Disposing of Live Primers

Asa Yam

Asa Yam

New member
This is a topic which brings about a lot of discussion on how to do it. For the record, the following methods DO NOT WORK:
  • Soaking the primer in oil, and;
  • Soaking the primer in water.
Chemical neutralization of the priming compound is the only reliable way to neutralize a primer. From the book "Ammunition Making", the process for disposing live primer material is by using a hot (50-60* C), strong solution of sodium hydroxide and acetic acid. (Drain cleaner and vinegar, respectively.) A safe process, if chemical controls are in place, but not to be done on a whim.

BTW, the book is available for online reading, or for download at https://archive.org/details/AmmunitionMakingNRAByG.Frost1990/page/n3. Used copies of the book (it is out of print) are available for purchase - about $80 a copy. (See https://www.amazon.com/Ammunition-making-insiders-George-Frost/dp/0935998578)

Hope this helps.
 
load and pull the trigger is the only practical way for the average shooter.

thanks for the post ASA.
 
rsmithsr said:
load and pull the trigger is the only practical way for the average shooter.
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antelopedundee said:
Why do you want to dispose of them?
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Not all primers are correctly seated in casings. How does one load a deformed one into an unmodified casing? The only other option is to burn the primers - carefully. Primers in a fire have the ability to penetrate thin layers of aluminum foil. A steel can (such as a 10 or 12 ounce canned food container) works to prevent flight of the primer cups, but care must be taken to avoid packing too many primers in the can.
 
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LISSEN to Asa..... man speaks truth.... primers are H A R D to kill!!

(except when you don't want to.... the tiniest trace of residual wax in a case neck will cause a misfire in the middle of a Match)
 
Asa Yam said:
Not all primers are correctly seated in casings. How does one load a deformed one into an unmodified casing? The only other option is to burn the primers - carefully. Primers in a fire have the ability to penetrate thin layers of aluminum foil. A steel can (such as a 10 or 12 ounce canned food container) works to prevent flight of the primer cups, but care must be taken to avoid packing too many primers in the can.
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Will also penetrate skin. Have one in my abdomen to prove it. Too deep to easily remove. Doc thought it best to leave. Be careful out there!!

Rick
 
Primers

I didn't read the link in the OP post. Forgive me. Just curious. How do you know they're all dead, once soaked in a chemical solution.

If I ever end up with a bunch of primers that I need to dispose of. I like the suggestion of digging a hole and dump them in. May get real anal and plant a tomato plant on top.


Glenn
 
Soometimes you just have to think outside the box!

Asa Yam said:
Chemical neutralization of the priming compound is the only reliable way to neutralize a primer. From the book "Ammunition Making", the process for disposing live primer material is by using a hot (50-60* C), strong solution of sodium hydroxide and acetic acid. (Drain cleaner and vinegar, respectively.) A safe process, if chemical controls are in place, but not to be done on a whim.
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What do you do with this stuff when you are through with it? If it were me, I would just through the primers away and go worry about something else.
 
Chism G said:
I didn't read the link in the OP post. Forgive me. Just curious. How do you know they're all dead, once soaked in a chemical solution.

If I ever end up with a bunch of primers that I need to dispose of. I like the suggestion of digging a hole and dump them in. May get real anal and plant a tomato plant on top.


Glenn
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Glenn, You have a good idea. But if you have a bunch of primers you might want to bury each one in its own hole. Maybe ten feet away from any other primer just to be safe.
 
Yup, planting them individually several inches apart works a treat.


VERY safe....


Wh'in I was jus' a younker this happened a lot to us...... BUCKETS of dysfunctional primers...... we'uns would set around nights shuckin' army munitions and reclaiming the brass so's Ma could could go get us taters and keep Dad in ci'gars.

We taken them buckets out and dumped 'em right on in that thar' Brillion't Corn Drill and Pa would whu'p up 'em out and run 'em thru the corn field, dead a' winter......


