Primer seated sideways

[BamaT]

I've been handloading for about 32 years, and last night I had a first. I've used a Lee Auto Prime for most of those years with excellent results. Got one of their new ones with the square tray and used it last night for the first time. After almost 200 rounds (did have some difficulties that I didn't have with the old style), something didn't feel right, so I stopped, took apart the tool, and the case wouldn't slide out of the shellholder. The primer had gone in sideways, but not all the way in, preventing it from coming out.

I have a decapper for crimped primers, but wasn't about to start tapping on a live primer. To kill the primer, I sprayed some spray lube on it, but haven't tapped it out yet. Just wondering if that has happened to anyone else, and what you did to kill the primer? Water? WD40?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[DMan]

WD40, or a drop of gun oil into it. Any oil should work.

[luvmy40]

3-in-1 or wd40.

The only time I have ever had a primer seat sideways was with military 5.56 brass. If you don't cleanly ream the crimp on the primer pocket it can catch the edge of the primer and twist it or just not seat evenly.

[azchevy]

Primer going off is no big deal as long as there is no powder involved.

[Ring]

haveing loaded thousands of 40's, i ahve had many go in sideways.. i just pull the bullet and decap back in the press... never once since 1993 have i had 1 go bang

[nedrgr21]

Oil won't necessarily kill today's primers.

Best - throw away the piece of brass

If you want to save it, throw a towel over your press when you decap it.

You wear safety glasses, right ;)?

[msgt/ret]

Still using the old style Lee Auto-Prime and have had a couple of primers go in sideways, tapped them out with a punch and hammer with no problems.

[TheShadow]

Same here

The adjustment screw backed out on me loading a batch of .45's.
It sheared the edge of the primer off and seated it sideways. I felt it kinda crunch on the handle

[dukalmighty]

Before I got my Dillon I used a Lee pro 1000,the gravity fed primers had a tendency to not always slide onto the primer pin which would flip them sideways as it seated them,I just punched them back out,I have never had a primer go off that was seated sideways upside down or even crushed a few primers in cases that had a crimped in primer.Primers in my experience aren't set off accidently.
Since I've had my Dillon for "4 years" I haven't had any sideway primers,but I have crushed more than a couple in 223,and some 9mm that seemed to have crimped primers (must have been military brass )

[BamaT]

Oil won't necessarily kill today's primers.

Best - throw away the piece of brass

If you want to save it, throw a towel over your press when you decap it.

You wear safety glasses, right ;)?

Yes on the safety glasses. Started wearing them for a lot of things years ago when a friend got a very small twig in his eye while weedeating, spent most of the night at The Eye Foundation in Birmingham. Since then, I've had several things hit my glasses while weedeating, and one time at the gun range my son's new XD spit out a sliver of brass that stuck in my cheek right below my glasses. A little higher and no glasses would have been disaster!

Tapped the primer out just fine, while wearing safety glasses!