Primers

[cdschoonie]

So it’s been some time (2-3 months) since doing anything at my bench. I finally got it set up to where I’m ready to get back at it. I am setting up to decap a few hundred, pull my spent primer catch tray to clear it out. I find these…I have no idea what I was decapping, what caliber, where the cases came from, etc., if you can make it out, there is a divot in the middle from the pin pushing them out. If it were pre-pandemic, I wouldn’t flinch on trashing them, but I gotta ask before doing so, is it possible, not possible, or even worth considering to reuse them?

 

[rickm]

They are reuseable i do it every so often when i make a oops, just have to try and remember what primers they are.

 

[Rez Exelon]

You might check my longer notes in the scrap brass adventures thread, but useability is dependent on what they came from. If they were crimped cases, then odds are not great. If they were from regular cases, then probably reuseable. I've popped and reused plenty of primers over the years, but they were all from non-crimped cases.

If you wanted to reuse them I'd say you should prime whatever you want and then take a spare decap rod and see if you can use it to push them out by hand. If you can push them out without much force, they go to the trash, but if they hold then use them.

 

[JEVapa]

So it’s been some time (2-3 months) since doing anything at my bench. I finally got it set up to where I’m ready to get back at it. I am setting up to decap a few hundred, pull my spent primer catch tray to clear it out. I find these…I have no idea what I was decapping, what caliber, where the cases came from, etc., if you can make it out, there is a divot in the middle from the pin pushing them out. If it were pre-pandemic, I wouldn’t flinch on trashing them, but I gotta ask before doing so, is it possible, not possible, or even worth considering to reuse them?View attachment 209879 View attachment 209880

As long as the anvils didn't fall out they'll be good.

 

[cdschoonie]

You might check my longer notes in the scrap brass adventures thread, but useability is dependent on what they came from. If they were crimped cases, then odds are not great. If they were from regular cases, then probably reuseable. I've popped and reused plenty of primers over the years, but they were all from non-crimped cases.

That’s the problem, I have no earth idea what they came out of. However my best guess would be they came from necked cartridges, if so I doubt they were crimped, since the only crimp I use on them is a very light taper, but it’s extremely rare that I crimp them at all.

 

[cdschoonie]

Just sitting here thinking, in all likelihood, these came from some 6.5 CM that I had only put primers in. When I first started reloading a couple years ago, I jumped the gun on some, they were new out of the package, before trimming or anything, I hadn’t read enough into reloading. I found them in an empty cartridge container I’d put them in after priming. I decided to pop the primers out and start over. So more likely than not, these have been nothing more than put in and popped back out. I will use the and try pushing them out with just hand pressure…Thank you!

 

[Rez Exelon]

That’s the problem, I have no earth idea what they came out of. However my best guess would be they came from necked cartridges, if so I doubt they were crimped, since the only crimp I use on them is a very light taper, but it’s extremely rare that I crimp them at all.

Crimp on the bullet doesn't make a difference --- it's crimp on the primer pocket that matters here.

Another point to consider is that depending what TYPE of primer they are could matter to some loads. Not for a safety factor unless you use them with max loads (probably, I'm not a rocket scientist expert). BUT it can cause a difference in accuracy or POI possibly. So you'd best count them as plinking loads. There's another thread on here where I tested small pistol/small rifle/small pistol mag against each other and documented the results if you're curious.

 

[cdschoonie]

Crimp on the bullet doesn't make a difference --- it's crimp on the primer pocket that matters here.

Another point to consider is that depending what TYPE of primer they are could matter to some loads. Not for a safety factor unless you use them with max loads (probably, I'm not a rocket scientist expert). BUT it can cause a difference in accuracy or POI possibly. So you'd best count them as plinking loads. There's another thread on here where I tested small pistol/small rifle/small pistol mag against each other and documented the results if you're curious.

Oh! No, definitely had no crimp on the pocket. It was new Starline 6.5 CM brass, I’m positive now.

 

[Rez Exelon]

Oh! No, definitely had no crimp on the pocket. It was new Starline 6.5 CM brass, I’m positive now.

That being the case I'd bet you are good to go. Point above about groupings and possible POI impact still applies, but I bet they seat just fine.

 

[cdschoonie]

That being the case I'd bet you are good to go. Point above about groupings and possible POI impact still applies, but I bet they seat just fine.

I will keep track of the cartridges used and see if they turn out differently.