Yesterday's Weapons Forums

I just mentioned this tool in another post, but I want to mention it again separately here. If you never make mistakes or change your mind or plans in reloading, you probably won't need one.

For the rest of you, I call your attention to the Lee Universal Decapping Tool, or de-priming tool. Not only do I use mine quite a bit to de-prime spent primers in fired rifle cases that are to be liquid cleaned, it also comes in handy in reclaiming live primers from loaded rounds that are being disassembled.

I've made mistakes in reloading that I wanted to undo so I could re-use the components. Also, I have bought other people's reloads at gun shows in order to reclaim the components. Sometimes I have had ammo left over after selling a gun that I no longer have a use for. In all of these instances, I have carefully and successfully reclaimed the primers from the loads being broken down. As yet, not one has gone off in my press.

As a safety precaution, if you are decapping live primers, never let many build up in the collection tray below the ram. If a live primer were to go off, it might cause a dangerous sympathetic detonation of the rest of them in the tray.

I have also used my Lee universal decapper to deprime live primers. I have also never had one detonate. I usually throw a towel over the press to catch shrapnel just in case though.

Dave

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"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin historical review of Pennsylvania [1759]