DIY Primers

Mark K · Jan 12, 2021

Anyone ever try this for making primers?

https://sharpshooter-22lr-reloader....roducts/products/prime-all-repriming-compound

Seems better than fooling around with toy caps and such...

I've still got primers for now, but I've just ordered two packages of these.

This is the sort of thing that more and more vendors should be offering these days...

whistlersmother · Jan 12, 2021

Here: https://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?p=6182223#post6182223

I believe the compound is corrosive.

guzma393 · Jan 12, 2021

Sounds like the old H-48 formula, which is definitely corrosive. Here's a solid reference for DIY primers: http://aardvarkreloading.com/primers.html

Vendors most likely do not offer it due to a liability standpoint. Selling raw materials to make a fairly strong and sensitive "energetic" sounds like trouble. This should only be done in small quantities.

With all the naysayers aside, it's definitely possible to reload primers. It's just super tedious and inferior compared to store bought stuff.

Archeryrob · Jan 13, 2021

Never heard of this. Are you to use a flat punch and flatten the ding out of the old primer too?

Mark K · Jan 13, 2021

guzma393 said:
Sounds like the old H-48 formula, which is definitely corrosive.

OK, so quite-possibly corrosive. I don't have any experience with corrosive primers, or powders for that matter. Just a matter of cleaning the firearm -- particularly bore -- after shooting? Which not everyone does, but I certainly do... Or does it cause other insidious damage?

guzma393 said:
Here's a solid reference for DIY primers: http://aardvarkreloading.com/primers.html

That looks like a great resource that I'll have to study. Thank you.

guzma393 said:
With all the naysayers aside, it's definitely possible to reload primers. It's just super tedious and inferior compared to store bought stuff.

Well, yeah, but with store-bought primers basically unavailable, that changes everything...

Archeryrob said:
Never heard of this. Are you to use a flat punch and flatten the ding out of the old primer too?

I'm not doing this -- yet -- but yes, that's the idea. And of course take out and replace the anvil. I figure I'd need to somehow ultrasonically clean the stuff too, small as it is. Tedious as hell, but good to have an emergency procedure in case I run out of "real" primers.

guzma393 · Jan 13, 2021

Corrosive ammo means that the primer is corrosive (smokeless powder is non-corrosive, but black powder is corrosive) due to containing chlorate salts (in the case of H48, potassium chlorate). After firing, the residue is hydrophilic, building moisture and eventual rusting in the barrel/wherever the residue resides.

I pour hot water down the bore and gas system and scrub the bolt face and general areas with soap and water. I then spay everything down with CLP, wipe down the excess and let it air dry for 2-3 hours. The oily film stays behind and the gun is reassembled. It's a good practice to check 2-3 days after cleaning for any surface rust. Running the gun again will vaporize and seep out the rest of the CLP and is easily wiped off. Repeat this process for the next corrosive ammo firing.

clsx · Jan 13, 2021

You can also make potassium chlorate from electrolysis, as demonstrated here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itAnVJ2vpHQ

Thanks guzma393 for tipping me off that that chlorate salts are hydrophilic. I just saw the video linked above a day or two ago and it had been on my mind to find out whether or not it was corrosive.

whistlersmother · Jan 13, 2021

Right. Given enough necessity and time, bans do nothing. Gov would have to ban dirt.

Mark K · Jan 13, 2021

OK... then... this stuff would probably work in an emergency, however you define that. As long as the gun is cleaned promptly and thoroughly.

Without looking in detail at all the videos in http://aardvarkreloading.com/primers.html, what non-corrosive formula is do-able for the average person? Looks like EPS5, for one, isn't so much...

guzma393 · Jan 14, 2021

Mark K said:
OK... then... this stuff would probably work in an emergency, however you define that. As long as the gun is cleaned promptly and thoroughly.

Without looking in detail at all the videos in http://aardvarkreloading.com/primers.html, what non-corrosive formula is do-able for the average person? Looks like EPS5, for one, isn't so much...

