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Old 12-26-2012, 05:41 PM
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How are we going to make our own primers?
I've heard limited references here and there but haven't tried googling it up yet. Figure there must be someone here that has tried it in the past. Or would doing something like that be a N0-N0 in the eyes of you know who (YKW).
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Old 12-26-2012, 05:47 PM
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Making your own primers would be very, very dangerous. Aside from the problem of getting the primer cups and anvils the explosives required are very sensitive to impact and friction. Without very specialized equipment you would almost certainly hurt yourself.
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Old 12-26-2012, 06:23 PM
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Look around on You Tube. I came across a video last week with a guy making or I should say reloading used primes. He used stick matches for his components. He need something like 8 matches per primer. Didn't look particularly unsafe but it seemed to be a pita. Buy extra primes is the best answer. But after watching the video I know how if I need to.
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Old 12-26-2012, 06:54 PM
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I stocked up on primers after the primer scare during the Clinton administration. I'm relatively certain I'be run out of powder before primers.
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Old 12-26-2012, 07:00 PM
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I have "reloaded" primers using cap gun caps. They do work, but it is a slow operation. One can make the old corrosive chlorate primer mixtures (which is essentially what is used in cap gun caps) fairly easily if you can find some potassium chlorate. Lots of recipes out there. It is a last ditch measure however. But it may come to that.
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Old 12-26-2012, 07:01 PM
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Have primers, have powder, have lead, have moulds.............Good to go.
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Old 12-26-2012, 07:55 PM
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Originally Posted by DWalt View Post
I have "reloaded" primers using cap gun caps. They do work, but it is a slow operation. One can make the old corrosive chlorate primer mixtures (which is essentially what is used in cap gun caps) fairly easily if you can find some potassium chlorate. Lots of recipes out there. It is a last ditch measure however. But it may come to that.
Thank You, I am only curious for in the last resort scenario and its better to know how ahead of time rather than at the time of need. I would imagine one would reuse spent primers by tapping out the indent to get another use, but at some point you would be risking a pierced primer.

I should have been more specific as like others, I too have a comfortable stock today, but I was thinking 5-10yrs down the road when any number of things could happen to affect the general availability. I guess I'll lock some up in long term deep storage.
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Old 12-26-2012, 08:04 PM
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Yes, you tap out the indentation in the primer cup with a flat point punch and hammer. Back when I was much, much younger, I reloaded a substantial number of such primers using toy caps for use in an antique .30-30 Winchester, with my own crudely cast lead bullets lubricated with cup grease. No nice factory molds or reloading tools for me. Powder came from cutting open shotgun shells. They worked.
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Old 12-26-2012, 08:55 PM
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Primers are the Achilles heel of reloading because even a pound of powder like 2400 or Unique will keep you loading handgun rounds like .357 Magnum for a very long time. I know a pound of 2400 will last quite some time. Primers I pick up when I can get them, right now I am pretty hard up for cash, so I have traded some stuff even for primers. I will need some small pistol primers again fairly soon, but one thing I have taken to, and this is an experiment I have not tried much of yet, but I have decapped some loaded rounds that I was given. I had some .38 Special loads that I pulled the bullets on, dumped whatever powder (which was taken outside and used as fertilizer) and then depapped the round VERY CAREFULLY and then reprimed a new case. I have them kept separate and will be in light loads just to see. If they work ok then I will use them in practice loads. I have about 400 old .38 Specials that I don't want to waste the primers on if they are still usable.

I saw once back when I was 19, and to this day I wish I knew what happened to it, an internal memo from Handgun Control Inc. back in the early days of the first AWB of what they really wanted, and reloading was up there on the top of the list. They know if they ban ammo or restrict the sales, guys will reload, and some will reload for others. So to them primers would be the first thing because without primers we would be in deep doo doo. Powder is next. I know when I get some money aside I plan on getting a much larger supply of powder and primers, enough to keep me loading for some time. I can tell you that here in NY even lead is tough thanks to the state banning lead wheel weights. I have plenty of those on hand plus a lot of scrap lead but I know a lot of guys who are paying a pretty penny for them. One thing I have done with that in the past is take some oddball lead round balls like .54 or .58 caliber from a gun show that someone was dying to get rid of and cast them and water drop them to harden them up. Or like those several hundred old .38 Specials I have I take those old lead round nose bullets and turn them into water dropped #358156 bullets for my .38-44 or .357's. I believe in recycling.