Shore' nuff, come fall, the corn tasted pre-salted, kindofa' sharp taste at the back'a yer tongue......but Dad said it got an exter $20.00/jug of an evening, so it all paid off in the end.

Ahhhh, them dewy mornings and misty days......firefly evenin's and settin' around the potbelly singin' 'Mazin' Grace.....

life was simpler then
 
Bill Wynne said:
Glenn, You have a good idea. But if you have a bunch of primers you might want to bury each one in its own hole. Maybe ten feet away from any other primer just to be safe.
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Good one Bill. Now I’m going to end up with a tomato patch instead of a plant:D



Glenn
 
Here in Australia, there are State authorities who dispose of unwanted explosive & munitions - we found these in Uncle George's garage when he passed on.
 
John Kielly said:
Here in Australia, there are State authorities who dispose of unwanted explosive & munitions - we found these in Uncle George's garage when he passed on.
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Ohhh we have that service here too.... but wouldn't THINK of using it. Just ain't in our collective psyche :)
 
I think Al should write a Erskine Caldwell style novel on the order of "Tobacco Road" or "God's Little Acre".

Makes me wonder, would the mash run faster if you threw in a hundred CCI BR-4's?

Just don't run it through an old Buick radiator, least not if you want your customers to be around to buy another jug.
 
"......hot (50-60* C), strong solution of sodium hydroxide and acetic acid. (Drain cleaner and vinegar, respectively.) "

This is a strong acid and a strong base. Mixing, especially at high temperature, is a bad idea.

Where I used to work we made ejection seats, we disposed of 1000's of primers, always by burning in a steel box.
Most places the fire department will take small quantities

M
 
MClark said:
"......hot (50-60* C), strong solution of sodium hydroxide and acetic acid. (Drain cleaner and vinegar, respectively.) "

This is a strong acid and a strong base. Mixing, especially at high temperature, is a bad idea.

Where I used to work we made ejection seats, we disposed of 1000's of primers, always by burning in a steel box.
Most places the fire department will take small quantities

M
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Exactly.... 'cept here on Redneck Heaven the answer to everything (paint cans, fireworks displays, reloading room refuse, shop debris, empty automotive cleaners/degreasers/ethers/esthers/etc) is "throw it in the burn pile"............ after all the old tires filled with refuse oil burn down of course

No "steel box"

My kids (all 8 of them) learned at an early age that the burn pile is to be fed in spurts and starts, preferably from the tractor bucket


MClark said:
Most places the fire department will take small quantities

M
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Exactly.... the FD's here do the same thing. And they take them out and burn 'em :)

Here in WA it's right out in the open... the state can burn anything. Tires, oily debris, no problem. The approved dumpsites burn 24-7 and even the landfills burn a lot of stuff but the average HOMEOWNER??? He gets caught burning a ROOFING SHINGLE he better be a smooth talker, or really good at dumb........

And contractors?? Home Builders? Anyone in the trades??? You burn a friggin' paint rag in a pile of clean lumber, they find a tincan hulk in a pile of slash......."Busted".....
 
Find a scrap piece of pipe about an inch in diameter and a couple feet long. Get another piece of pipe a little longer and smaller in diameter that you can cap at one end and have it fit inside the first pipe. Put a primer anvil side down on a brick. Put one end of the larger pipe over the primer and use the second pipe to whack the primer until it fires. Lather, rinse repeat.
 
Nobody seems to be concerned about the live and spent primers that get dumped in the trash cans following cleanup after a match. I imagine ,quite a few. Especially after the big matches.

Some competitors have been known to search the trash cans for recyclables, like brass, dirty patches, etc. Loading areas that have dirt/gravel floors are littered with old primers, bullets.

I haven’t noticed any special precautions to address the live primer issue, except for a scheduled trip to a neighborhood dump site.

Maybe I missed something



Glenn
 
I keep a fire burn area on front of our property. Mainly for tree and bush burning. Got rid a of a few (987) primers in the fire. We didn't hang around not knowing what would happen, not much. Kinda like putting a box of 22RF in there.
 
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