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Old primers

mballai
I acquired some old CCI small pistol primers--they are in the little green packs. The first three digits of the code on them is 079 which leads me to believe they are from 1979. Assuming they were stored ok, should they still be usable?

Three Precious Metals: Gold, silver and lead
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Comments

9 comments

Date Votes
  • mballai
    I have several thousand old primers. They were given to me by a widow of an old friend. They are in packaging that I would recognize as from the 40's through 60's. They are intact in original sleeves and cartons, still factory taped in some instances on the oldest looking sleeves. Packaging is absolutely pristine. All rifle sizes 61/2,71/2, 8/12 Remington and Winchester.

    Are these safe and good to use. I would only use in plinking loads...........ed
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  • captkirk3@dslextreme.com
    I've Loaded Bullets with primers that I know were 40 years old....and never had a Misfire....If your unsure....Then Don't use them..!...

    Captain Kirk, Tech Staff
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  • mballai
    I'll use 'em for target practice loads. Perhaps the best thing is to load five and see if they do the trick. The oldest primers I've used before were about six or seven years old. Just wondered if they would go south like real old powder.

    Three Precious Metals: Gold, silver and lead
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  • captkirk3@dslextreme.com
    Don't Confuse Gun Powder with Fulminate of Mercury....Nitrate can vapor off...Nitro cellulous can vapor off...But to my knowledge Fulminate of Mercury is like an Old Dynmite Cap...After a hundred Years they can still go bang!....

    Captain Kirk, Tech Staff
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  • GWNelson
    Am using primers (CCI) large and small, and 4831 (surplus) powder, bot in the 50's. It (they) are doing what they always did. Working great for me. Storage is key. GW.
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  • MIKE WISKEY
    SORRY CAP BUT THEY HAVEN'T USED MERCURY IN PRIMERS SINCE THE 1930'S.
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  • bobski
    some of my primers are 53 years old. they work fine. throwing away old reloading stuff is like throwing money away! burn em up in a nice gun and shoot straight! enjoy them. just remember, old primers should be loaded with the old proven safe data of the era. do your homewrok and learn if the stuff was recalled or had problems before you use it. dont relearn history the hard way. load iaw published data and dont swap info.

    former air operations officer SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 2. former navy skeet team, navy rifle/pistol team member. co-owner skeetmaster tubes inc.. owner/operator professional shooting instruction.
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  • Iconoclast
    I make it a point to scrounge old primers for peanuts whenever I can. I've shot uncountable thousands of those old CCI primers without a hitch. Like others have noted, storage is the key. Most of what I've purchased came off the back shelf of the back room in various shops or from the estates of people I have known.
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  • chuck
    I have had several CCI Primers that did NOT go off, I have a lot on hand so am useing them up at the range, For my hunting Loads I use Federal or Winchester, I have used a lot of winchesters in the past 50 years and I finley got one that did not go off last week. first one in 50 years that aint bad.[:p][:p][:p]
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