I acquire loaded ammunition and sell brass on GunBroker so the usual breakdown methods work just fine. Recently though I got about 600 8MM with cracked necks. So this time the plan is to salvage the bullets and scrap the brass. But of course these are Berdan primed and I need to fire off these primers. Short term, for these, I could borrow a Mauser and pop them off. But preferable, without knowing of course, would be something that would accept a shellholder to fire them off. Much quicker and I don't have to clean a borrowed rifle. And it would work on any caliber. Anyone know of such a device or something else?
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Firing primed brass
- Thread starter Steve Marshall
- Start date
With proper care (glasses, hearing, and clean area to detonate), I've used a simple vise, hammer and nail to pop primers..
Just be mindful that they are loud, could pop out of the primer pocket and could make a mess. At least you'll know they are fired off. Oil doesn't always kill a primer.
Just be mindful that they are loud, could pop out of the primer pocket and could make a mess. At least you'll know they are fired off. Oil doesn't always kill a primer.
i like the old school cap method..... hard surface and a big hammer small the shit out of the case head.
or as mentioned put in vise and use a center punch to pop them off. They are pretty load...enough to wear ear protection for sure.
Like this.....but I just can't see doing this for more than a handful.
I was able to unload 500 rounds of junky 8mm for 25 cents per round with the anouncement that it was not safe to shoot.
Buyer bought it to pull the bullets...
[video]https://youtu.be/RxlWVGyrbEI[/video]
or as mentioned put in vise and use a center punch to pop them off. They are pretty load...enough to wear ear protection for sure.
Like this.....but I just can't see doing this for more than a handful.
I was able to unload 500 rounds of junky 8mm for 25 cents per round with the anouncement that it was not safe to shoot.
Buyer bought it to pull the bullets...
[video]https://youtu.be/RxlWVGyrbEI[/video]
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I made a bunch of display ammo for beltfed guns years ago after I pulled the heads and dumped the powder I threw them in the ultrasonic cleaner for a couple of hrs all the primers were dead when I punched them , even the 50s.
Campfire. Why overthink it?
cockpitbob
NES Member
How about just punch them out with a sizing die then let them sit in a soup can with some Liquid Wrench?
I wouldn't fire a bunch indoors. I'm not sure what's in today's primers, but they used to contain heavy metals.
I wouldn't fire a bunch indoors. I'm not sure what's in today's primers, but they used to contain heavy metals.
icyclefar
NES Member
Because if nobody here over thinked things, no thread would progress beyond 6 posts. lol
Because sometimes you have to salvage the brass too. For example, about a year ago, I acquired 7.5x55 from a reloader. Nothing wrong with the brass but I don't sell reloads. Luckily the reloader let me pop the primers in his rifle after I pulled the bullets and dumped the powder. The reason I got them was because HE was afraid to shoot them. He'd screwed up somehow and bought a bunch of boxer primed cases. Those Berdan cases sold for 30!? cents each before I had a chance to list them on GB.
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greencobra
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800 rounds? put 'em in a box, take the box to the local police station and tell them you found the box somewhere in town. problem solved and you'll probably be on the evening news to boot. ![[grin]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/041.gif "Grin [grin]")
MisterHappy
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Well, you did specify in the OP that you wanted to "scrap" the brass.
I wonder if the ATF would consider such a device (as you described in the OP) to be a firearm.
These are the folks that made a shoelace a machine gun.
These are the folks that made a shoelace a machine gun.
cockpitbob
NES Member
Not true these days. I read an article that said modern primers were harder to kill so I put some in a jar with Liquid Wrench(urban lore says penetrating oil is the best for killing them) for an hour and they still fired. It would be an interesting experiment to see how long it takes to kill them.
A design with no provisions for a barrel (perhaps configured to vent at right angles into a water-filled container?) should avoid running afoul of the feds, just as permanently blank-only configured rifles are not firearms. Having a steel vertical pin in the bore (long enough to enter the case neck, making it impossible to chamber a live round) would be one approach.
Look at the changes made to bring the Can Cannon back into BATFE compliance as an example.
pastera
NES Member
https://www.amazon.com/Parker-1-06P..._9?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1491767490&sr=1-9
https://www.amazon.com/Baomain-Mome...67603&sr=1-3&keywords=foot+operated+air+valve
A little machining work to add a shell holder fixture with firing pin, some air hoses and you have a universal primer detonator - just don't try it with a loaded round without some sort of blast shield.
https://www.amazon.com/Baomain-Mome...67603&sr=1-3&keywords=foot+operated+air+valve
A little machining work to add a shell holder fixture with firing pin, some air hoses and you have a universal primer detonator - just don't try it with a loaded round without some sort of blast shield.
Is this safe? I've read a few threads that suggested this. I have 10 cases of 5.56 with improperly seated primers. I cleaned/sized/deprimed to realize they had crimps and my tool won't fit them (works fine on 30-06 HXP crimp). I figured I had already done all the prep work so I tried to prime anyway with about a 50% success rate. Figured I'd get the improperly seated primers out and decrimp once I get a good tool.
Anyone have a 5.56 decrimp tool/method they like?
Decapping live primers is not a big issue. Just realize what you have there and son't work the press at warp speed. All the ammo I've torn apart and never a bang while removing live primers. Ideally, you should wear eyes and ears, so even if one did pop, you'd likely just be startled (unless you have a significant natural gas leak).
As mentioned earlier, I don't find oil to be 100%. They can still detonate after being soaked. Maybe I need Marvel Depriming Oil, I don't know.
I generally use the deburring tool or a sharp jackknife blade, minding where your fingers are. It's not great for a thousand rounds or more, but once done they needn't be touched again.
PL-52
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I bought a 90 degree Weldon db-14 countersink for de-crimping I use it in my lathe on granny gear and just hold the brass up to it and a little push and your done FOREVER. You can also chuck it in a drill press.
I've decapped thousands of live primers without incident. (I can't recall what happened but I did have ONE go off in the press doing something or other) Safety glasses sure, muffs?, not so much. WD-40 will not, at least short term, deactivate a primer. Wet tumbling for an hour will not deactivate a primer. There are only 2 ways that I know of that will work. Shoot them or burn them.
+1
The internet myths of primer deactivation are for the most part completely wrong. They are much harder to neutralize than most people realize.
BTW - I've tried to get primers to go off by decapping them live, and also with a gas grill igniter and had no "success" with either experiment. I'm not saying it can't be done, I'm saying that I couldn't do it.
LOL! Love that Idea. small fire in a 55 gallon drum. screen on the bottom to lift out.....let cool for a verrrry long time...
