me the advantage of having a "feel" for the primer being seated plus lets me know when I have a potentially loose primer pocket.

 

[M-61]

I have always done the priming as a separate operation for years. I've actually worn my 'C-H' primer seating tool out. Replaced it with an RCBS one that is as good,even better in some respects. Along with better 'feel' for the seating operation it allows ONE MORE look at the brass as you are loading.

 

[jlow]

You can deprime live primer and used them over with little problem - people do this all the time. Just use normal depriming die and go slow and they pop out easily. The primers will still be good, just use them in fouling rounds. As usual with ANY reloading operation, wear eye protection. I have deprimed hundreds of live primers with no problem.