Can anyone enlighten me on the safety of primer residue? I know it has lead lead sulfate-somethingorother and possibly mercury. So it that's the case than how safe is it to scrap clean the primer pockets? It seems that that would cause for a lot of airborne particles.

Any thoughts?

As for the residue found in the primer pocket after firing, I use a normal method of small cutter set to correct depth of pocket and power screw driver and unless you did a huge quantity of those in confined area, I really don't think it is anything to worry about-airborne residue. Been doing it for quite a few years now and so far so good. Perhaps others have an opposite view/findings??

Don't know if the MSDS info is available from primer manufacturers, but I would think it might be if requested. That will answer questions about potential hazards.


Me, I estimate the hazard to be less than that from lead lying in the dirt of rifle ranges near water located in rivers, lakes, etc...i.e., zip, zero, nil, nada. How many zillion rounds from Camp Perry have gone into Lake Erie (isn't that the one?), or into the Otttawa River at the Canadian National Matches site at Connaught?

We hear all kinds of pseudo-scientific statements from the greenies about lead leaching into water, but the truth is, it doesn't. It forms an insoluable oxide layer on its surface which prevents that occurence, according to what I was taught. The folks around Galena, Illinois would all have been dead or severely retarded long ago if that was a serious problem.

Ditto cleaning primer pockets. People have been doing it after using lead-based primers for about 80 years now and don't seem to be keeling over in droves except from old age.

Maybe some of us ARE retarded.... That's apparently what my wife thinks anyhow.

Perhaps a sub-concious fear of lead poisoning is another reason why I don't clean primer pockets. Beyond what my tumbler gets out.

quote:

Originally posted by wasbeeman:
Perhaps a sub-concious fear of lead poisoning is another reason why I don't clean primer pockets. Beyond what my tumbler gets out.

Damn....how are ever going to convert you to a pathological benchrester, if you aren't even anal enough to compulsively clean every single primer pocket within an instant after having fired a primer in it?

In keeping with my "rock and a rusty nail" reloading technique, if something sounds reasonible, I'll give it a try but if it doesn't make a viable contribution toward making good, accurate ammo, I forget about it.
Life is too short to weigh cases and uniform primer pockets.
Before I get screamed at, let me make this disclaimer: If it is your cup of tea, then by all means do all of the ditzy, anal things to your brass that you want to. If you think it makes you a better shot, then it probably does. But, please do not assume to some sort of high road that you are morally superior to the rest of us because we don't cut our little 4350 logs in half to get an exact weight and you do.

quote:

Originally posted by wasbeeman:
In keeping with my "rock and a rusty nail" reloading technique, if something sounds reasonible, I'll give it a try but if it doesn't make a viable contribution toward making good, accurate ammo, I forget about it.
Life is too short to weigh cases and uniform primer pockets.
Before I get screamed at, let me make this disclaimer: If it is your cup of tea, then by all means do all of the ditzy, anal things to your brass that you want to. If you think it makes you a better shot, then it probably does. But, please do not assume to some sort of high road that you are morally superior to the rest of us because we don't cut our little 4350 logs in half to get an exact weight and you do.

It isn't MY cup of tea, and my post about becoming an anal benchrester was just joshing you, trying to put a little humour in your day.. My comment was intended as a compliment to you as a practical person compared with those who are compulsive about doing every complication they can add to the process of handloading.

Hell, even when I was shooting BR competition, I would only clean the primer pockets when they were dirty enough that I could feel the primers not seat correctly.

I agree completely...not only is life too short to waste time doing things which aren't necessary...it is also too short to go chasing after accuracy beyond what is needed to do the tasks the gun is intended for!

For me it is a lot more fun to go out and use the gun in the field, instead of busting my butt agonizing over whether I can get another .012" smaller groups with it...or even .250" smaller, if it's not a benchrest competition rifle. OR even if it is and I'm not shooting benchrest matches with it.

Y'all take care now.

Hmm, it sounds like y'all ain't too worried about it, maybe I shouldn't be either. I will say this, though: I'm probably done with cleaning those primer pockets. Case prep is tedious enough without the added worry of scraping mercury and lead onto my sardine-eating hands...

Practice good house keeping. Don't eat or handle cigarettes/chew. Clean up when your work area when you are done. Wash your hands. Most of what you generate is not air born its to large a particle. Mercury hasn't been used in years it causes the brass to become brittle.

Years ago a couple of bench rest guys told me that they never clean primer pockets... so I quit doing it as an experiment and never noticed any difference...

since it was such a 'fun job' I had no problem giving it up...

AC, I recognized your humour and my remarks were not directed at you.

No mercury in modern primers. That is old stuff from the 50's & before.

For hunting ammo I do not bother with cleaning primer pockets unless it is really uilt up - say once every 3 or 4 reloads. If a clean once fored case gives 0.5 to 0.75 inch groups, they do not seem to change with dirty primer pockets.

John Barsaness did an article on such myths about dirty primer pockets & I agree with him.

quote:

We hear all kinds of pseudo-scientific statements from the greenies....

Lordy, ain't THAT the truth!


No primers have been mercuric since at least the 30s. And there is precious "lead" in primers either, certainly not fired ones.