What do you think-These primers any good?

[mr.revolverguy]

Bench rest primers my buddy forgot was in his garage stored in metal ammo cans, was never wet but the garage is not climate controlled. Really hot during the summer and cold during the winter.


He suspects the primers are 20 years old.

[fgw_in_fla]

One way to find out...

I have a box of primers my son found while cleaning out his wife's father's garage. An old box of WLR's. the few I've used worked just fine & they were out in a garage in Alabama.

[dcloco]

I would use them. As FGW said....only one way to find out. :)

[fgw_in_fla]

I was going to recommend take one outside, place on ground & smack it with a hammer but I didn't want to see anyone get hurt.

Although, it would be funny.

[sharpshooter]

Primers don't go bad. If they are bad, they were that way to start with. Even wet primers will go off after they have dried.

[Jetpig]

I have packs of primers at least 20 years old. They will work just fine!

[squirrelsniper]

The "stored in metal ammo cans" part would worry me alot more than the hot and cold. The metal cans could at least possibly sweat with temp swings, but it's still unlikely that it hurt anything. The temps would have to have stayed above 120° F for extended periods to hurt the priming compound. Cold wouldn't have hurt them, unless maybe they were in Siberia or something. The age itself doesn't matter at all.

My suggestion, just to save components in case there is a problem. If that is a 1000rd box, you have plenty so, randomly pick 25-50 primers from different boxes and prime some empty cases. Try them out in a rifle. If all go bang, load up 50rds of actual ammo. If all goes well, you're good to go.

Most bad primers were either that way from the factory or were contaminated with oil from the reloader's fingers.

[Bike Effects]

I ran out of Large Rifle Magnum primers during a loading project. I found some primers that I purchased in 1974 so I loaded 5 rounds up and grouped them yesterday. 5 shot group size was .667". Four shots went in to .315". These primers were not stored correctly. I guess I'll use them.

[MacDR]

IMHO they will work but testing a few is a good idea just in case. Primers have a foil cover over the compound that is pretty effective in preventing contamination. I have hand fed them into an on-press ram many times without any subsequent failures. Washing your hands before handling is a reasonable precaution. Washing them afterward is also a good idea as most contain lead.