Mule Deer, I deer hunt in the hardwoods of Southeastern Ohio. Inevitably it will rain at some point during our gun season. I’ve hunted with factory ammo in my 350 Legend thus far. This year I’m using my handloads of a 165 grain FTX bullet pushed by 25 grains of H110 in Starline brass. My question is, do you seal the primers in your loads for hunting? Do I really need to?
Ron
I've been hunting with my handloads since the late 1980's and have never had a problem. I don't sit in mud filled trenches for days on end so it's not an issue for me. If my hunting ammo gets wet it's dried by an hour after that day's sunset either in the truck or back at the cabin so it's never completely soaked. If your ammo lives harder than that and it makes you sleep better at night add a dab of sealer once the round is complete and you're satisfied with every aspect of it. Once you put that stuff on there's no adjusting the round anymore so make sure it's good to go.
Just to clarify you're talking both neck and primer correct?
Unless your ammo will be immersed in water, no, there’s no need.
Although I’ve wondered about long term storage in high humidity areas….
Ohio7x57,
No, I don't seal the primers in my handloads. I do live in a dry part of the country, but we can get plenty of wet weather at various times of year, and I have hunted other places where it sometimes rained almost constantly, including northern North American from Alaska to Quebec, New Zealand and parts of Africa. But here's another reason I don't seal primers:
When possible when traveling by air I usually bring home the meat. I bring along a cooler, putting my duffle bag inside it for the trip out to save fees, and then put boned meat inside for the trip back.
Did this a number of years ago on an axis deer hunt in Texas, because I knew how great they taste, and after putting the boned meat in the cooler added some ice. My ammo, per usual, was inside my duffle bag, as the airline wanted. Got back to Montana late in the evening, and after bringing my rifle case and duffle into the house, put the cooler out in the garage.
Had things to do in the morning (catch up on e-mail, etc.) and didn't check the cooler until late in the day--when I discovered my plastic box of handloads buried among the plastic bags full of meat, under several inches of melted ice-water. The ammo box was not waterproof, so the ammo had been "soaking" for a couple days. Emptied the water from the box and dried the ammo with a paper towel, then pulled the bullet on one round, finding the powder was perfectly dry inside. Went to the range and shot 3-4 of the other rounds, which all went bang just fine, and concluded that well-seated primers resulted in waterproof ammo.
Can't imagine hunting in wetter conditions than underwater--but if sealing the primers would make you feel better it's pretty easy to do.
I have been using handloads only since the early 1990s. The biggest test for me were my elk hunts in northern Idaho. Everything was wet all day, every day. My guns still went bang. I have never had a misfire...ever.
I’m not a gun writer, but do have an opinion!
I do with “hunting rounds or rounds that may be used for defense”, as very few of these rounds are used annually! It doesn’t take long, and can’t hurt anything. It’s just cheap, easy insurance…..whether needed or not!
For plinking, practice, or varmint rounds…..no, I don’t seal! memtb
Thanks guys! I’ve been reloading since I was about 14 or 15. Mostly shotshells, .38 specials, and .243 varmint rounds back then. Never thought about it until now. I’m going to hunt with my loads and not give it a second thought.
Ron
I considered priming sealant several years ago myself so figured I'd run a test. I threw some loaded rounds into a bucket of water, I don't remember the exact time, but it was a few hours. All of them shot fine. Never considered priming sealant again after that.
Ive been "loading" for 40 yrs. I have hunted in some frog strangling rain and have never had an issue with primers leaking water by. But as with most things, if it makes you feel better to seal your primers then by all means have at it.
Try testing it out. Submerge some of your loads and pull them out and shoot them. I’ve never found it necessary but it also doesn’t hurt anything.
Quite a few years back one of the sites I followed, Accurate Reloading I believe it was, did a test by submerging loaded ammo in water for quite a number of days, then testing it. That info might still be on that site. Bottom line, ammo always fired. Little or no bad effect. If you want to be doubly sure take some clear nail polish and paint around the primer and the bullet.
I’ve sealed a few. Does not cost much to do it. So I thought what could it hurt. Also only the ones carried hunting. Hasbeen