Please help with de-capping live primers

[Modoc Guy]

I was given some old .308 never been fired brass that has live primers in them. The person giving me the brass said I shouldn't use those primers due to their age.

How dangerous is it to de-cap that brass? What precautions, if any, should I take? And what should I do with the old primers?

BTW, I'm new to reloading, hence the "noob" question.

Thanks guys!

 

[Straightshooter1]

I was given some old .308 never been fired brass that has live primers in them. The person giving me the brass said I shouldn't use those primers due to their age.

How dangerous is it to de-cap that brass? What precautions, if any, should I take? And what should I do with the old primers?

BTW, I'm new to reloading, hence the "noob" question.

Thanks guys!

I've decapped many live .308 cases, just being gentle when pushing them with the decapping pin. But, you can be pretty safe by simply soaking them in some water then with the water removed, the primer compound is soaked making the primer much more safe to remove.

 

[XL105]

Edit removed invalid post.

 

[M-61]

The person giving me the brass said I shouldn't use those primers due to their age.

Not sure how anyone could arrive at that conclusion unless storage was in question. I'm currently using 50+ year old primers that have not had anywhere near a proper storage for various lengths of time. No FTF
Given the scarcity of primers today ( and powder bullets etc) I'd do some hard thinking first.
However, I have had to deprime brass on rare occasions. I deprime them with my sizing die. You state your new to reloading so what I say is put the brass in the shell holder.
SLOWLY operate the press. The depriming rod in the die will push the primer out.
Now for the disclaimer: I am making the assumption that is brass (unfired you say) that merely has been primed by some individual. Not military brass with a staked primer etc. Nor lacquer covered.
I've done this safely and have actually reused the primers which never failed to work.
Eye protection etc.
NEVER assume that water, WD40, oil, guarantees you an inert primer.

 

[jackson1]

Been removing carefully live primers and reusing them all my life no problem, but not for competition. Would think twice about removing primers from military brass. If i was concerned, you could chamber them (empty brass) and fire them. Still using 40 plus year old primers, with no problem. That those primers would not work never crosses my mind. Have to think really hard to find a personal example of a primer not functioning for me and have seen it only once or twice from others.

 

[Plumsask]

I've decapped many live .308 cases, just being gentle when pushing them with the decapping pin. But, you can be pretty safe by simply soaking them in some water then with the water removed, the primer compound is soaked making the primer much more safe to remove.

I've also decapped alot of 308,223, 300 wsm. Slow and easy- if you feel abnormal resistance - back off. Never had one go off. I also wear safety glasses

 

[457ciSBC]

I've also decapped alot of 308,223, 300 wsm. Slow and easy- if you feel abnormal resistance - back off. Never had one go off. I also wear safety glasses

Same here, slow and easy. I too wear safety glasses and I also drape a washcloth over the die to dissipate any gas that might vent through the weep hole.

 

[madmixerman]

I would load a few and try them. They may be ok.

 

[Uncle Ed]

I use a universal decapping die that is wide open inside the die. This way there will be less pressure inside the case and die if the primer did go off. That being said I have been removing live primers since 1973 and never had one primer go off. Just go "SLOW" and the primers will not go off.

If this makes you nervous then just fire the primers in your rifle and then clean the rifle.

 

[TheOtherZilla]

IF, I were worried about these senior primers, I'd place the empty brass in my rifle and pull the trigger. Problem solved.

 

[Bill Norris]

Agree with above primers are most likely good to go but decapping them should not be a problem either. Wear safety glasses and be gentle with the press lever.

 

[DRNewcomb]

I once read somewhere that putting a drop of oil inside the case and letting it stand upright overnight would deactivate a primer. I've done this and gently deprimed cases and never had one go off. Eye protection is recommended.

I agree that firing the primers is also a valid solution.

 

[bozo699]

Not sure how anyone could arrive at that conclusion unless storage was in question. I'm currently using 50+ year old primers that have not had anywhere near a proper storage for various lengths of time. No FTF
Given the scarcity of primers today ( and powder bullets etc) I'd do some hard thinking first.
However, I have had to deprime brass on rare occasions. I deprime them with my sizing die. You state your new to reloading so what I say is put the brass in the shell holder.
SLOWLY operate the press. The depriming rod in the die will push the primer out.
Now for the disclaimer: I am making the assumption that is brass (unfired you say) that merely has been primed by some individual. Not military brass with a staked primer etc. Nor lacquer covered.
I've done this safely and have actually reused the primers which never failed to work.
Eye protection etc.
NEVER assume that water, WD40, oil, guarantees you an inert primer.

100% Spot on!....
Wayne

 

[bozo699]

I’ve deprimed hundreds of them with a hammer and a Lee decapping punch and never had one go off not to mention hundreds of them in a f/l or decapping die
Wayne

 

[skeeljc]

If the primers in your cases are less than 50 years old I would load them and shoot them.

 

[Iowa Fox]

About 5 years ago I acquired some 243 that had been handloaded in the 1960s. The loaded rounds were in with some boxes of reloading junk I purchased from a friend and he had no ides where the stuff originated. I decided to pull the bullets and dump the powder The bullets pulled hard and the powder reluctantly came out in clumps. The brass didn't have any black, white, or green corrosion on the outside or inside so I dumped new powder and seated new bullets with a starting load and got normal groups with not a single misfire.

About 8 years ago I purchased a brick of old primers from a friends estate The heir, a niece from out of state just wanted stuff gone which was sad. The box they were in indicated the primers were at least 25 to 30 years old and were stored well . With that box of a thousand old primers my rifle shot some of the best groups ever and they went over the chrony right on the money. Not a single misfire.

With that said I would take a penlight and inspect the inside and outside of the cases well for corrosion of the brass, check to make sure the brass will chamber in your firearm ok. If things are good I would load one piece of brass with a mild starting load and give it a try.

 

[wkdickinson]

I have deprimed lots of cases with live primers, using a Lee Universal depriming die (and safety glasses) and have never had one go off. One thing no one mentioned though is crimped primers. If your brass happens to be military, the primers are very likely crimped, in which case I would definitely not try to deprime them live.

Like many here, I've also used primers that were 30-40 years old and had no problems with them. I would certainly load up a few and try them before removing them all.

 

[jpx2rk]

If the brass has crimps on the primers, you will have some/more difficulty in removing those live primers, proceed with more caution than mentioned above. De-priming fired cases with crimps takes some pressure on the press lever with no danger, live primer with the crimp still intact takes it up a notch or two. Wear PPE as a extra measure of safety.

 

[ebb]

Water will not kill a modern primer, i do not know exactly when and some primer makers may have been later than others. priming compound has been water proof for years. I have pushed live primers out on several occasions and have never had one go off, but good safety glasses are a must. A well known benchrest shooter that posts at bench rest central let 10 primed case sit in a bucket of water for a month. dumped the water out of them and set in a window sill for a few days and primed another 10 loaded them all up and shoot over a chronograph and could not tell which were which till he looked at which bag was labeled wet. I would not waste them if it were me.

 

[Webster]

I was given some old .308 never been fired brass that has live primers in them. The person giving me the brass said I shouldn't use those primers due to their age.

How dangerous is it to de-cap that brass? What precautions, if any, should I take? And what should I do with the old primers?

BTW, I'm new to reloading, hence the "noob" question.

Thanks guys!

Wear safety glasses and put a heavy cloth over the press. Never had 1 go off. You cannot kill primers by soaking them with anything. Many peole have tried it. Put them in the rifle and shoot them off.