I have been reloading in excess of 50 years now and have never found a satisfactory way to dispose of live primers. In my area, the trash is incinerated, and I have been getting complaints about the primers popping when they load the trash into the incinerator. I buy a lot of old cartridges and I recycle the components that I can. I save the bullets in the hope that one day I can use them in reloads. Same thing with the brass, but since I don't know who loaded the cartridges or when they look to be in bad condition, I decap the brass. I have been putting them in the garbage for years, but when the local government went to incinerating the trash, I began to get complaints. I had been just putting all the primers from a single pulling session into an old pill bottle and putting it in the next outgoing trash, but that caused larger explosions and that is what got me on their radar. Now, even if I only put one primer in the garbage and it goes off in the incinerator, I get a call threatening me with discontinuation of my garbage pick up. I have tried soaking the primers in various types of oil. Everything from penetrating oil to burnt motor oil, and even several months later, when I burn one or even hit one with a hammer, they still go off. All my life I was told to always avoid handling the primers with my fingers in case the oil from my fingers would kill the primer, and now when I want to kill them, nothing works. I know how to dispose of powder, I just scatter it in my flower beds and it makes a good fertilizer, but I don't think I want to risk it in my vegetable garden. There's no telling what in it that might poison me. Since I have neighbors nearby, I don't want to pop the primers, either by putting them in a case and shooting them, or by burning them. I don't want to scatter them in the woods por dig holes to bury them in. If anyone knows a way to get rid of them other than reloading them, I'd sure like to hear how. I have also soaked them in water for weeks at a time. When they are wet, they don't pop, but as soon as they dry out they will pop if burned. There must be a solution to this problem and I definitely DO NOT want to store them in bulk. I have already seen what can happen when you do. I'd rather fight a hand grenade than to have 500 live primers all explode at once, like they did at a friends shop many years ago. Dangerous stuff!!!
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How do you dispose of live primers?
- Thread starter crissmorgan
- Start date
I'm sure you're going to get some interesting replies to this one 
Do you know if your PD has a Bomb Squad? or if there is one regionally you could contact? A handful of primers isn't worth anyone's effort, but if you agree that when you reach "x" amount you'll get in touch with them and turn them in for disposal it shouldn't be an issue.
When I was on my Dept's team we'd periodically get all kinds of shit given to us to "make go away" on our next clean-up shot. It seems as though if the city is already on your case then it may help when you speak to the bomb squad guys and just explain that you're trying to maintain compliance and ensure safety etc.
Do you know if your PD has a Bomb Squad? or if there is one regionally you could contact? A handful of primers isn't worth anyone's effort, but if you agree that when you reach "x" amount you'll get in touch with them and turn them in for disposal it shouldn't be an issue.
When I was on my Dept's team we'd periodically get all kinds of shit given to us to "make go away" on our next clean-up shot. It seems as though if the city is already on your case then it may help when you speak to the bomb squad guys and just explain that you're trying to maintain compliance and ensure safety etc.
Before you take the primer out you can put the brass in your rifle and pull the trigger.
The ones that are out already you can get a post hole digger and throw them in the hole.
The ones that are out already you can get a post hole digger and throw them in the hole.
Only read topic..
But my response is to add to brass.. Add powder and match projectile .. Pull trigger.. REPEAT !
Kyle
But my response is to add to brass.. Add powder and match projectile .. Pull trigger.. REPEAT !
Kyle
Do you think vinegar will kill them ? For give me just guest , if work put them in metal recycle , your friends machinist or automachemic will give you a hand , good luck sir
What did you do?? put a sign on your trash that there was unfired primers in it??
Just dig a hole and bury them or throw them overboard next time you go fishing, maybe flush them down the toilet or something, they ain't that loud when you pop them.
Shouldn't have to be rocket science...
Just dig a hole and bury them or throw them overboard next time you go fishing, maybe flush them down the toilet or something, they ain't that loud when you pop them.
Shouldn't have to be rocket science...
My grandpa would get a small metal coffee can put it on a fire. stick piece of metal or wood on top let em pop and toss em in the trash...not saying it's the best way but a option.
What if you wet tumble them in stainless media? Instead of throwing them away, scrap them with the spent primers and get a little cash back.
