How Bad - Primer Explosion?

[Phil3]

I am a first time reloader (still buying equipment), but was curious about how powerful a primer detonation really is. Read about one guy that suffered third degree burns and a dislocation on his thumb. Also, apparently, the explosion is pretty loud. Besides safety glasses, sounds like my electronic ear muffs may not be a bad idea either. Anyone had the unfortunate experience of an exploding primer, and what damage did it do? Obviously, these things command respect.

[spareparts]

After about 5 or 6 years of reloading and thousands of rounds I've only had one primer go off and that was with the little Lee Classic kit, the one where you pound in everything with a mallet including the primer. It made a nice popping noise, not too loud (but I'm half deaf from guns and loud guitars). I wear safety glasses. When using the Lee Auto Prime I keep it pointed away and don't put my fingers near it. When using a press mounted priming tool I make sure that I'm not hovering over the press when I seat a primer and keep my hands away as well.

Keep in mind that there are 22lr rounds that are primer only and they get up to a few hundred feet per second. So do well to respect them.

[five.five-six]

wear safety glasses, they do make up to 10% of the total charge, enough power to push a bullet 1/2 way down a barrel

that said, you have to work at it to get one to go off while reloading

[Mikeb]

It is one down side to Dillon is they stack the primers. I've heard it can make quite a roman candle. Lee advised using one brand of primer or installing a shield in front of the primer tray (Loadmaster). I bought the shield and feel pretty safe. But I have never popped a primer even deprimeing primed cases.YMMV
Mike

[phish]

They're like lady finger firecrackers, but they won't take off your thumb. They leave a fair amount of residue on the garage floor also.

wife: "WTF ARE YOU DOING???"

[f4tweet]

Years ago I wanted to deprime a case. I loaded into a pistol, put the muzzle up against some rags, and pulled the trigger. Surprisingly loud in the garage, and the rags started smoldering. How that for a visual.

[sargenv]

In my 20+ years of reloading, I've had three primers go off, two were small pistol and it happened at the same time.. and the other was a shotshell primer.

The handgun primers went off due to my own stupidity. I was setting up my 650 to deprime on 1 part way, prime on two and then completely size on station 2 on the upstroke... silly me, I forgot to remove the primer punch and when um.. forcing the issue, I heard a muffled "pop". It took two of them to drive the point home that I needed to remove the decapping part of the sizing die.. oops.

The shotshell primer was set off during the priming operation. I think I had had a load of shot spill on the press, and I failed to check the station where the primer gets seated.. yep, I went to seat the primer, and the single shot was centered up perfectly enough that it set off the to be seated primer.. scared the heck outa me.. but nothing else happened and I figured out what happened.

I know a couple of people that had their Dillon tubes go up, but then that is why the primer feeder is armored.. Usually it sends the primer tube assembly up into the ceiling above.. and scares the heck outa you..

[joelogic]

I smashed one with my Dillon while only processing (no powder dispensor above) and it sounded like a loud fire cracker. My ears were ringing for a couple of minutes but my buddy upstairs didn't even hear it. I have seated primers in sideways and upside down before and they don't go off. It pretty hard to get one to explode in my experience.

[RaymondMillbrae]

I have a Dillon XL650, and have only had one primer cook-off incident in over 15 years of reloading.

I am not absolutely sure WHY it went off, but here is what happened.

I was reloading .45 ACP ronnds (using an automatic case feeder), and halfway on the downpull of the lever...BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!

At the time, from what I can remember, it sounded like a weak M-80 going off in my office.

Half the primers in the ROTARY PRIMER DISC were set-off, and the primers in the PRIMER MAGAZINE were also set-off. (Chain reaction).

The explosion was great enough to swell the PRIMER MAGAZINE enough, that it is now unremoveable from the steel MAGAZINE SHIELD. (Picture below) The PRIMER SUPPORT SHIM was also badly bowed from the cooked-off primers in the PRIMER MAGAZINE. (Picture below) And the plastic FOLLOWER ROD that sits in the PRIMER MAGAZINE was launched uo into the air with so much force, that it stuck into my sheetrock ceiling for a few seconds, before falling away. (Picture below).

