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View Full Version : What Could Go Wrong: Primer Detonation



walker2713
02-11-2018, 01:34 PM
I was driving through the Memphis area on the way home to Louisiana last week when I received a rather frantic call from my hunting and shooting buddy in Monroe. He said he'd had an accident while reloading, and would I take him to the hospital....of course I couldn't but he found another friend to take him. When I asked him a few days ago why he hadn't call 911, he said that all things considered, he didn't think his condition warranted it. When I spoke with him later that day I learned that while priming cases a primer had detonated, and in turn exploded 44 more primers which were in the plastic dish. He was using a Hornady unit:

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The explosion blew his right thumb off, and he could see the bone sticking out. His hands were burnt, but otherwise he was OK. The docs at the ER re-attached his thumb but said he probably would not have any kind of thumbnail when all was said an done. Here are a couple of pics:

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He knows he was very fortunate....it could have been a whole lot worse! He was not wearing safety glasses.

I've been a serious reloader for over 30 years, and while generally aware of some potential risks, have been very fortunate...so far. I've used a lot of different priming tools over the years, but for the last several I've been using one of these "one at a time" tools from 21st Century Shooting. It's slow, but it works well for me.

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I'm posting just as a reminder of what can go wrong when we least expect it.

George

Malamute
02-11-2018, 02:00 PM
Sorry to hear about that, its a pretty serious injury.

Any idea how it happened? Was it possible he had a primer only halfway on the ram when he started seating it?

Ive found primers dont always feed onto the ram with the Lee tool I have. It requires checking each one before putting a shell in the holder.

Mjolnir
02-11-2018, 03:08 PM
Oh, dear God!

Thanks for the prescient warning and I pray that he fully recovers.

[emoji1431][emoji1431]


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jeep45238
02-11-2018, 04:02 PM
This is why I won’t hand prime, and won’t consider a press without substantial shielding. I’ve had 100 detonate in me on a Lee loadmaster, and that’s changed how I approach reloading permanently.


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LSP552
02-11-2018, 08:35 PM
Sorry to hear that about your friend. Like you said, could have been much worse.

I’ve used the Lee, and currently the RCBS version of the hand pruning tool, for calibers not loaded on the Dillon. I’ve had primers fail to correctly feed and get jammed. My rule is never force anything and always wear safety glasses when reloading.

Mirolynmonbro
02-11-2018, 09:14 PM
This is why I won’t hand prime, and won’t consider a press without substantial shielding. I’ve had 100 detonate in me on a Lee loadmaster, and that’s changed how I approach reloading permanently.


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I use a lee classic turret. What changes did you make?

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jeep45238
02-11-2018, 09:18 PM
If my memory serves me right the primers swing away from the plunger on that press. On the load master it’s all fixed and can daisychain easily - which is why they sell a blast sheild for the damn thing.

Anyway, I moved to presses with shielded primer tubes, so if there is an explosion it is directed up and to the ceiling and I don’t take anything.

I recommend priming in the upstroke of the handle if you’re dealing with large primer (45 mostly), so if you catch a small primer piece of brass you don’t force a large primer in it and blow things up.


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willie
02-11-2018, 09:41 PM
When minute pieces of priming compound breaks off from primers, these pieces can form a dust in the area--in this case the priming tool tray itself. This dust has all the explosive traits as the priming material from which it came. Perhaps there was dust accumulation. Perhaps it was a factor.

Wyoming Shooter
02-12-2018, 12:57 PM
I wear eye pro during all phases of reloading. Every time. I don't much like the idea of the primer magazine on my RL-550 going "boom". It's way to close to my face and looks like it would vent up if detonated.

TiroFijo
02-12-2018, 01:06 PM
I wear eye pro during all phases of reloading. Every time. I don't much like the idea of the primer magazine on my RL-550 going "boom". It's way to close to my face and looks like it would vent up if detonated.

In the Dillons the primer magazine is very well isolated from the primer that is fed to the case, and when you excert pressure on it there is good shielding and you can feel the resistance on the upstroke of the lever. I've had a couple of primers detonate while reloading on my RL 550 (...in over a zillions rounds reloaded, all my fault) and I barely noticed it.