Yeah, my only way of acquiring non-corrosive priming compound is crushing the rim of de-milled 22lr duds/22lr nail-gun blanks with a vice and extracting out a bit of the compound. Very tedious, but still something.

Mark K · Jan 14, 2021

guzma393 said:
Yeah, my only way of acquiring non-corrosive priming compound is crushing the rim of de-milled 22lr duds/22lr nail-gun blanks with a vice and extracting out a bit of the compound. Very tedious, but still something.

Wow, definitely not worth it, since I'm gun-cleaning anyway.

Any other insidious risks to corrosive primers, other than having to clean particularly the bore?

Blacksmith101 · Jan 14, 2021

Another reference for everyone.

Actual title "Ammunition Making An Insider's Story" originally published by the National Rifle Association. Downloadable in multiple formats from Internet Archive.

Ammunition Making NRA By G. Frost ( 1990) Chapter 6 is all about primers.
https://archive.org/details/AmmunitionMakingNRAByG.Frost1990/mode/2up

whistlersmother · Jan 14, 2021

Blacksmith101 said:
Another reference for everyone.

Actual title "Ammunition Making An Insider's Story" originally published by the National Rifle Association. Downloadable in multiple formats from Internet Archive.

Ammunition Making NRA By G. Frost ( 1990) Chapter 6 is all about primers.
https://archive.org/details/AmmunitionMakingNRAByG.Frost1990/mode/2up

Most excellent - need to digest. Thank you.

twybyll · Jan 20, 2021

Blacksmith101 said:
Another reference for everyone.

Actual title "Ammunition Making An Insider's Story" originally published by the National Rifle Association. Downloadable in multiple formats from Internet Archive.

Ammunition Making NRA By G. Frost ( 1990) Chapter 6 is all about primers.
https://archive.org/details/AmmunitionMakingNRAByG.Frost1990/mode/2up

Great resource, thanks! Like reading a Foxfire all about ammo.

Mark K · Jan 21, 2021

I just e-mailed the Prime-All people, and they confirmed that the compound is indeed corrosive. So yes, probably H-48.

So it is important to clean the gun -- particularly barrel -- after each use.

Should i use hot water, like black powder guns? Or is cleaning with like CLP good?

How about other gun parts that aren't easy to get at, like the fire control group?

Archeryrob · Jan 21, 2021

This one is not corrosive but looks like a crap load of work. 2 ingredients you can't buy and have to make??
https://gunstreamer.com/watch/reloading-primers-homemade-primer-compound-eps5_76T8fpsxlTgUktc.html

Ya'll research and tell me more.

erwos · Jan 21, 2021

Corrosive is honestly no big deal. First, most of your AR is aluminum anyways. Second, the steel parts are super easy to clean - take out your BCG, give it a good scrub, and then run some hot water down your bore and over your FCG. Dry it off with a hair dryer... done. And, frankly, I usually do even less than that.

whistlersmother · Jan 21, 2021

Archeryrob said:
This one is not corrosive but looks like a crap load of work. 2 ingredients you can't buy and have to make??
https://gunstreamer.com/watch/reloading-primers-homemade-primer-compound-eps5_76T8fpsxlTgUktc.html

Ya'll research and tell me more.

This is the modern compound for primers.

Its the same thing Frost describes in the book mentioned above.

If I remember correctly, this is the safest method in that it is not activated until adding water and dried.

He has the advantage of having two compounds available that one can't buy.

Pinecone · Jan 22, 2021

erwos said:
Corrosive is honestly no big deal. First, most of your AR is aluminum anyways. Second, the steel parts are super easy to clean - take out your BCG, give it a good scrub, and then run some hot water down your bore and over your FCG. Dry it off with a hair dryer... done. And, frankly, I usually do even less than that.

Don't forget the gas tube.

erwos · Jan 22, 2021

Pinecone said:
Don't forget the gas tube.

You don't need to clean the gas tube.

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