I have a butt load of corrosive primers loaded in military surplus 50 BMG.

just a question,

but let's say that I want to replace the primers without pulling the entire cartridge down.

could I stand the loaded cases in a shallow pan of oil, and then put them in a jig, and use a properly sized and indexed end mill to auger the primers out?

Then press(carefully) modern primers into the case?

This is just a hypothetical question, I would never consider actually doing this.

better yet, anybody have a M2 machine gun, and want to buy some ammo?

You are not going to deactivate those primers by placing them in oil. You need to rethink how valuable your health and well-being is to you.

I tested the "kill primer" theory myself. Soaked primed cases with H2O, WD40, and 3in1 oil. 24hr soak, 24hr drain/dry. 3-4 out of every 10 still went bang.

I really get tired of the kill the primers with oil tale.

Tear um down or shoot um..

Pulling the trigger works fairly well.

If these are gov't surplus 50 BMG, In addition to everything else I suspect the primers are going to also be crimped in.

Not only do you have the danger factor of risking a primer setting off a charge, but I suspect you can pull the rounds, dump the powder, deprime and replace the primer on 100 rounds before you could machine out the primers of a half dozen rounds, and maybe even fewer than that if one goes off and destroys the lathe which IMHO is a very distinct possibility if this is attempted with loaded rounds.

Or you can just shoot them and scrub the barrel with hot soapy water.

Most sure way I've found to kill a primer is to fire it.

quote:

Originally posted by low_tech:
I have a butt load of corrosive primers loaded in military surplus 50 BMG.

just a question,

but let's say that I want to replace the primers without pulling the entire cartridge down.

could I stand the loaded cases in a shallow pan of oil, and then put them in a jig, and use a properly sized and indexed end mill to auger the primers out?

Then press(carefully) modern primers into the case?

This is just a hypothetical question, I would never consider actually doing this.

better yet, anybody have a M2 machine gun, and want to buy some ammo?

Question 1, WHY? They won't go off or do anything else unexpected if you simply leave them alone.
If you own a rifle that will shoot them, simply use them. The corrosive component cleans up easy, just add a hot water rinse to the exposed parts before cleaning/oiling as normal.