New at reloading, help with mistakenly primed brass

strat56 · Jul 17, 2017

I'm new at reloading and made a rookie mistake. I primed 10 pieces of 9mm brass before I sized them. I figured this out after I charged them all and tried to seat a bullet in one of them and the bullet practically fell all the way into the case!!

Now the question, is it safe to size the cases with the primers in them or is there a way to deprime them without setting off the primers or should I just crush the cases and dispose of them?

In case it matters I have a Lee Hand Press and I'm using a Lee 4 die pistol set.

iH8DemLibz · Jul 17, 2017

You can size them with the primers in place.

Just remove the de-priming pin first.

They won't go KA-BOOM if that's your worry.

j8064 · Jul 17, 2017

strat56 said:
I'm new at reloading and made a rookie mistake. I primed 10 pieces of 9mm brass before I sized them. I figured this out after I charged them all and tried to seat a bullet in one of them and the bullet practically fell all the way into the case!!

Now the question, is it safe to size the cases with the primers in them or is there a way to deprime them without setting off the primers or should I just crush the cases and dispose of them?

In case it matters I have a Lee Hand Press and I'm using a Lee 4 die pistol set.

Never loaded rounds with a Lee hand press, but the fundamentals are the same. If you are using a single stage press, gently decapping the cases with your FL sizing die shouldn't be a major issue. Most reloaders have pulled live primers from cases and reused them. I have more times than I can remember - and I've never set off a primer on a press in 30+ years.

Be gentle, and understand where the primer will drop on your press so you can catch it and reuse it.

:thumbsup:

Uncle Duke · Jul 17, 2017

iH8DemLibz said:
You can size them with the primers in place.

Just remove the de-priming pin first.

They won't go KA-BOOM if that's your worry.

Exactly this ^^.

With your decapping rod removed from the die, you can run your case into the die body to size your case. Since you pulled the decapping rod out of your die, your case will now be properly sized, and your previously seated fresh primer remains untouched. Then flare your case mouth, charge your case, and seat and crimp.

Biggfoot44 · Jul 18, 2017

As stated, remove decapping pin, and resize.

OR since it's only 10 cases in question, and primers aren't THAT expensive , just pop off the primers in the empty cases, and then reload as normal. ( Primer only is louder than cap gun, less than firecracker.)

strat56 · Jul 18, 2017

Thanks all, I never thought about removing the decapping pin, obviously. My lack of experience I guess.

km04 · Jul 19, 2017

How did it go?

noylj · Jul 20, 2017

You can deprime them just fine. Primers take a certain level of impact, and the decapping pin is not going to hit that hard (then, you can also ease it out). Many have done it for years.
Or, remove the decamping assembly and resize.
It really takes a pretty good impact to set off a primer.

ironpony · Jul 20, 2017

Personally, I would have tossed them right in with the rest of my cleaned brass, started over and never looked back, the time it would take to remove/replace the depriming pin is more valuable than the $.30 for the primers. Enjoy the hobby Strat!

ras_oscar · Jul 20, 2017

noylj said:
It really takes a pretty good impact to set off a primer.

I used to be really uneasy about primers. Then I did an experiment. I pulled the cylinder out of my revolver, cocked the hammer back, placed my thumb over the firing pin and pulled the trigger. Hurts like a M$%^&* F&^%$# but the experience gave me a better understanding of what it takes to set off a pistol primer.

BigDaddy · Jul 20, 2017

The first case with a live primer I ever deprimed went off. I since read on this forum that people do it all the time and have done it myself at least 100 times, maybe twice that many, without another one going off. Which says it is a low risk procedure, not a zero risk procedure.

If you decide to pull a bunch of bullets and run them through the resizer, you might not want a bunch of live primers in the catch bin. Eye protection is a good thing too. Reused primers work, unless they anvil falls out of the primer.

I remember various times when primers could not be purchased at any price so I don't throw anything away.

I've not used a hand reloader and and I suspect you will enjoy a single stage press much more. I really should put my Lee Turret in the classifieds, since I have an Orange Crush and a Dillon 550.

strat56 · Jul 20, 2017

km04 said:
How did it go?

I didn't deprime them yet, I sized all the ones that thought were sized that really weren't. Probably will do them Sunday. Not so nervous about them any more.

Major03 · Jul 21, 2017

Don't be scared of them, but have a healthy level of respect.

If you deprime them, just go slow and ease them out. Easy pressure.

Safer bet to take out the depriming pin

Or shoot them in the same chamber with just the primer. If it's the same chamber it should feed ok

gpfan · Jul 21, 2017

iH8DemLibz said:
You can size them with the primers in place.

Just remove the de-priming pin first.

They won't go KA-BOOM if that's your worry.

This ^^^^^^

IMO... It's much less time consuming to take out the de-priming pin and resize with primers in place than de-priming and re-priming.

Edit: Resizing and de-priming can be a pain with the Lee Hand Press (I have one, too). You just don't have the leverage you get with normal single stage presses. Not that de-priming is normally an issue. I do it once in a while with no concerns with the RCBS Rock Chucker single stage press where it's easier to get a smooth motion. With the Lee Hand Press, I still recommend taking out the de-priming pin and resize with primers in place.

strat56 · Aug 5, 2017

I did remove the deprimimg pin and size the cases, worked great, thank you everyone.

New at reloading, help with mistakenly primed brass

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