How do you handle your Primers?

[TrxR]

I have heard people say that you should never touch your primers with your bare hands when priming and then I see primer seaters that would require you to pick up each individual primer up by hand. What the recommended procedure? Wat about using some sort of gloves?


Thanks

 

[Jay Christopherson]

I dump 'em into my hand from the box and then into the tray on my priming tool. If I drop one, I pick it up with bare fingers. Never had a problem. When I had a single seater priming tool (Sinclair), I picked up each primer with my bare fingers. I wouldn't worry about it, unless you start to have misfire issues. Then I question what the heck is on your hands...

 

[LHSmith]

I used to think that primers could not be contaminated by handling because I have read posts on how difficult it is to make them "dead" ( soaking for hours in WD-40), but since I started using a K& M single load tool vs. a Lee auto-prime I have experienced more FTF's in one season than I have in my previous 44 years of reloading. So, I am reverting back to the "no touch" approach to primers.

 

[Preacher]

As long as your hands are clean and grease free and you handle them by the edges, you'll have no problem.

 

[FroggyOne2]

I always wash my hands good before doing the priming tasks! Never had a problem, the only time I have ever had a fail to fire is when I missed a case and didn't get a primer in it, or missed putting some powder into the case. And there is a bunch of us on this forum that knows about having done that before!

 

[Nomad47]

I was at the Bench Rest Nationals at the Ben Avery Range north of Phoenix this morning. I was talking to Walt Berger while he was reloading between relays and I observed him handling primers one at a time. So I would assume it is safe to handle them.
I have always been afraid of contaminating them and went so far as to pick up a dropped one with tweezers. But I'm not going to worry about it anymore.

 

[TheNakedGunfighter]

I dump the primers in my paw, then into the tray. No problems yet.

 

[K22]

As long as your hands are clean and dry there is absolutely no reason to be concerned about handling them.

I have never encountered any problems handling primers with my fingers in over 40+ years of reloading.

 

[necchi]

Do you see the mix of answers?

People are different, we all have our own Ph level, each body is a little different,,,
Some have acidic skin some base, some oily, some dry,,,

I don't have trouble, even when I single load (If I have too) but I try to keep handling to a minimum, it's easy enough to use a tray and a Lee hand seater

 

[tenring]

My first - very well known - gunsmith preached "never touch primers". He felt the salt in fingers would contaminate them. I avoided this for years, using a Lee tray loader and pouring them in from a small plastic box.

Then I bought a K&M single primer tool and was forced to pick them up. Never had a problem. I question his advice.

 

[wmdron]

I dump my primers onto a clean cloth and use clean hands to pick them up one at a time, so far so good, no problems.

 

[TrxR]

Maybe ill use some latex or nytrile gloves. that will keep my oily skin from touching them.

Thanks

 

[Cigarcop]

Good god,... whats next a sterile reloading room!

 

[Dgd6mm]

What, You don't put your gown and mask on? ;D

 

[DOGCAPPER]

Hold your breath...Lots of moisture coming out of the lungs..LT

 

[mr45man]

As long as your hands are clean and dry there is absolutely no reason to be concerned about handling them.

I have never encountered any problems handling primers with my fingers in over 40+ years of reloading.

Same here,
I guess if you had really salty/oily fingers and touched the anvil, that minute amount of contamination could have an effect many years down the road.

But if you load and shoot like i think most of us do, don't worry about it
John H.

 

[K22]

My first - very well known - gunsmith preached "never touch primers". He felt the salt in fingers would contaminate them. I avoided this for years, using a Lee tray loader and pouring them in from a small plastic box.

Then I bought a K&M single primer tool and was forced to pick them up. Never had a problem. I question his advice.

Like so many "wives tales and myths surrounding our sport - if you use common sense which may not be common, i.e. not handling primers with lube dripping off your fingers, then you should never experience a problem. Maybe your gunsmith had this in mind no offense to you personally.

One of my favorite myths is: "round nose bullets will push through brush whereas spire points will deflect."

 

[Leaddog]

I use single loading primer tools. I pickup them up by hand and have never had a problem. I give my fingers a quick spritz of 99% Isopropyl Alcohol and dry first.

 

[LHSmith]

I too believe this is a tale from benchrest shooters. These guys will get their hands coated in bolt grease, bore solvent, case lube, and who knows what else. And during a match they rarely have the opportunity to wash their hands prior to reloading.


LE Hanson

You got it. 15 minutes to clean cases , resize, wipe off lube, brush case necks, re-prime, drop powder, seat bullets, clean the bore , clean and lube the bolt , and set-up and tear-down your rest equipment...leaves little extra time. You can call it what you want...I prefer to call it an obsession to minimize risks and variables that might prevent you from getting a shot off in your best condition with-in the allotted match time. This is the reason ( possible primer contamination) that I went back to a Lee auto-prime when loading at the range. When pre-loading at home I'm using the RCBS bench mounted priming tool. I tried the single feed tools and they just didn't work for me.
Keep in mind, many of us load to a hard jam, and in a FTF event, simply extracting the round is not an option. Since you have a "live" round in the chamber, you must notify the R.O., who must find a referee to accompany you to a "safe" area, where you knock out the bullet, and verify you don't have powder kernels in the chamber or lug area. By now you have lost precious minutes ..... and concentration..... so you're chances of a successful match are pretty much nil. Many of us travel several hours ,or day's for States and Nationals, to matches and quickly learn the importance of minimizing risks.

 

[BoydAllen]

I have reloaded for years, including for benchrest competition at matches, and have always handled primers with my fingers. Of course I wipe my hands off any time that they get greasy, oily, dirty or wet, so all of my primer handling has been done with dry hands. There has never been a problem. To me, the idea of not touching primers seems ridiculous, but if not touching them makes someone feel that they are doing a better job of reloading, where is the harm?