Yesterday's Weapons Forums

Anyone ever tried this?

"Reusable Primer

Small arms ammunition primers can be re-used with the following method.

Materials Required:

Cartridge case

2 long nails having approximately the same diameter as the inside of the primer pocket

"Strike-anywhere" matches - 2 or 3 are needed for each primer

Procedure

1. File one nail to a needle point so that it is small enough to fit through hole in primer pocket.

2. Place cartridge case and nail between jaws of vise. Force out fired primer with nail.

3. Remove anvil from primer cup.

4. File down point of second nail until tip is flat.

5. Remove indentations from face of primer cup with hammer and flattened nail.

6. Using a knife, cut off tips of the heads of the "strike-anywhere" matches. Carefully crush the match tips on dry surface with a wooden match stick until the mixture is the consistency of sugar.

CAUTION: Do not crush more than 3 match tips at one time as the mixture may explode.

7. Pour mixture into primer cup. Compress mixture with wooden match stick until primer cup is fully packed.

8. Place anvil in primer pocket with legs down.

9. Place cup in pocket with mixture facing downward.

10. Place cartridge case and primer cup between vise jaws, and press slowly until primer is seated into bottom of pocket. The primer is now ready to use."

Unless I missed something, the author doesn't say what keeps the match head powder from falling out around the primer anvil. Maybe step #9 covers this. That is, with the primer seated, the powder remains in place.

Experienced and equipped hand loaders will not need to make the improvised tools to do this.

The author fails to remind us to wear safety goggles.

Hmmm... I'd rather not monkey around with phosphorus. SW

_________________
Slava Ukraini!!

Is it possible to still strike anywhere matches?

Rad

_________________


NRA Benefactor Member
AMA Life Member
Tri-State Gun Collectors Life Member

The boxed wooden matches sold in stores these days that I've seen have not been "strike anywhere" but were a version of safety matches. That isn't to say that strike anywhere is no longer available. Amazon.com sells them online. They are a lot more expensive than they used to be. I've read that the phosphorus in the tips can be used as an ingredient in meth and that's why some states have banned them. Diamond Match still makes them. Ohio Blue tips, uh-uh.

Water is used in the production of meth too. Likely it is next on the list of stuff to be banned.

I'd think more consistent results could be had with home brew fulminates. Not that I'd try that, either. Either way, seating the primers could turn out to be a real adventure. SW

_________________
Slava Ukraini!!

Some of the reloading manuals discuss the sensitive and critical nature of manufacturing primers. I take that information at face value. I don't think I'd want to place my fate in the figurative hands of a home-brew primer. It might go boom, or it might go click. I think the likelihood of failure for a home-brew primer is relatively high.

This information came from a site that I found while cruising the web. It had all the earmarks of right-wing survivalism, but I found the concept of improvised primers interesting. Personally, I don't think I'll ever need to resort to this procedure but was wondering if any of you may have tried it just out of curiosity.

It's not a lot worse than drilling out a Berdan casing and inserting a #209 shotgun primer for ignition. Which I've done.

At least with the 209 conversion you can expect reliable ignition. The match head primer idea brings the phrase "hang fire" readily to mind.

In a survival scenario, I'd say maying your own black powder for flint lock hunting applications would be time better spent. SW

_________________
Slava Ukraini!!

One would be better off to collect and save ammo in calibers you don't shoot. All of us come across ammo we don't usually use. Then simply pull the bullet, dump the powder and deprime. It is nothing to deprime a case. Just save the primers and mark them as to pistol or rifle. If you know what you are doing you can probably use the powder also.

Over the years, I've done that as a matter of course just to take advantage of available components. However, if primers get that scarce, cheap oddball ammo probably will be too.

At one of the recent gun shows, I stopped at a table of a regular vendor who in the past always had old, odd lots of ammo to sell. He has been quick to pick up on the scarcity situation. He had some crusty WW2 GI .30-06 at outrageously high prices. Not all that long ago I could buy the same kind of stuff for a nickel a round, pull the bullet, possibly save the powder, possibly reuse the case, and normally discard the primer (corrosive). The high prices took all the economics out of such an offering. The fact that this ammo was still on his table late in the show told it all.

What I was saying gs, is instead of messing with match heads and hoping you would get a detination, one would be 1000 times more likely to find ammo somewhere and be able to use the primer and powder in the cartridge you want to reload. Though ammo may be hard to find, it won't be impossible. Say you have a .270 and need to reload for it, well the primer and powder from almost any rifle of would work in a pinch. Except of course the bullet in this case. Heck, I could reload .308, and 30:06 cases if I could get my hands on 30-30,30-40..etc, and vice-versa. You get my drift. You don't tinker with primers when there are other methods more reliable and easier.

Wasn't there a device on the market years ago to make primers from tin cans & roll caps??

_________________

It's 5 o'clock and it's watermelon time.....................
because you can't drink beer & load rockets - TXPete

I recall a device like that for homebrew percussion caps... Glue in a standard LR magnum primer? That would be my choice - not enough hair on my butt anymore to make my own fulminates. Even though the "Anarchist's Cookbook" tells how.

I don't fancy shaking hands with my elbox. SW

_________________
Slava Ukraini!!

this may well become very valuable info in the future , i think they have reversed the strategy of gun control to ammo control as of late - components are not far behind