View Full Version : Depriming corrosive primers????
Was recently given a 200 rd spam can of pristine WWII M2 Ball for free because it's corrosive and the guy didn't feel like shooting it in his guns.
Well, I don't feel like shooting it in MY guns, either. Frankly I handload just about all that I shoot, so I'd like to add the free M2 to the "SHTF" stash. Plus, with M2 prices over $ .50 a round now it's not really cheap plinking ammo any more.
I'm thinking of pulling the bullets, decapping the corrosive primers, and repriming with some modern primers.
Anybody ever decap lived, crimped GI primers before???
Parashooter
03-13-2010, 10:27
Normally it's easy if you go slow and wear adequate protection in case one pops, but the crimp makes it a real problem. The cases are possibly past their prime anyhow and maybe not the best choice for reloading.
If I had it, I'd just shoot it in a bolt gun and clean with water, preferably hot. Easy to do and works just fine.
If your going to use it in your stash and not for shooting then why bother pulling them apart. If they are in good shape then just leave them as your only going to use them in case if hits the fan. The one good thing about the corrosive primers means they have a long life time if properly stored.
Get a universal decaping die and go slowly. wear safety glasses and it shouldn't be a problem.
Why not sell it to someone who will appreciate it for what it is?
jeremy69
03-24-2010, 09:27
Ill trade you a 192rd can of HXP non-corrosive in clips still sealed if yours is still sealed and well marked....
John Kepler
03-25-2010, 04:36
FWIW, your rifle was DESIGNED to shoot that corrosive ammo, with simply adequate cleaning it will do so without harm to anything, so why are you talking about this rather intensive gymkhana? BTW, trading ANY US-made ammo, even if it's 50+ years old, for that HXP crap is a BAD deal!
jeremy69
03-26-2010, 09:05
geez... I was just offering... it is a lot of work to deprime and reload that brass.
That can would be displayed with my other sealed WWII cans and preserved. If you do shoot corrosive you have to use a water based cleaner and take apart the gas system. I have seen what happens when you just use Hoppes #9. Corrosive is just fine to shoot and the 65+ year old stuff shoots good, just be prepared to clean a bit more. If I am going to shoot, I'd rather shoot the dirty Greek than see the green death...
Thanks Jeremy, but I might as well hang on to it. It's not sealed -- I opened it to see what was in the can -- but the cardboard boxes remain sealed and the ammo within is pristine. By the time we'd do shipping and all that i doubt either of us would be gaining much. I'll probably hang onto it for the stash. Kepler is right that the guns were designed for it, bit then again they were GOVERNMENT guns, and it was up to the government to pay for replacement barrels and parts if GIs didn't clean them in time. My main concern is that with the M1 you have to do a really thorough stripping of the gas system and bolt every time you shoot it. Maybe I'll just stash it as "bolt gun only" stuff.
jeremy69
03-27-2010, 06:40
If it is in boxes you may still be able to get $15-20 a box for it, then buy some componets. I reload for mine and shoot the Greek where I can, some won't allow it out here in the west due to the magnetic jacket. They are afraide that it will spark on a rock and start a fire. The local CMP match host range allows it and it shoots as good as I can. If you do decide to shoot it just be sure to use a cleaner that will deactivate the corrosive, I've heard people use windex. Regular bore solvent such as Hoppes will not, I know.. I got a bunch of SL 43 in coffee cans for cheap and shot it before I knew better.
Since you have to pull the bullets to deprime, why not throw them in a pail of water for a few days before you attempt to deprime.
John Kepler
03-28-2010, 03:01
At least inpart because the primer compound is imbedded in a wax and isn't effected by water in the slightest! An organic solvent will probably work (kerosene or gasoline)....but don't bet your life on it!
Once upon a time I bought 5,000 rds of LC 5.56 brass that had been treated with an acid to inert the primers. The primers were NOT inert and one went bang while I was depriming the brass. No harm done, I was using a RCBS universal depriming die. I agree, either shoot it or trade it because the labor involved in getting rid of the corrosive primers is more valuable than the components you would recover.
A few years ago a neighbor gave me 1000 rds of SL 43 M2. It was found in an old house that a relative had inherited after the death of another family member. He gave it to me after I assured him thaat it was corrosive.
I pulled most of it down and the soaked the cases in water for a few days prior to punching out the primers. This seemed to work out fine. The brass was of very good quality and lasted for MANY loading cycles.
I shot about fifty rounds, and found it to be amazingly accurate in one of my M1's, but though I cleaned it well on three consecutive days, I still got a little rust on the Op-Rod behind the gas cylinder. The brass from those fired rounds literally rotted. I later learned that this is not uncommon due to the mercury released upon firing attacking the brass. I will never again fire corrosive ammo in any gun.
