Detonating Primers Problem

neutron619

Well-Known Member
Well, just in case the title of this post was misleading, I'm not having a problem with primers detonating - rather, I've got an increasingly large pile of squashed, dented or otherwise fubar-ed primers sitting around in my garage that I want to detonate.

Unfortunately, until recently, the priming tool on my press was slightly (and increasingly) misaligned, so until I worked out the problem and bent it back into shape, I was squashing them in at random angles at a rate of about 1 for every 2 cases.

My question is simple - if I hit them, whilst wearing appropriate safety specs, one at a time with a reasonably large and heavy hammer on an anvil or equivalent, am I likely to suffer any consequences other than a little ringing in my ears?

I've read about dunking them in oil - about 50% of people say it doesn't work and nobody seems to be able to say what it is about the oil that's supposed to kill them, so I'm not going to rely on that. I could bury them, but that involves digging holes and seems a lot less fun.

Note that I can't put these in cases and fire them in the rifle as they're the mangled ones I haven't been able to extract and re-use correctly.

Anyone have any thoughts about whether this ideas is, if not entirely safe, then manageable / survivable?

Thanks.
 
Funny that dunking them in oil won't work considering most of us go to great pains while loading to not contaminate them with body oils from our hands....

Sounds like a test project for someone so inclined.

I drop them in a small container of water and then bury them when I get around to it, Usually about once a year since I have very few damaged primers.

SS
 
I chuck them on the bonfire at work. Seeing as 90% of the time there's a few hundred live blanks in there anyway, a few extra pops isn't noticed.
 
Funny that dunking them in oil won't work considering most of us go to great pains while loading to not contaminate them with body oils from our hands....

Sounds like a test project for someone so inclined.

I drop them in a small container of water and then bury them when I get around to it, Usually about once a year since I have very few damaged primers.

SS

Thanks for your reply.

Regarding the oil thing - well - I've never personally tried, but for every story I read about dropping them in oil to kill them, I read another about "I dropped them in oil and they still went bang afterwards", so my overall impression is that even if it does work sometimes, it's not reliable.

I'll wait to see if anyone else replies, but failing that I'll bury them.
 
I chuck them on the bonfire at work. Seeing as 90% of the time there's a few hundred live blanks in there anyway, a few extra pops isn't noticed.

Presumably you don't have any problems with little bits of primer zinging off in random directions? I'm not a fan of shrapnel... :scared:
 
Have your bonfire in an old oil drum - that'll stop schrapnel flying sideways at least - just dont look up!

Have fun!

Ian

Well - I guess we'll see how it goes. I do live in a residential neighbourhood, with overlooking neighbours, but hey - if I do it when they've all gone to bed, they won't see me....! :cuckoo:
 
Presumably you don't have any problems with little bits of primer zinging off in random directions? I'm not a fan of shrapnel... :scared:

Not really as it's done in a demolition pit in an artillery impact area where they blow stuff up all the time. A few primers going pop is nothing compared to a few 500lb bombs and other UXO being disposed of
 
2nd that.
I disposed of 6 old rimfire .22 that I found when tidying up.
I just tossed them in with the burning cardboard and stood back. They went off like toy caps.

Funny.
This was supposed to be responding with quote to Yorric,post number 6.
 
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Probably the child in me but soaking them seems a waste of a good bang! I've hit them with a hammer plenty of times but always at floor level on concrete. I'm sure there is an element of risk.
 
Do it durring the first week in Nov and nobody will bat an eyelid, also plenty of bonfires to choose from!!!!


D
 
I find water does a good job of killing primers, I had some stored a garage that flooded they didn't get wet just the damp air did the job, I have since done a lot of old berdan primed 8mm ammo pulled the projectiles dumped the powder and reseated the projectiles after soaking the primed cases in water for a week ran them through the rifle to fire the primers none when off, so I guess it works, I had tried oil, WD40, powder solvent, CRC without 100% success
 
"I've got an increasingly large pile of squashed, dented or otherwise fubar-ed primers sitting around in my garage that I want to detonate."

What do you call an increasingly large number Neutron? Surely you can't have more than say half a dozen damaged primers at most can you, as it would have been silly to continue without rectifying the problem after damaging more than say three or four primers.

While in the past I've neutralised damaged primers by soaking in oil for two days prior to burying and have even been known to detonate the odd one using a lump hammer and a hard surface (dodgy even wearing eye protection and ear defenders) I certainly would avoid the Texan roulette routine of throwing them in an open fire. Incineration in an enclosed furnace to contain any shrapnel is an option but as most of us don't have access to such a facility why not simply collect them all together and surrender them at your local police station for them to send for incineration which they do periodically with all surrendered and found ammunition.
I believe that most of the suspect and damaged ammo handed in locally to me goes to the local ordnance factory for disposal where I know they have a armoured open furnace up on the burning ground that sorts out this sort of thing on an almost daily basis.

It's got to be an awful lot safer doing it this way and it won't cost you anything and fairly informal with little fuss in my experience.
 
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Profuse apologies for resurrecting a long-dead thread - it's been a long time since I logged on here - but I realised I forgot to follow up on this.

In case any future reader is considering how to dispose of old primers, let me recount that bonfire night 2014 was excellent in all respects, with my wife and son particularly enjoyed the extra loud bangs of a few mangled primers exploding - they sounded just like expensive fireworks apparently.

Wearing gloves, safety goggles and ear defenders as a precaution, I was able to detonate them all between an small anvil and a 4lb sledge hammer by simply "dropping" the hammerhead onto the primers, one at a time. The hammerhead was barely lifted by the detonation, there was no shrapnel (evidenced by the untouched wood I placed around the anvil, just in case) and it was all quite safely achieved without undue worry to family / neighbours / small furry creatures in the locale. For what it's worth, I wouldn't recommend attempting the same process with a pin hammer, which might very well disappear off into the nearest hedge, but after the first one, I had no particular worries about completing the job.

To the poster who mentioned the river Cam, I can only say that my sense of civic responsibility forbids me from fly-tipping explosives. :-|
 
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