Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

Have you ever had a box of primers that were missing a few? I opened my first box of primers and a few fell rolled out. Two were all that I saw fall out. I put them back. But three wells are still empty. Is stepping on them enough to set them off? What kind of damage would one do? I'm not sure they were there initially. My wife didn't want me to reload to begin with. If I have to tell her there may or may not be small explosive devices in the basement she is going to be calling the Police, hazmat, FBI, NSA, and anybody else she can find! Seriously, what do I do.

Seems to me the first thing you do is don't tell her.

Put a nylon stocking as a filter in the end of a vacuum cleaner hose and vacuum the room.
As long as the primers don't get chewed up by the fan in the vacuum cleaner you should be safe.
A wet/dry vac would work also. The motor and fan aren't in the dirt/pickup air stream.

LOL dont tell!

I've jostled a tray more than once and had them go everywhere - they will roll forever on concrete. Try cutting off the lights and using a flashlight beam held close to the floor... that's the easiest way for me to locate them.

Stepping on them wont set them off, it has to be an impact shock. They are shipped with the anvil out to prevent that from happening. The process of seating the primer is what arms it and makes it ready for the impact of the firing pin. And you can tell from the deformation of the primer cup(on a spent round)that it takes a pretty good lick to set it off. If you can't find them, don't sweat it.

Rolling a 400lb toolbox over one will set it off. Sounds like a loud cap pistol. Won't even make your ears ring... much. No damage.

Why don't they seal those boxes up? I don't know if the missing ones fell out at the store with someone else looking at them or when I opened them.

HighExpert wrote:Rolling a 400lb toolbox over one will set it off. Sounds like a loud cap pistol. Won't even make your ears ring... much. No damage.

Wouldn't do any damage to, say, a foot?

student wrote:

HighExpert wrote:Rolling a 400lb toolbox over one will set it off. Sounds like a loud cap pistol. Won't even make your ears ring... much. No damage.

Wouldn't do any damage to, say, a foot?

I've seen one slice into a finger after going off a few inches away from the hand, bled a lot but no permanent damage. If your wearing shoes and glasses you should be fine if it goes off.

Magnet.

The light idea posted above.

I've read the static electricity generated by objects (dust, dirt, primers) moving up a vacuum hose can set off a primer. A guy told a story about dropping some, not finding one or two, and then having them go bang when his wife was vacuuming the floor.

If you step on one it could cut your foot, but it won't go off.

Usually the boxes are taped on one end or both. I have to keep a small razor blade knife at my reloading bench to cut the tape with on both sides so I can get the plastic tray to slide out and dump the primers into the primer seating tool. The only primers I've had problems with the carboard sleeve being real loose on and dropping primers out before I wanted to was with Tula and Wolf primers. I've never had that issue with Remington, CCI, or Federal primers.

Nobody has lost a leg yet!

Put on your work boots.
Place primer on floor.
Step on primer.
Question answered.

I have dropped plenty of them in my concrete floor garage and none have gone off accidentally. I'm sure I've stepped on them from time to time and still haven't gone off. I don't think there is much to worry about if you don't find them all. Hopefully you can use the "nylon on the end of the shop vac" trick mentioned earlier. Good luck.