Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Primers mixed in with Powder

Not long ago, I can't remember where, I read about a person who would put one or two live primers inside the case with the powder, to get better ignition.

IIRC, it was a very large capacity cartridge and it took this extra spark to ignite the powder.

Has anyone ever heard of anyone doing this? It seems like it could be dangerous.

I don't know about dangerous but ineffective,yes.

That's just about the dumbest reloading suggestion I've ever heard. Wow! DO NOT TRY THIS.

Just say--- No thank you

That is at least the equal of the guy who was grinding stick powder in a mortar and pestle because he could get more of it in a rifle case if it had smaller granules.

Stupid can be painful, in cases like these. Could make for an entertaining Darwin Award writeup, though... .

Dennis

I 2nd the Darwin Award. Good grief!

KABOOM

HUH?????

There's something odd about 13579...

I just asked my 15 year old son what he thought of this idea, as a test so to speak. He looked at me like I'd just ate a booger. Thank goodness, since he sometimes looks at the fire too. Hope he never takes a suggestion from 13579.......

Bad idea. Dangerous. Don't do it. 'Nuff said.

No, I don't plan on doing it, nor did I suggest doing it. I actually read where someone did do it, though, and I was wondering if anyone else had ever heard about it.

It does seem strange, though, kinda like using a bit of fast burning powder for an ignition charge to ignite hard to ignite or large amounts of powder.

I believe it was for one of the larger caliber English rifles, maybe an 8 or 6 bore rifle, or it could have been a muzzle loader and they dropped one or two percussion caps down the barrel.

I wish I could remember where I read it.

By the time the ignited powder ignited the primers, the powder would already be ignited, so it wouldn't help.

Maybe you have it confused with duplex loads, where a small charge of smokeless powder was used to help ignite a large charge of black powder, or a small charge of fast-buring powder was used to help ignite a large charge of slow-burning powder. The sort of experimenting done long ago before the average or even advanced handloader had access to tools like chronographs and computer ballistics programs.

Lot of things people used to do that have turned out to be fairly bad ideas...

Dennis

Adding caps to a charge to get better ignition is ALMOST as foolish as the guy who once told me that he and an "expert reloader friend" used to mix a few grains of Bulleye to their magnum charges of 4813 to "improve igniton and spread out the pressure curve for higher velocity." GAG!

I had already known the man was a fool, just hope he was also a lier, at least in this instance.

Sounds like a good plan. Give it a go and let us know what happens. Or have your next of kin let us know if your no longer able to type.

Maybe you read it here Friends of Darwin

I love this place

There are people who need an intervention and have all reloading tools removed from their control. The Darwin process is OK provided all they eliminate is their own foolish selves.

I think he's on to somthing guys....if the bullet misses it's mark you'll still have a chance with the primer buck-shot.

PS- I'd use a Fed215's for deeper penetration...their kind of the Barnes of the primer world.


Brett

muledeer:

No, it wasn't what some people refer to as a duplex load. I really read it somewhere.

Duplex is what Elmer Keith called some of his loads, but that was not what they were, although many people thought he was mixing powder, or using an ignition charge of an easy to ignite powder.

People, please pay attention: I have no intention of trying this. I am not suggesting that anyone else try it. If you want to win a Darwin award, you will have to do it on your own. My powder lights just fine. I only wanted to know if anyone else might have read the same thing. I'm really not concerned with Darwin Awards for myself. I have enough that I earned accidently, without trying to earn one on purpose.