If you have a bullet puller like RCBS makes and a couple of decapping dies you can knock out those old primers from calibers you don't even own. Not an ideal solution but it beats hearing bang instead of click.
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Old 12-26-2012, 09:38 PM
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My plan is to trade 30 round AR mags for reloading supplies.

Today I traded 4 mags for 2K pieces of tumbled brass.

got a good stockpile of mags at pre-panic prices
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Old 12-26-2012, 09:47 PM
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Think in terms of:1) how many rounds a year. 2) how many years will I live. Multiply the first number times the second, then round up to he next 1000. At this point double it(for tradeing material) or triple it to cover your sons future needs. Primers are sold in cases of 5000. They will not be going down in price! I have shot some of my own primers that were 25 years old and primers that were in boxes of reloading stuff I aquired that were 35 or 40 years old. The most important part is to keep them dry and not too hot if possible (don't store them in the attic), but I have some that have been in the top of the barn for 15 to 20 years and they work fine. 5 or so years ago I lost my job and sold several cases to a LGS at his cost, and got $800 which paid for our heat that winter. I started building back up my reserves this spring and lost my job again. This time I sold my 330 pound lead reserve, so these stockpiles are handy to have in hard times. Ivan
P.S. I'm 50-60 thousand primers short of my reserve target.
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Old 12-26-2012, 09:55 PM
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Or build that muzzle loading kit that uses a flintlock or matchlock. You'll slow down your shooting to a crawl and not worry about primers.

The other method is to learn how to disassemble shotgun primers. They seem to be in good supply. Some muzzleloading guns actually use 209 type primers. Kill two birds with one musketball!
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Old 12-26-2012, 10:06 PM
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Quote:
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Or build that muzzle loading kit that uses a flintlock or matchlock. You'll slow down your shooting to a crawl and not worry about primers.

The other method is to learn how to disassemble shotgun primers. They seem to be in good supply. Some muzzleloading guns actually use 209 type primers. Kill two birds with one musketball!
That's my plan , Buy a Blunderbuss that uses true flint and steel. Load it with rocks, nails anything. Could modify it and use a gas grill igniter and 9V battery?
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Old 12-26-2012, 10:24 PM
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Originally Posted by rsrocket1 View Post
Or build that muzzle loading kit that uses a flintlock or matchlock. You'll slow down your shooting to a crawl and not worry about primers.

The other method is to learn how to disassemble shotgun primers. They seem to be in good supply. Some muzzleloading guns actually use 209 type primers. Kill two birds with one musketball!
I have a .577 Enfield musketoon and a mould for making Minie balls. I have enough FFG Triple 7 on hand to keep that gun fueled for a very long time and since I competed with it in matches I have hundreds of musket caps, which are the easiest things to get and cost next to nothing compared to 11 percussion caps and 209 primers. I felt that if the proverbial excrement hit the fan and I needed to go hunting for deer I could not use a better gun for the job and if I needed to take on a singular opponent that 475 grain Minie ball will get your attention in a hurry. I have told several guys I know not to worry about paying the huge and inflated prices on AR's or AK's right now and instead snag a decent .30-30 or maybe a pump Remington 760 carbine with its short barrel in .30-06 or .308 and buy reloading supplies to go with it.
I think people over rate themselves and their rifle. If you are a singular shooter facing multiple opponents equally armed you better be one hack of a shooter to take them on and you better be Lucas McCain from The Rifleman to actually beat them. People have watched too much Hollywood to think that one guy can beat a whole bunch in a firefight. I can tell you that you would be better at stealth and evasion than brute firepower. I have nothing against AR's personally but I know if I had a lever action .30-30 I would not that I was lacking because they can hold their own in a common sense encounter.
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Old 12-26-2012, 10:25 PM
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I've remanufactured primers in the past. The instructions are in the Armys "Improvised Munitions Handbook", available online or at practically any gunshow.
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Old 12-26-2012, 11:04 PM
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I stocked up on primers after the primer scare during the Clinton administration. I'm relatively certain I'be run out of powder before primers.
That makes at least two of us, but I also have enough powder on hand to give Chuck Schumer a heart attack.
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Old 12-27-2012, 06:23 AM
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Everyone seems to be sweating ammo and componants and hi-cap magazines , but if the laws get really stupid , where are ya gonna shoot?