Irelander
02-12-2018, 01:38 PM
Yikes! I use the Lee hand primer and every time I squeeze it gives me the willies! I'm now looking into the auto primer system for my T-7 press. The primer tube is away from where the primers are seated in the cases. Sounds like a good system to me and away from my hands.

Lester Polfus
02-12-2018, 02:18 PM
I use a lee classic turret. What changes did you make?

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Wowers. I've primed thousands of cases using the RCBS version of that tool.

I'm using the Lee Classic Turret press as well, with the on press priming system. I'm less concerned about a daisy chain explosion, as the primer is fed into the system at the top of the stroke, but not seated into the case until the bottom of the stroke. It's generally when you try to put the primer in the case that The Bad Thing happens. I'm able to look and see the primer is sitting in the little up in the right orientation, and if were to pop it's isolated from the primer magazine.

Wyoming Shooter
02-12-2018, 02:24 PM
I've had no primer detonations in my RL-550. That won't stop me from wearing my eye pro, every single time.

Lester Polfus
02-12-2018, 02:38 PM
I've had no primer detonations in my RL-550. That won't stop me from wearing my eye pro, every single time.

Yeah bud. I'm also rethinking using a hand priming tool. Having a hundred primers basically sitting on top of your hand can apparently lead to some serious injuries. I guess you can mitigate that by putting 10 primers at a time in the hopper but that would be a real pain in the ass.

Duelist
02-12-2018, 05:09 PM
I showed this to my wife. That, combined with an acquaintance injuring himself recently, makes her question my continuing to reload.

It saves money is not a convincing argument compared to losing digits, or dexterity in them.

mtnbkr
02-12-2018, 08:21 PM
I showed this to my wife. That, combined with an acquaintance injuring himself recently, makes her question my continuing to reload.

It saves money is not a convincing argument compared to losing digits, or dexterity in them.

There's a lot of ways a person could lose a finger without getting near a reloading press. A friend of mine lost one in a carpentry accident (chopsaw without safeties). My grandfather lost his in a logging accident (crushed). Being a shadetree mechanic, I could see a number of opportunities there. Even in mountain biking, a gnarly accident could severely damage a digit.

Like many things in life, taking reasonable precautions and using good tools will go a long way toward protecting yourself. Back to the subject at hand (no pun intended), I've long stayed away from these priming tools due to the potential risk, now realized. Even on my press, I don't use a primer magazine, but load primers manually into the priming mechanism. It's a turret press, so it doesn't slow me down much (still manage upwards of 200rnd/hour for handgun).

Chris

BN
02-12-2018, 09:05 PM
I showed this to my wife. That, combined with an acquaintance injuring himself recently, makes her question my continuing to reload.

Show that to your wife and tell her you need a Dillon 1050. ;)

Crazy Dane
02-12-2018, 10:06 PM
In the book, Modern Reloading by Richard Lee. he talks about primer detonation and how certain brands are more prone to blow up than others. I know federal was on that list and I think Winchester was too. I know CCI was on his "safe" list. Personally, I think I'm somewhere north of 18,000 rounds of reloads. All I have ever used is CCI primers and I have never had a kaboom. Knock on wood! For those that have had the unfortunate event of a detonation, what brand of primers did it happen with? I'm glad injuries were not worse and being a FF/medic, that would definitely be a 911 worthy call. WE have good drugs and aren't afraid to use them.

TiroFijo
02-13-2018, 12:59 PM
In the book, Modern Reloading by Richard Lee. he talks about primer detonation and how certain brands are more prone to blow up than others. I know federal was on that list and I think Winchester was too. I know CCI was on his "safe" list. Personally, I think I'm somewhere north of 18,000 rounds of reloads. All I have ever used is CCI primers and I have never had a kaboom. Knock on wood! For those that have had the unfortunate event of a detonation, what brand of primers did it happen with? I'm glad injuries were not worse and being a FF/medic, that would definitely be a 911 worthy call. WE have good drugs and aren't afraid to use them.

