Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles removing unfired primers

I've got a mixed bunch of reloads that came with a rifle I bought, so I'm pulling the bullets to salvage the brass.
Can I just punch out the unfired primers with the resizing die, or am I taking a chance that the compression could set one off?
I thought about just firing them in the rifle, but evidently some of them aren't full-length resized and there isn't enough headspace for them to chamber in my rifle.

Hookset -

Yes, use the sizing die -slowly-easily- punch out the primers.

I've done it many Xs w/o any problems.


Jerry

I have done a few using a Lee universal decapping die - never had a issue but I was careful and took my time.

I've used Hopper #9 or some gun oil and let the cases set onvernight. I still use eye protection and full face sheild, like a welding helmet. Never had any problem though. Just go slow.

I've popped out thousands of live primers with the sizing die, never had one go off. You will be fine just wear your eye protection like anytime you are working at the bench.

Slow and easy with a Lee universal deprimer works for me. Use eye protection yadda yadda ...

Lee universal deprimer is what I use as well. Just had occasion to deprime a couple dozen cases, then I used those primers in a different load along with the pulled bullets and they all went bang. Don't know that I'd recommend re-using decapped live primers for that once in a lifetime hunt, but for range work or plinking they should do okay.

I haven't done thousands, but very many. Never any problems. If the OP needs to FL size the brass, I'd do that at the same time. "Kill 2 birds with 1 stone"...





It's yada yada yada now, but I bet the first one you did, you were a little hesitant. At least I was...

When I fired my first reload at age 16 - a .38 Special in a Ruger 3-screw Blackhawk - I pushed the revolver out as far as I could, turned my head away and closed my eyes. I was greatly relieved when it went bang and I was still alive.

Something many of us probably won't admit, but something many of us have done...

I've deprimed and reused without any problems.

I tried soaking some primed cases in WD-40 years ago, and they all still went bang when I tested them. I recently read that primers have a sealant to protect them. Have you tested the ones you soaked? I wonder how long of a soaking it would take to get through the sealant.

I think it was someone here on The Fire that tested this, perhaps the Boo-bah. It took about 2 weeks before the wouldn't go off.

Soaking them is just a waste of time and good oil.

Thanks guys. Just wanted to make sure this wasn't going to be a "hold my beer and watch this" kind of moment.

I've deprived and re-used many times. No issues.

I had loaded numerous .30-06 rounds and about 200 .45-70s with WLR primers that wanted to pop pinholes and dig divots in my Garand boltface. I didn't have an issue with the .45-70, either because the pressure was lower or I simply didn't fire enough of them to encounter a problem. I had only fired about 20 or so of the .45-70s, but had fired 200 of the Garand rounds and had pinholes appearing in the radius of the primer.

It was a time-consuming project and not done in one weekend, but I pulled the bullets and replaced the primers in 800 rounds of .30-06 and 180 rounds of .45-70 without any hint of an incident, using a Lee Universal Depriming die.

[quote mod7rem]
I've deprimed and reused without any problems.
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I don't doubt you guys. IIRC I have reused primers like that for practice or ?maybe? grouping.

However there is just enuff doubt that I will not use them in hunting rounds. Maybe just me but...


Jerry

I recently deprimed a bunch of WW new factory primed 264 WM and 257 Roberts brass, because the primers leaked on several rounds. I used a Redding universal deprimer and this amounted to 500 rounds give or take. Not a problem at all.

Me too, pushed them out gently & certainly wore eye protection. Used them in practice rounds, can't recall ever having one fail to work.

It's definitely not as eventful as your wife vacuuming the reloading room

When I was nine or ten years old, I pilfered a rifle primer from my uncle (who became my handloading mentor a few years later) and took it out to the driveway and smacked it with a hammer. In less than the blink of an eye I developed a very, very healthy respect for the little doodads.

I've punched out hundreds of live primers with a universal decapper, and never had one go off on me. I ALWAYS wear eye protection when doing this, too...as in "healthy respect." That means going nice and easy with it, too.

I've heard of far more incidents putting live primers into cases than punching them out.