I do have a favorite and effective means of live primer disposal, but I ain't sayin', because it's too much fun!
I'm sure you're going to get some interesting replies to this one
Toss 'em in the fire pit. ONE at a time
Seriously though, your local range may take them. It couldn't hurt to ask
I set the brass in a piece of wood. Stand back 10 meters, and use them as a target for the air rifle. Makes it easy to know when you hit the center!
I like that idea.
I had a whole brick of odd ball corrosive primers that i could not even give away that I dug a whole with the post hole digger 3' deep in the bottom of the hole they went....some gas in the hole and leading away from the hole....light...run...boom! 500 primers in one shot is mighty impressive.
I always thought a soaking in a little oil killed them. Never thrown them in a fire after though. Guess i'll try that just to see what happens.
I guess the question I failed to ask the first time is: If you have these zombie primers that survive every method known to man to kill them, why the hell get rid of them? They seem to be proving themselves to be MORE reliable than anyone could ever hope for.
Lot's of places. But more and more it is burned in trash to power operations where the trash if the fuel to make electricity.
Usually I'll reuse them.I've decapped 1,000's of live primers (yeah, yeah, I know....not for everybody and not recommending it but I do it) and reused them. When I've had one with a heavy primer strike and I had a doubt, I've used this other method.
I should add that although there's always a 1st time, I've never had one go off.....YMMV.
I should add that although there's always a 1st time, I've never had one go off.....YMMV.
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A friend of mine works for the Lake City Ammo plant fire dept. and said the only way to kill a primer is with sulfuric acid but you can temporarily deactivate them with 409 cleaner. Once the 409 has dried they will be live again. I have not tried this myself yet but plan to when I get one that needs disposed of.
I haven't been ignoring everyone's replies, just been too damned sick to. The way the trash people found out it was me dumping all the live primers into the trash is that I asked about the proper way to dispose of them once. The folks at the incinerator were having fits trying to figure out why it was getting what sounded like explosions. Most of the time I placed the primers into pill bottles and threw them into the trash can and if you have a few hundred live primers go off at the same time it tends to be a fairly violent explosion. Don't believe it? Try it sometime, just get far enough away that the shrapnel doesn't get you. I think the hole in the back yard is the best suggestion. We have a high water table in this part of the state and if I dig down below it, the primers should at least stay moist or wet until whatever it is that makes them go bang, goes bad. I was just hoping someone knew a way that could more or less instantly neutralize the primers. WD-40 and several other oils didn't work. Water works, but only if it never evaporates. The water turns a particularly putrid tone of yellow, but doesn't really kill the primers. Most of the time I wouldn't mind just putting them into a rifle or pistol and popping them, but I don't always have a firearm of the correct caliber. Plus it would just take too long. I'm talking about thousands of primers not just a few dozen. I also liked the idea of taking them to a local bomb squad. We have an especially good state police bomb squad and I know a couple of troopers on it. I'll see what they say. Thanks to the several posters for good and sincere ideas.
WD-40 will kill a primer forever, as well Kroil oil. I know many who thought their reloads were the problem until they never used either of those two oils around their loading bench again. Oils are bad around primers, this is one reason mil primers and bullets are coated with a sealant, everyone thinks water but the first reason is to stop oils from entering should ammo and other logistics be shipped together and shit gets tossed around.
OP,
Just how many primers do you throw out every week that the trash people would have fits? Sounds like you load a lot. Thousands of primers??? So why would you throw out a precious commodity like primers? Why don't you just reuse them? Always having a correct caliber problem? Thousands of primers? Wow!
Just how many primers do you throw out every week that the trash people would have fits? Sounds like you load a lot. Thousands of primers??? So why would you throw out a precious commodity like primers? Why don't you just reuse them? Always having a correct caliber problem? Thousands of primers? Wow!
I still don't understand why you're throwing them out if they are still good.
You just became the dump's whipping boy once you asked them your question. Primers aren't the only thing that explode, and you're probably not the only one throwing potentially "explosive" things in the trash. But, now they have YOUR number! LOL
You just became the dump's whipping boy once you asked them your question. Primers aren't the only thing that explode, and you're probably not the only one throwing potentially "explosive" things in the trash. But, now they have YOUR number! LOL
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