How Bad - Primer Explosion?

[RaymondMillbrae]

I don't think it has anything to do with the Dillon equipment.

I think it is just statistics. (The sheer volume of bullets being put out by a Dillon progressive press, and the extremly high number of Dillon progressive press owners - verses other manufacturers).

If you think about the above scenario, the high number of progressive Dillon users will dictate that it is more probable that you will hear more about Dillon accidents.

It's like having 1,000,000 Toyotas on the road, verses 500,000 Subaru's. Of course you will hear about more Toyota accidents...even if the percentages are the same. (Five percent of 1,000,000 = 50,000. And 5% of 500,000 = 25,000).

Just my initial observation.

And DragonNaught...good tip!

I also keep two or three cans of compressed air on my bench to clean my machine every once in a while. Especially if you get that one rascal shell that doesn't get a primer loaded into it's poket, and leaves a trail of powder underneath the shell plate.

In Christ: Raymond

[joelogic]

I would agree with Raymond about just the larger number of Dillon owners. I have primed somewhere around 15k cases and had one primer pop off. That is .001% chance of a primer detonation during the priming process.

[7x57]

IAnyone had the unfortunate experience of an exploding primer, and what damage did it do?

Like another poster, I popped one while using a Lee classic loader (tap, tap, tap). Very loud snap, no damage to anything. Eye protection is the key.

However, if you get one to set off a bunch more, say in a primer tray or tube, the story would be different. The priming compound is a high explosive, so too much at once is very bad news. So don't do that.

7x57

[bubbapug1]

Pretty tough to get a primer to go off....forget the Lee propaganda...

I sometimes get a primer in a 380 case when I load 9mm due to the similar size. My sorter doesn't pick them out. To make a long story short...I've tried to detonate the primers to make it safe to throw the case out. It takes a pretty good hammer blow with a punch to make one pop..

Don't worry about it, but don't be stupid either. Wear safety glasses from the moment you walk in the room to reload and treat all components with respect for fire and chemical dangers.

And throw away your Lee book and get a real reloading manual like Lyman.

[7x57]

I've tried to detonate the primers to make it safe to throw the case out. It takes a pretty good hammer blow with a punch to make one pop..

The easiest way to do this is to squirt a bit of WD40 or a drop of oil in the case to deactivate the primer.

7x57

[bearing01]

When I was a kid (ie stupid) I was fooling around out in the garage with 12 gauge shell. I wanted the powder. I took the bb's, wad and powder out. Put it in the vise and hammered the primer with a nail. I don't know why I did it. Frightened the **** out of me. The bang was as loud as a gun going off. No one got hurt. But probably won't do it again. I'm sure if there was any projectile in the shell next to the primer, it would have flew.

[Crazyhorse]

I've only popped one primer by mistake and it just made noise. As a kid we used to grab a hand full of them and hit them with hammers on the sidewalk for kicks. Out of the hundreds we set off like that my brother ended up with a little cut one time not really sure from what. He thought maybe a piece of the metal fragmented off and ended up in his bare foot, I thought more like a piece of the cement from the hammer hit.

Oh and if someone ended up messing up thier thumb and got a bad burn I would say there were playing around with powder in the cartridge, I can't see just a primer doing that. Maybe he had a spent primer in the holder and cranked it to seat the bullet or something.

CH

[Someoneelseok]

I have a Dillion 650XL setup in the garage. Not sure how but, the CCI M34 Primer detonated at the priming station. Three primers in the primer disk also went off.


I remember seeing fire coming out of the case. Now I have really sharp hearing...and I was wearing eye pro, but not ear pro.

I heard a loud POP and then nothingness. My hearing slowly returned after 10 seconds (as portrayed in WWII movies). Hearing in my ear that faced the press, would muffle out in loud places like restaurants in the following 2 months. After 3 months my hearing was back to "normal", whatever that means now.

Wear your eyes and ears. Those things are loud as hell.