primers / oil question

[rimrider]

Question...

I know soaking primers in oil will render them inert.

So how long would one need to leave them in the oil to be absolutely certain?
Any type oil? High, low viscosity?

Probably should know this, but I don't!

thx,
sb

 

[mattsbox99]

No it won't. The ONLY way to render a primer inert is to detonate it.

G&A did a test to see with wd40, 5 primers each for various lengths of time up to 1 month, all primers fired.

 

[J Miller]

Primers are a strange thing. The oil, water, and other things you might think would render them inert will only do so until they dry out. Then they come right back to life.

Shoot 'em, or toss 'em into a burn barrel is about the only ways I know of to get the job done.

Joe

 

[GP100man]

If your needing an inert primer for a "project" carefully remove the anvil , protective foil ,the card to keep the mix even when wet & then scrape the mix out after wetting it.

Regular safety gear please !!!

I do it under a large 5x magnifier

 

[mattsbox99]

Thats a pretty good way to get it to go off in your face. Ask me how I know.

Primers are pressure sensitive, so any sharp instrument can detonate them.

 

[Lloyd Smale]

I once wanted to put some case heads into a pair of grips and did some experimenting. I put a few primers in oil and a few in water. After a day about 3/4s of the ones in water would still go off and about 1/2 the ones in oil would. After two days about 1/2 the ones in water were still igniteable and 1/4 of the ones in oil and after a week there were still some from both that would ignite. Oil worked better and i would guess that some experimenting with the type of oil would change things. Bottom line is niether method was a 100 percent and if you absolutely had to be sure a guy would probably have to soak them for a month. Goes to show that the old wives tale about handling primers with a bit of oil on your fingers or not using a primer that has hit the floor is total bs. Now i wouldnt load hunting ammo with my hands covered in grease but i doubt even if i did i would ever see a primer go dead from it.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

I have a couple of ideas but it depends what you are going to do with them. If you want to dispose of them why not just bury them? If they are in cases just shoot them off. If you want the primer cups undamaged I have heard you can hold them with a pair of pliers pointed away from you over a flame and set them off. It might be safer to put them in a small vice grip and tape that to a pole to get a little more distance before holding them over a flame. Safety glasses of course. 8) 8)

...Jimbo

 

[J Miller]

If you want them detonated without damage get a coffee can and some screen wire. Put the primers in the can with the screen over the top and set it over a flame. They'll fire and the screen will catch the anvils.

An antique pop corn popper will work too.

Joe

 

[Flash]

Thats a pretty good way to get it to go off in your face. Ask me how I know.

Primers are pressure sensitive, so any sharp instrument can detonate them.

I believe primers are impact sensitive, not pressure sensitive. I used to load some berdan cases by plucking the anvil out with a sharpened allen wrench and never had them go off.
Now hold them in the jaws of a pair of Channel Locks and smack them on concrete and BOOM.

 

[mattsbox99]

I had one flip over while seating and prodded it lightly with a pick trying to figure out how I was going to get it out of there. I got a little surprise. A few more did that and I just ran them in a decapper without incident.

 

[44shootist]

use a heavy weight motor oil it will kill them and will not dry out, WD/40 someone brought up here is not oil, it is a lube and evaporates and does dry up.
Still the best way is to shoot them, I have removed 100's of old primers running the case's through my sizeing dies an gently pushing them out and have never had one go off.