Needless to say, it caught me by surprise, and my ears were ringing for quite a while. (The sound reverberates in a small, enclosed, office room).

Dillon has done an EXCEPTIONAL JOB in setting-up all the safety features where they belong.

1) There is a shield in front of the primer setting station (PRIMER CAM?) to protect the user if a primer should detonate while seating the primer into the shell.

2) The PRIMER MAGAZINE is encased by a solid steel MAGAZINE SHIELD in case the primers should cook-off.

Bottom line, I believe one of the brass shells in the casefeeder still had a live primer in it - and upon pulling the operating rod, the decapping pin decapped a live primer (Boom!!), setting-off a chain reaction.

Below are a few pictures for yall to "OOOO" and "Ahhhhh" at.

I am glad to give yall a live example (with pictures), as well at to boast about Dillons exceptional safety features.

And by the way, all the replacements for the damaged parts were sent out to me - FREE - from Dillon.

In Christ: Raymond

PS: Just another example of why you should ALWAYS have eye protection in place when reloading. Accidents happen when we ar NOT expectiong them...which is why they are called "accidents"

PSS: I was not hurt in the least. Not a scratch nor a speck. (But my ears were ringing).


Here is a picture of the bowed PRIMER SUPPORT SHIM.



Here is a picture of the swollen PRIMER MAGAZINE permanently attached to the MAZAZINE SHIELD. (It could not be removed).



And lastly, here is the damaged FOLLOWER ROD, after it came back down to earth.

[Triple R Munitions]

primers can take the tip of your finger off it you screw around with them.... i have had three primers go off. the first two were back to back (first time i had not ear protection; the second one i did...) i was loading on my 1050 and was loading 308 with crimped primers. well.. i did not have the de-crimp set correctly AND BOOM! fire came out the top of the case and it sounded like a 22 was next to your ear. i had a hard time hearing for 3 days.... the next time i had ears on and thats when i figured out that my crimp was not set, when the second went off... the crimp was set, but just barley. some would go fine others... well you know. the last and most previously one was a bmg primer. i had just finished a batch of 50's (chamfering the case) and was priming. the PSD cases are tight, but i knew this; even after a trim job on the back end. well somehow i either missed a case (most likley) or a case fell in and when i felt the primer was hard to go in.. pushed harder.. BOOM! it blew the case out of the shellholder and scared the **** outa me. that sounded like an 3006 or 45. it is kinda fuzzy. now i wear ear protection even when i polish the cases :P. the real bummer is that now the dog wont be in my room when i am reloading.
R

[swerv512]

i find it almost impossible to blast off a primer using a hand priming tool- but someone might be able to prove me wrong...

[mjsweims]

I use 209 shotgun primers in my blank pistol for dog training. They're loud, but not excessive.

[Chach]

Haven't had any primers go off on me accidentally while reloading (gimme some time though, still rather new at it) but I did cook one off on purpose.

It was definitely loud, but not loud enough for the neighbors to come over wondering what went on or call the cops. Heck, I've probably made more noise beating things with a hammer then a primer makes.

[Dragonaught]

The best way to avoid an Accidental Primer Detonation is to make sure that the cup(s) that accept the primer prior to insertion in the shell case is kept clean.

I usually keep a pressurized can of "Air Duster" at my loading bench to blow out the accumulated residue out of all the moving parts particulary the priming cup(s).

When you have a single primer detonation it usually occurs while trying to insert a primer that has been turned and/or cocked in the priming cup and is inserted in the primer pocket of the shell.

When you have the stack detonation it's because the primer that is going into the priming cup is out of alignment and is sheared at the point where the priming cup is positioning itself to load the next round.

Both of these types of mishaps is because of a dirty and/or oily primming cup.

Take care.........

[22popnsplat]

In 25 years of reloading I am yet to have a primer go off in the process of priming cases. I use a lee hand held primer 95% percent of the time or better and will rarely prime in the press , As others have done I have loaded primers upside down and sideways and not had one go off. I have fired just the primers and the first time around I was suprised at how loud it was .
I noticed through this thread that primers have setoff more times in a dillon press than any other , I dont know if that is just in this short thread or if that would hold up overall ?