Ya just gotta believe that ranges and open places to shoot/shooting at random on public land will be under fire shortly.
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Old 12-27-2012, 05:20 PM
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I have always been partial to flint against a frizzen.

And the longest continuous use ignition system remains the matchlock. It still works today. It's actually kinda fun when attached to the end of a linstock held over the touch hole of a 4 pounder.

So I guess it depends on what you want to shoot, and what you want to shoot it at.

But, I don't think anyone thinks it is really going to get that bad unless we stray into Cormack McCarthy territory.
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Old 12-27-2012, 08:03 PM
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When things get as bad as some of you are thinking it will be against the law to own guns and powder and shot. If you have any you will be an outlaw so since you are already breaking laws why not just steal what you want from the local police station or govt. armory? In the real world if there is money to be made somebody has whatever you want. Larry
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Old 12-27-2012, 09:08 PM
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I think I'll go oil up my Kentucky flintlock long rifle.
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Old 12-27-2012, 10:03 PM
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You guys need to not panic. Everytime we get a socialist (democrat) in office and one house of congress, they try this. Buy when you can and enjoy as long as you can. Life is too short. Rod
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Old 12-27-2012, 11:36 PM
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My great uncle told me about having a .32 rimfire pistol and no money for new shells. He filed a notch in the cases where the firing pin hit and placed the head of a strike anywhere match. He used black powder and they had some buckshot that would fit the case. He had to place them in the chambers so the firing pin would hit the match. Poor people have poor ways of doing things. Larry
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Old 12-28-2012, 12:29 AM
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That makes at least two of us, but I also have enough powder on hand to give Chuck Schumer a heart attack.
I don't want anything bad to happen to him but can you take a picture of those and send him an email?
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Old 12-28-2012, 01:47 AM
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been through this now 4 times. learned long ago to stock up when you can. buy what you can when you can. guns are pretty much worthless without ammo.
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Old 12-29-2012, 03:34 PM
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At best, they would be woefully unreliable. So just stock up on primers. 10K per size is not unreasonable for an avid shooter.
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Old 12-29-2012, 03:37 PM
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Originally Posted by Ivan the Butcher View Post
This time I sold my 330 pound lead reserve, so these stockpiles are handy to have in hard times. Ivan
P.S. I'm 50-60 thousand primers short of my reserve target.
330# of lead is a good start, not a reserve. I am always looking for lead sources. I have maybe 1500#, but always looking. Lead alloy for casting is getting in shorter supply every year. With the ban of the lead ww in many states, Kalif the biggest, the lead ww will be extinct in 2-3 yrs. I would NOT be selling lead if I were a casting guy. Well, unless someone wants to offer me 10/#.
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Old 12-29-2012, 03:46 PM
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There are still some suppliers who are not price gouging and when you find them ...STOCK UP>>>
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Old 12-29-2012, 05:49 PM
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At best, they would be woefully unreliable. So just stock up on primers. 10K per size is not unreasonable for an avid shooter.
I'll get right on that... as soon as my SS check clears and I make my Obamacare contribution .
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Old 12-30-2012, 01:41 PM
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Honestly, when I experimented with reman primers, every one worked flawlessly, and accuracy was as good as factory primers. It was tedious to do, but that was my only real issue with the project.
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Old 12-30-2012, 10:02 PM
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I'll get right on that... as soon as my SS check clears and I make my Obamacare contribution .
Sounds expensive, but in the long run you are saving money. At the least, find another shooter, maybe one working, split primer & powder orders so you get bulk price w/o having to actually buy 10K.
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