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[czechsonofagun]

Today I decided to wet clean some of the ammo brass. After I pulled it out of the bath, I realized it was already primed.

• Objective of the exercise: Does water soaked primer still fire in a rifle?
• Answer: No, it does not. But if you press it out, put it on an anvil and smack it with a hammer,it still goes crack.

Boy, do I feel stupid

 

[texasjohn]

bring those primers to Texas, where last month broke all records since 1860 for most days over 100 degrees.... sit them on a rock in the sun for a couple of days.... then, let's smash them and see if they pop

August is usually hotter than July

 

[Double Orange]

Today I decided to wet clean some of the ammo brass. After I pulled it out of the bath, I realized it was already primed.

• Objective of the exercise: Does water soaked primer still fire in a rifle?
• Answer: No, it does not. But if you press it out, put it on an anvil and smack it with a hammer,it still goes crack.

Boy, do I feel stupid

Let me ask a simple question..

Where you sober !

 

[czechsonofagun]

Yes I was. I don't even have the alcohol excuse

 

[CurlyDave]

Prokop:

How many cartridges were involved?

One of the things I learned as a chemical engineer was that when dealing with explosives smaller quantities is always better.

I would press them out wet and keep only a few together in any one place. Dispose of small numbers at a time.

When I got into shooting, maybe 40 years ago, I read a lot about it. I think it was Hatcher's Notebook which had a true story about a young guy in a an ammunition factory who was carrying a bucket of primers. Well, he liked to bounce the bucket a little bit just to hear them rattle in the bucket. Until one went off and set the whole bucketful off. He didn't survive that.

Primers are true explosives, as opposed to smokeless powder, which is only a propellant.

 

[czechsonofagun]

Good point. I actually handle them very carefully - I have a history of developing explosives and similar dangerous toys in my pre and teen years. Surprisingly I survived all those experiments and learn to respect things that can go kaboom. These primers - about 20 - I smashed with hammer one by one wearing glasses and swept to the trash.

 

[jas67]

"Jamie likes big boom!"

-- "Jamie" Hyneman, of Mythbusters fame.

 

[MossRoad]

when dealing with explosives smaller quantities is always better.

I like that!

 

[GaryM]

Many years ago I worked with a fellow who was not the sharpest knife in the draw. He got into reloading and decided it was a pain to work with those little boxes of primers and put a thousand or so in a glass jar. No problems until he dropped the jar on his basement floor and it went off.

 

[czechsonofagun]

I knew this guy,he was retired,but he worked for years as army pyrotechnic. He spent years cleaning woods around Dukla mountain pass - there were tons of ammo all over the place. His favorite story was of an old peasant,who used a tank mine as bed warmer. Every night he heated it on the stove and put it in his bed to stay warm during the night, and was pretty upset when they confiscated it.