Do Primers Go Bad

[jimma123]

I recently had a problem with Remington LR primers and only with the last pack of 100 out of 1000 at least 15 not firing and years back hang fires with CCI LR mag primers and that's been it over 40 years of reloading . I am still loading with primers Federal , CCI, Remington I purchased back in the late 90's when there was a gun grab scare I probably bought 20 packs of 1000 ea Small rifle ,LR Magnum and standard. Who Knows maybe some got wet in shipping or packing...when I worked in a gun Store in the late 80's and 90's Remington ammo had a bad rep, we stopped selling them , we had 20 or so rounds that customers brought in during hunting season (that we did not have any to sell) with good firing pin hits and no bang things can happen..

 

[skipglo]

I surely hope not! Have lots stockpiled for the apocalypse! Assuming that they are stored in a moderately low humidity area, and avoiding large temperature swings.....they should be good for many years! memtb

I have pistol primers that are 20 years old and still working fine. But I always load up three casings with just primer and fire them before going ahead and loading 100 rounds. I always wondered just how long they last too! And ... I guess....still wondering...lol

 

[superbob]

I seriously doubt its the primers, I have reloaded for over 50 years and kept SOME stock for 15 - 20 yrs. more or less and have never experienced powder or primer failure, I store all my components in a Quarantined area locked in a pole barn, no heat and no A/C, I keep it clean and dry and have loaded thousands of rounds with out ever a problem, What kind of case lube are you using ??

 

[ronstone09]

I was out shooting some reloads yesterday in a 6.5 CM comparing them to some factory loads. I had a couple hang fires and a couple no fire in the reloads. There's plenty of primer/pin contact and no issues with the factory loads. All I can figure is that the primers are too old?

I have primers that are probably 10 years old and still good ! I keep them in a sealed container and do not let moisture get to them ! Never had a misfire !

 

[VLD Pilot]

Primers will not go bad if stored properly in a cool dry environment. I've had primers since the 80s and still function fine. I've had some primers that were bad but due to a factory issue not a storage one.

 

[Zorack]

I was out shooting some reloads yesterday in a 6.5 CM comparing them to some factory loads. I had a couple hang fires and a couple no fire in the reloads. There's plenty of primer/pin contact and no issues with the factory loads. All I can figure is that the primers are too old?

I've got Winchester in white packs and CCI in packs that are probably 20yrs old and hve had zero issues with them.

 

[epoletna]

I would check your priming practice. I know -- you've been doing this for years (so have I) and you've never had a problem before (same here), but all of a sudden I started having FTFs. I was using an RCBS hand priming tool, and I thought I was giving it enough pressure, but when I concentrated on giving it a little more "oomph" as I was seating the primers, I got rid of my problem. Especially with your mention of arthritis, I think you need to try putting a little more pressure on the priming tool.

 

[Gcan]

I surely hope not! Have lots stockpiled for the apocalypse! Assuming that they are stored in a moderately low humidity area, and avoiding large temperature swings.....they should be good for many years! memtb

Dry 50 cases in your oven at 170 degrees for 30 min. Let them cool Then prime them JUST Load primers. No powder. No bullets. Shoot them all. If you have misses its probably primers. Only other things to check: headspace on cases. My 300 blk out Ruger American wont shoot the ammo i load for my ar blk out. I get what looks like a reasonable primer strike but they don't go off. That brass is .006 longer than the ar brass. If I set the brass back for ar I get 2-4 out of 10 that don't go off in Ruger.
I suppose you could have a weak slow firing pin/spring. Strong enough to dent but not fast enough. Try the oven trik first.

 

[del2les]

Usually, primers do not go bad under normal storage, and I have bought boxes of primers from estates that were dated from the 60's that worked well. A few years back, our club came across a few cans of 1943-44 30-06 LC ammo, and when opened, it looked nearly new. We issued it to our Garand shooters, and it functioned well.

"Most" primer failure issues are related to improper storage, water, excessive heat etc, or to a poor loading process like oil, size lube contamination or not seated to depth etc. sometimes a light firing pin strike or excessive headspace can be an issue. That is not to say a primer will not fail, but it is rare.

 

[WYO300RUM]

A had a few failures many years ago. I used to load them one by one into the primer lever with my fingers. Figured out was from case lube in my finge1rs contaminated them. Been using hand primers and RCBS primer press. No problem since. I have also used primers from 1970's with no problems.

 

[Labwhisper]

I have only been reloading since the early '80's and have used CCI primers (rifle and pistol large and small; match, magnum and standard, almost exclusively. Primer failures were virtually unheard of (except for 209 primers) until the last great gun ban scare and component shortages. The primers that my son, shooting partners and I wound up with during the "crisis" were at best erratic. Was not unusual to have 2 or 3 FTF during one CMP match. This was, to say the least, frustrating. There were no storage issues, primers were fresh, seating and case prep was same -same as before and after. After those "shortage" primers were used up we have experienced zero issues. I suspect there was some slippage in manufacturing QC during the the mad rush to supply all the hoarders. My take on this is - primer fails are rare. Primer fails due to storage, assuming reasonable care, are rare. But primer fails can and do happen and it is not always due to operator error.

 

[MNbogboy]

I have CCI Pistol primers purchased in 1992, they work no issues, I have some CCI 250 primers purchased in 1999 still using those, almost done with that brick and no misfire. They cannot make a primer with a shelf life, could you imagine the lawsuit they could face if primers had a shelf life of five years?? All police force, military etc, would have to move out ammo every two years due to a shelf life..

Left/democrats have proposed this in the past! To limit stockpiling.
Just saying

 

[Swiftkill]

I'd try a couple more NEW handloads if it is convenient and just do what you normally do. Make sure the primers are not seated TOO DEEP. If you have more problems I'd send the primers back. I do like Winchester primers BUT, I heard that for a period there was a problem with a loose fit and gas would blow by the primer and make a hole in the brass at the primer pocket. You can search for that. But your problem is IGNITION?
FYI for all you reading this.. WOLF Primers are the ticket, believe it or not. Many Brenchrest shooters are using them. Theyu have the lowest standard deviation of any primer... evend Federal Match and CCI BR. If you can find them you owe it to yourself to try them! FWIW.

 

[memtb]

For what it's worth, I'm using primers that are easily 10+ years old in my hunting rifle...Which when I do my part will go sub 2" (3 shot) groups at 300 yards. This from a "sporter weight" (9 pound) rifle....not a "dedicated" long range rifle! No real special care taken of primers, other than..... they've "not" been submerged in water. Maybe it's just "better to be lucky, than good"! memtb