BaserRonin

Removing live primers is safe enough, although the chance does exist for one to pop. However, they become scrap as soon as you pop them out. Once inserted, they really can not be pulled and re-inserted.

You really have no option on reusing them. Get new primers.

Majorlk

No, it's not safe. If it were, the reloading manuals would not strongly recommend against it. I know several folks with pieces of primer in their fingers from doing it back when they were young and stupid - and cheap!

One may get away with it, but that does not make it safe, any more than getting away with drunk driving makes it safe.

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BaserRonin

Nice argument.
I will concede you are correct, it is not "safe." Neither is reloading, Neither is shooting. But when done with some common sense and precautions, they are safe enough. Decapping is even sometimes necessary (gasp!) , and happens more frequently then you seem to think. You deform one enough seating it, you have to decap it live. It happens.
If you don't feel comfortable doing it, don't do it. No one is saying decapping primers is a mickey-mouse-welcome-to-sesame-street-safety-padded exercise. It's not. The potential is there to end up with an anvil in your thigh, or in the case of your friends, their fingers(?). If you are going to do any of this reloading stuff, you need to be well aware of what you are dealing with, and what the potential for problems is. A healthy respect for the components and the process is an incredibly good thing.

Use some common sense, wear eye protection, and be prepared if it does pop. When they pop, that anvil wants to come out, and it is moving fast. Ask me how I know.

I would not recommend it for legal reasons, just like the manuals, but it can be, and is, done.

Primers, the Sparkplug of Centerfire Cartridges

I repeat though, once a primer has been seated, it is wasted effort to try to decap and reseat it. More often then not the primer is damaged and is no longer functionally reliable after being decapped.

Majorlk

My friend, I have been reloading for about 35 years now and have never had an accident or injury while reloading - for a while, several thousand rounds a month. That record is a result of not doing foolish things like de-priming live primers.

Telling some one it is "safe enough" is irresponsible, as far as I am concerned, but then I prefer to always take the cautious route in reloading.

If you had told all that to the OP in the first place. Then I would have had no complaint with you.

And, by the way, if I have to remove a live primer, I do it in a firearm, not in a decapping die.

Have a good and safe weekend.

__________________
An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life. - Robert A. Heinlein

edr9x23super

If I need to deprime live primers, I hit 'em with wd-40 first, run them empty through a pistol, pulling the trigger to make sure they are dead, then punch them out. I never ever try to reuse a primer, if I get to the point where I want to punch out a live primer, it is history...

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ROFL SQUAD

Hey guys,

Ended up trading the complete rounds for 400 primers. We both won out!


J

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Faitmaker

I have primed several times on my progressive where the case got messed up in the deprimer and became unusable. I have deprimed probably 50 primers without incident and used them again, without incident. It isn't safe but it does work. This is all completely anecdotal but carries more weight that "I've never done it and that's why I've never had an accident". The question you have to ask yourself is "are you prepared for the consequence if something goes wrong?" That's pretty much the question to all of life's situations. Are you able to accept the consequences?

While I agree that the manuals all say one thing. That doesn't necessarily mean it can't be done that way. Many manuals cover their ass. I do not agree at all that if it was OK the manual would say so. Liability is a *****.

Are you guys actually going to tell me that you do exactly what every manual says for everything you have used or own? Everything?

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Tubby45

For crying out loud. Slow, stead pressure when decapping and be done with it. This isn't brain surgery done by a novice, it's a stupid primer.

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subierex

Just go slow and push it out. If it makes you feel better, wear hearing protection. I push out at least one every loading session due to going in sideways, or some other reason (Lee Safety Prime). Never had one go off.

I always wear eye protection while loading anyway. Toss the primer, don't use it again.

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Ram Rod

Without going into a long story, I'll just state the fact that depriming live primers is risky and dangerous. Six years or so past, I was depriming a large amount of previously loaded 9mm ammo. Maybe 2-300 successful deprimes, then it happened. To this day, I still have that small pistol primer lodged in my left hand. It went in at the center of my palm, and over the years has worked it's way toward the outer part of my palm below and under my pinkie finger to where you can physically see the bulge under the skin. Every once in a while, it makes it's presence known...I guess depending on the weather or activity. Yes....I did something stupid, but I've learned a lesson, and I'll never do it again.

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