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Re use primers?

Adrock8000

Private
Minuteman
Aug 25, 2019
36
7
So long story short. I reloaded aguila 5.56 brass with 77 grain nosler cc’s with a moderate load. I shot 10 today while doing other load development and found out how crap this brass is.

my question is... and this may be a horrible question, but can I pop un fired primers out and seat them back in different brass? Or am I SOL on them?
 
Don't do it! Risk Reward.... while primers are in short supply, you don't want one to detonate and put an eye out , have the anvil driven into you etc.
 
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what was the brass doing?
The brass itself didn’t do anything abnormal, some light pressure signs. But the interior case volume must have huge variances. My sd’s on 2/5 shot groups were 48 and 50. Same load in LC/FC brass over 10/5 shot groups, sd’s were all under 9.

maybe I’ll pull the bullets and back the powder down a half grain or something for BS plinkers or training ammo.
 
Aguila primers are just as shit as their brass!
I got 2 out of 20 pierced primers in there 308 & that's with a JP small pin HP bolt. Maybe the 5.56 is better, but doubt it.
 
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Ive done it by gently removing live primers with a universal decapping die and reusing them elsewhere. No problems.

That said Im not responsible if you pop one.

haha don’t worry I hold no one responsible for what I do under my own accord.
 
Aguila primers are just as shit as their brass!
I got 2 out of 20 pierced primers in there 308 & that's with a JP small pin HP bolt. Maybe the 5.56 is better, but doubt it.

yes. I bought 100 of their .308 and had 16 not fire. 2 of those 16 fire on the second pull in my bolt gun. Contacted them. They sent me another 100 free of charge 12 of the new 100 didn’t fire so far. Still have 40 rounds left.

when I pulled the bullets I had as much as 2.5 grains of powder difference over the first 14. 41.6-43.1 grains.

the brass I was shooting today was from their 62 gr 5.56. The all fired from the factory. But they originally grouped around 5 inches at 100.
 
Yeah I've likewise heard Aguila primers are trash. When things are normal I try and stick almost exclusively to Winchester. Unfortunately times are not normal :C
 
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Yeah I've likewise heard Aguila primers are trash. When things are normal I try and stick almost exclusively to Winchester. Unfortunately times are not normal :C

I’ve never actually seen them for sale out side of being in their ammo.

Federal have never let me down. I stick with them other than maybe cci 41s.
 
I’ve never actually seen them for sale out side of being in their ammo.

Federal have never let me down. I stick with them other than maybe cci 41s.

Haha sorry, if I wasnt making it clear Im referring to misfires Ive had with their center fire ammunition. Hence why I rarely buy it anymore. Russian stuff is more reliable for me and generally cheaper.
 
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Yeah I've popped out quite a few primers and reloaded them without any issue at all. I wouldn't put a pin punch through the flash hole and hammer it out :p but just easing it through a sizing or decapping die has been fine.
 
I have popped out hundreds unused primers from brass to put them in other brass countless times over the years and never had one detonate.

When I looked at the thread title, before reading the first post, I thought someone had come up with a way to somehow re-constitute and reuse spent primers, lol.
 
I have popped out hundreds unused primers from brass to put them in other brass countless times over the years and never had one detonate.

When I looked at the thread title, before reading the first post, I thought someone had come up with a way to somehow re-constitute and reuse spent primers, lol.
Exactly what I thought as well.
 
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If you’re that interested in reusing spent primers, you could always look at Department of the Army TM 31-210. Haven’t tried it, and probably won’t, but it’s covered there.
 
I’ve popped out live primers, with eye and ear protection on, and very carefully. I have even reused them when I first started reloading. I don’t think it’s a good idea.
 
I have popped out hundreds unused primers from brass to put them in other brass countless times over the years and never had one detonate.

When I looked at the thread title, before reading the first post, I thought someone had come up with a way to somehow re-constitute and reuse spent primers, lol.

Funny. I checked into that a little bit. Found a few videos on YouTube of guys hammering the primer flat again and using the stuff out of cap gun wheels to reload them. Little iffy for me.
 
If you’re that interested in reusing spent primers, you could always look at Department of the Army TM 31-210. Haven’t tried it, and probably won’t, but it’s covered there.

Sorry I was was referring to live primers. Not spent ones.
 
Funny. I checked into that a little bit. Found a few videos on YouTube of guys hammering the primer flat again and using the stuff out of cap gun wheels to reload them. Little iffy for me.

I would advise against it. Sure it might work but it produces corrosive salts and erratic results and other generally nasty things you probably don't want down your barrel unless we're full mad max.
 
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I've decapped and re-used countless primers over the last 40 yrs. Never once detonated one. Run them through the sizing die again or a universal decapping die. Just go kinda slow. It takes a hard sudden impact to set them off.