IME, you have to make a mistake to get a primer detonation while reloading, like pressing hard on a primer with some large metal debris that acts as a firing pin.
Never had a detonation just pushing HARD (not recommended) to seat a primer of any brand, with a properly mantained press. Keep an eye on cleanliness of all parts, and anything that "feels" or "sounds" not right.

I've even decapped live primers many times (not recommended) with normal dies on the RL550, with no detonations.

You could have defective primers that are oversensitive, but that would be a VERY unusual occurence, and impossible to avoid.

Malamute
02-13-2018, 02:34 PM
IME, you have to make a mistake to get a primer detonation while reloading, like pressing hard on a primer with some large metal debris that acts as a firing pin.
Never had a detonation just pushing HARD (not recommended) to seat a primer of any brand, with a properly mantained press. Keep an eye on cleanliness of all parts, and anything that "feels" or "sounds" not right.

I've even decapped live primers many times (not recommended) with normal dies on the RL550, with no detonations.

You could have defective primers that are oversensitive, but that would be a VERY unusual occurrence, and impossible to avoid.

I think another aspect to consider is that for a primer to allow any fire backwards into a primer magazine on a hand tool, it would have to be sideways, otherwise all the fire would be out the mouth of the case.

I have had some primers tip when feeding and start seating sideways with both the single stage RCBS press primer feed and on Lee hand priming tools, or not get completely onto the ram on the Lee tool and either tip or crush on the edge of the primer pocket when starting to seat it. This is where paying attention to every step is emphasized. Watching TV or anything else distracting while using a priming tool and assuming the tools will perform perfectly without any attention can be a problem.

We dont have details of how this happened in the OP, but having had odd things happen when priming gives some indication what could have happened. Watching every single one is the method I prefer.

TiroFijo
02-13-2018, 03:27 PM
In the RL550 I've had primers going sideways because of a dirty primer magazine (inner vertical tube) that creates drag on the primer vertical stack. But the horizontal feed system into the press completely isolates it. I think you could eventually prime the case with the primer upside down, or even sideways, but it never happened to me. In the event of a detonation, it would be well contained, and very far from the stack.

Yo could also manage to feed the primer magazine with primers facing the wrong side, but I've never done it, it is difficult due to the shape of the plastic part that catches the primers.

Tokarev
03-23-2018, 05:30 PM
I use that same Hornady unit. I like the leverage on it and it generally works well.

I've never set a primer off while using it but I can see how it could happen. There have been a few occasions where I've somehow gotten two primers on the seater plunger and have used one primer to seat another. Yikes!

I also have a Lee and actually prefer it to the Hornday. It doesn't necessarily work better (or as well sometimes) but it does appear to be a safer design to me. The primer being seated is effectively separated from the rest in the tray. There's also a little shield that comes up when the plunger is seating a primer.



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scout789
03-24-2018, 05:15 PM
Lot's of good info and food for thought here. Thanks guys!

zero67
05-15-2018, 10:40 AM
Lot's of good info and food for thought here. Thanks guys!

Yeah, me too. I've been reloading for years, and have been negligent about eye protection. No more.

Clusterfrack
05-15-2018, 12:32 PM
Wow. Thanks for posting that. I had no idea a primer detonation could be that severe. Glad your buddy will be mostly ok.

And: eyepro for everyone in the reloading area. Always.

LittleLebowski
05-15-2018, 03:51 PM
I always wear eyepro and try to punch the tube on my 650 clean with patches every few thousand rounds. From what I understand, this is often an issue with the aforementioned explosive dust from primers.

OlongJohnson
10-28-2018, 05:56 PM
I like this tool. Moves the waiting primers reasonably far away from the case. Just a little more labor-intensive than all-in-one processes.

http://rcbs.com/Products/Priming/Tools/Automatic-Priming-Tool.aspx

LittleLebowski
10-28-2018, 07:37 PM
Am I the only guy priming for precision ammo on my single stage?

Clusterfrack
10-28-2018, 10:15 PM
Am I the only guy priming for precision ammo on my single stage?

No