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Old primed Ammo

Emmett Dunham
I have been reloading for a few years and ran across a guy that was getting out of reloading and purchased all of his equipment including quite a bit of brass. There is about three hundred rounds of various caliber ammo that is ready to reload that is discolored, the question is would it ruin all of the work getting the brass ready and primed to run it through the vibrator again?

Thanks


Emmett
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Comments

10 comments

Date Votes
  • BHAVIN
    Just a question. If the brass is all discolored why would you trust that the primers are good?

    I would say punch the primers, clean the brass and then start from scratch. Who knows how they were stored. Not worth it to me to take a chance by any means.
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  • jonk
    To follow up on what BHAVIN said, try capping off a few first to make sure they are still good. I sure wouldn't waste a few hundred primers out of hand if they are good, but wouldn't load them until I knew they are.

    If so, I'd reload and not worry about the tarnish for one firing.

    If dirty and not just tarnished, I would either clean 1 at a time by hand or after loading, toss in the tumbler for 20 minutes to knock the dirt off. Some guys will NOT do this, I personally have no problem with it for short periods, but it is your choice.
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  • perry shooter
    DEPRIME after cleaning most cleaner medium has a way of getting some stuck in the primer flash hole . Then you might get squib or hang fire.

    EDIT The work done on the cases will not be harmed by cleaning the stained cases . will they chamber in your Fire-Arm [?] It all depends on how the former owner of the cases had his reloading dies adjusted. . If you do not have a GO-NOGO gauge. then I would go outside and try loading each empty case before loading with new primer powder and bullet . Then if all will chamber Clean the cases and go from there.
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  • jonk
    quote:Originally posted by perry shooter
    DEPRIME after cleaning most cleaner medium has a way of getting some stuck in the primer flash hole . Then you might get squib or hang fire.
    True as well.

    Another option would be to use a universal decapper and gently deprime each shell, then clean. Don't toss the primers! I've never had a problem with reseating a primer after decapping it from a mistake of one kind or another.

    If you go this route you could also carefully- wearing thick pants, a heavy jacket, and safety goggles- hit a few primers with a hammer outside to see if they are still good.
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  • dcs shooters
    Originally posted by jonk

    Another option would be to use a universal decapper and gently deprime each shell, then clean. Don't toss the primers! I've never had a problem with reseating a primer after decapping it from a mistake of one kind or another.

    BAD IDEA [xx(]

    You will push the anvil too deep into the cup and break up the priming compound. This most likly cause hang fires, if any at all.

    As said above, try popping a few. If OK just load and clean brass later.
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  • Emmett Dunham
    Ok! The primers could be bad, the material from vibrating could get into the primer. The other question in the first post I did not get across was all of the other work done on the brass. I would assume the sizing, trimming and other will be ok if vibrated? I can clean them in a lot, reprime and reload with out worry?

    Emmett
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  • babun
    The pressures for most centerfire ammo runs from about 20,000 PSI to 50,000 Psi. Why would you WANT to Assume {YOUR WORD} anything??????? Pull the primers and start reloading like it was fired cases. Bob
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  • 375H&H
    I also bought a bunch of mixed loading supplies from a fella giving it up , brass, powder , bullets ,primers . Brass ranged from 243 win up to 458 win mag , some of which was " primed and ready to load "

    Might sound funny to some on this board , but the only reloads I shoot are my own !

    I just knock out the primers and keep em to the side for "Plinking " ammo , Resize and trim the brass for my rifle . Bullets would depend on brand and weight ( I traded bullets I didn't need to other folks that would use them ) wheel & deal , but unless something was plain junk , it would just get tossed out .

    I wouldn't sit in my stand the 1st day with anything but the best loaded ammo , but for plinking , nothing gets wasted .If you have been loading long enough , you know whats good and whats not ,
    just MHO .
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  • FrancF
    Just me, I would start from scratch- make the primers inert, deprime, and resize.

    That would be the smart thing to do.[;)]
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  • Mobuck
    Tumble, resize, and reprime. You don't know if the cases were full length sized or neck sized. The price of primers is small compared to loading a bunch of duds.
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