Some of the brass from that old ammo is indeed quite good if preserved by not firing it with the original corrosive primers.
I hope that my experience saves someone from learning the hard way like I did.
There was NO Mercury in the SL 1943 primers. In fact Mercury hasn't been used in primers since at least 1900 if not longer by the US military.
Nick Riviezzo
07-04-2010, 01:33
Mr.X, If you have to deprime disassemble and soak the primers with WD-40 that should render them inert. Nick
There was NO Mercury in the SL 1943 primers. In fact Mercury hasn't been used in primers since at least 1900 if not longer by the US military.
You may be right. I have been unable to to substantiate or refute your claim in any of the books I have on hand. What I do know to a certainty is that SL43 brass deteriorates very rapdly if fired with the original primers, something that does not occur when fired only with WW primers. What is you best guess regarding what is attacking the brass?
Parashooter
07-05-2010, 10:14
See page 353 of Hatcher's Notebook -
". . . report for the year 1897. The next year [1898] the Ordnance Department started loading the service Krag cartridge with a non-mercuric primer."
See page 353 of Hatcher's Notebook -
". . . report for the year 1897. The next year [1898] the Ordnance Department started loading the service Krag cartridge with a non-mercuric primer."
I've read the chapter several times. There is insufficient information to draw that conclusion. The fact that the Ordnance Department began loading Krag ammo with primers not using fulminate of mercury in 1898 does not mean that no arsenal ever again loaded ammo of other calibers with primers that did.
On page 357 Hatcher states that after the Huff report of 1922, Frankford Arsenal and the major commercial companies began developing non-corrosive primers and that ALL these primers contained fulminate of mercury. Perhaps Frankford still had some lying around after all those years, or maybe it was there because it was still in use.
1943 was a busy year for the Ordnace Dept. with regard to ammo production, who knows what St Louis Arsenal might have pulled out of storage to keep up production demands. Hatcher also mentions in the chapter that cases fired with primers containing fulminate of mercury causes the cases to deteriorate rapidly after firing. This does indeed happen after firing SL43 M2 ammo, which is not Krag fodder, but rather 30-06.
As I said before, you may or may not be right, but Hatcher;'s Notebook surely does not support either conclusion.
I've read the chapter several times. There is insufficient information to draw that conclusion. The fact that the Ordnance Department began loading Krag ammo with primers not using fulminate of mercury in 1898 does not mean that no arsenal ever again loaded ammo of other calibers with primers that did.
On page 357 Hatcher states that after the Huff report of 1922, Frankford Arsenal and the major commercial companies began developing non-corrosive primers and that ALL these primers contained fulminate of mercury. Perhaps Frankford still had some lying around after all those years, or maybe it was there because it was still in use.
1943 was a busy year for the Ordnace Dept. with regard to ammo production, who knows what St Louis Arsenal might have pulled out of storage to keep up production demands. Hatcher also mentions in the chapter that cases fired with primers containing fulminate of mercury causes the cases to deteriorate rapidly after firing. This does indeed happen after firing SL43 M2 ammo, which is not Krag fodder, but rather 30-06.
As I said before, you may or may not be right, but Hatcher;'s Notebook surely does not support either conclusion.
To be honest with you that sounds like a missprint maybe? During WW1 when companies who had never made ammuntion before and really didn't know what they were doing even used primers which were corrosive but had no mercury in them. This is evident in that soon after the war FA would issue to militray units reloading componants including primers. This was to keep the cost of practice ammo down as much as possible. If Mercury had been used then they would have had to replace the brass as it would not have been useable for reloading and no cost advantage would have been realized.
To be honest with you that sounds like a missprint maybe? During WW1 when companies who had never made ammuntion before and really didn't know what they were doing even used primers which were corrosive but had no mercury in them. This is evident in that soon after the war FA would issue to militray units reloading componants including primers. This was to keep the cost of practice ammo down as much as possible. If Mercury had been used then they would have had to replace the brass as it would not have been useable for reloading and no cost advantage would have been realized.
It may well be a misprint, but I was just pointing it out as he used the chapter to make his point. I say again that he may very well be right, but Hatchers' chapter on gun corrosion and primers just does not clearly state that either premise is correct.
One thing that Hatcher does clearly state is that the presence of fulminate of mercury in primers causes cases to rapidly deteriorate after firing. He mentions no other possible cause for this condition. SL 43 M2 cases do go south pretty quickly after firing once only with the original primers, but last a good long time if pulled down and shot repeatedly with commercial WW primers.
I would like to hear anyone's opinion regarding what, other than fulminate of mercury, would or could cause this to happen.
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