Popping a primer in decapping die?

[Fast14riot]

Anyone ever have a live primer go off in a Lee decapping die? I've got some used brass I just bought and a few of them have live primers. I've decapped live primers before carefully, but it's always been ones I have primed and never had one go off. I'm just curious about what potentially could happen to the die if it does happen.

Btw, I always wear safety glasses at the loading bench.

 

[Terry Altom]

Since you don't know how long they've been seated I'd pop them in rifle and call it done

 

[Fast14riot]

I'll have to think about that, I live in mid town in a larger city, neighbors might get nosey...

 

[Rsadams]

Just wear some safety glasses and pop them out slowly.. I also have done a bunch and never had one go off. A decapping die doesn't seal like a full length etc die so even if it did it should just blow the pressure out the bottom of the die..

It seems to me that the die makers would test for this since they know people do it.. You might put a towel over the die just in case the decapping rod moves.. That seems like the worst case..

 

[snert]

if you do, wrap a towel around ram.

 

[Willie]

Slow and steady, with safety glasses. If you're in doubt, hit them with Kroil, a day or two before depriming.

 

[Rsadams]

Slow and steady, with safety glasses. If you're in doubt, hit them with Kroil, a day or two before depriving.

Yes this also would help I forgot about just killing them first... Krol or even wd40 should help..

 

[T-shooter]

Just wear some safety glasses and pop them out slowly.. I also have done a bunch and never had one go off. A decapping die doesn't seal like a full length etc die so even if it did it should just blow the pressure out the bottom of the die..

It seems to me that the die makers would test for this since they know people do it.. You might put a towel over the die just in case the decapping rod moves.. That seems like the worst case..

Same here. I have done many with no problems. Eye and ear protection and keep the port in the ram facing the other way. There isn't enough pressure to explode the case, it will just vent out the bottom. Of course you may need to change your shorts afterwards!

 

[Fast14riot]

I've deprimed a bunch, but never any unknown. I use a Hornady press which is slotted and has a chute, so I'll just lay a towel over it. I have popped some while priming, in the house no less (I'm not allowed to prime in the house anymore, lol), so I'm aware of how it goes. Just not sure about the die.

I'll get it done, safely and slowly.

 

[spife7980]

Nothing will happen even if they do pop. Look at the old lee hand loader kits. I can remember my dad popping them often enough as a kid but that was while he was priming the cases. Its just loud but youre not going to blow up the die or case or anything with them. You deprime with a hammer and then reprime them with a hammer too. I personally have never had one go off though in both press mounted decapping or the old school lee hand manner.

 

[Fast14riot]

I'm not terribly worried about it, just trying to use safe practice. Also, I feel threads like this are helpful to newbies when searching the forum. Many of us just deal with it, but I remember the first time I had a primer go off, I was a bit shaken for sure!

 

[jepp2]

Anyone ever have a live primer go off in a Lee decapping die?

I have decapped hundreds of live primers over the years (and reused almost all of them) and never had one go off. I did cut a section of PVC pipe to slide over the ram to catch the primer in the rare event it did go off.

If you fire them in a rifle, they are really sooty and will require a significant clean up afterwards. They are louder than you might think.

Good luck in killing them with (insert your favorite liquid here). They are much harder to kill than most folks think. People have soaked them in motor oil and other fluids for weeks, and they fired just fine. The foil layer really keeps the primer compound dry.

Have you ever had a primer not fire on the first strike of the firing pin, but go on the second? This is normally due to the primer not being fully seated. The first strike finishes seating the primer, the second finishes the job. Now how hard is that firing pin striking the firing pin with vs. how s-l-o-w-l-y the decapping pin presses against the primer.

 

[Mozella]

Slow and steady, with safety glasses. If you're in doubt, hit them with Kroil, a day or two before depriming.

I'm not sure that will help. If the primer goes off, you might get hot Kroil in your eyes

I'm in the "slow-and-steady" camp and on the rare occasions I deprime a live one, I turn my head away as I stroke the press. I've never had one go off............."touch iron" as the Italians say.

 

[onelastshot]

You can always throw them in the tumbler and clean the brass before you deprime them; an hour in hot soapy water should do the trick. Ive done a lot of work the past few weeks developing new loads for my mid-sized cartridges and used the full length sizer to decap a couple dozen cartridges without incident.

 

[bloc]

I believe the key factor to primer detonation, when the primer is properly seated, is the sudden, hard impulse imparted by the firing pin. In fact, as someone above pointed out, a primer that is not fully seated probably won't detonate. Also, a weak firing pin spring will often prevent detonation.

Having removed a good many live primers with the "slow and steady" method, I have a hard time imagining that that technique would detonate a primer.

Having said that, nothing is impossible, and until I hear a persuasive argument to the contrary, for me all bets are off if the primers are crimped in.

 

[Rsadams]

I believe the key factor to primer detonation, when the primer is properly seated, is the sudden, hard impulse imparted by the firing pin. In fact, as someone above pointed out, a primer that is not fully seated probably won't detonate. Also, a weak firing pin spring will often prevent detonation.

Having removed a good many live primers with the "slow and steady" method, I have a hard time imagining that that technique would detonate a primer.

Having said that, nothing is impossible, and until I hear a persuasive argument to the contrary, for me all bets are off if the primers are crimped in.

Exactly...

 

[Rsadams]

Since your useing a Lee decapper as I said the decapping pin is supposed to move to keep from breaking it... So just put a towel over it in case it moves...
I don't think you would be in any danger as long as no part of you was above the die but the roof may not like it and the wife really wouldn't...lol

 

[Fast14riot]

It's Lapua 260 brass, so no crimps. Just got a few of the sellers prepped brass mixed with the stuff he was selling.

 

[Texas10]

I de-cap live primers letting them co-mingle with spent ones until ready to throw in trash. I always put them in a baggie and add a little oil or solvent or water to ensure nothing will detonate in the garbage truck....or at least I assumed it would prevent a detonation. That was until I actually tested my method and found out that primers apparently have more lives than the cat that routinely sleeps in my cars engine compartment, and will still detonate after weeks of soaking.

Who knew?

Oh, and the cat....I call him Bob. As in bobtail.....he-he.

 

[Shaggy357]

It's Lapua 260 brass, so no crimps. Just got a few of the sellers prepped brass mixed with the stuff he was selling.

I have removed live primers with the decapper, and I have fired them off. I have been lucky. In 40 plus years of reloading, I have never had a primer go off when seating, decapping, loading primer tubes, etc. Was it really luck, or was it a degree of caution? Firing live primers, with the barrel of the gun through the hole in the lid of a bucket full of fiberglass, makes little noise in a closed garage. Just don't do it if you have flammables like gasoline, jars of paint thinner, etc. Makes a little noise, but is easy to clean up gun afterward and just stuff the bucket in a corner until the next time you need it.

Good luck,