Well, I had a missfire Yesterday. Handloads that were loaded with free primers that were probably 25+ years old. That didn't do anything for my nerves and confidence. And the buck jumped a little and was scared but, didn't run. I ejected the missfire and jacked in another, and it fired. And I missed. Oh well........
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Using old primers for hunting loads, no!
- Thread starter ROVERBOY
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backyardtndeer
Well-Known Member
Never know how that free stuff may have been kept. Hate it likely cost you the deer.
I've got my primers in a ammo box shut when I'm not using them.
backyardtndeer
Well-Known Member
I keep a dehumidifier running in my basement next to my safe which is right behind my bench. Temp is constant. My primers and powders are kept in dry boxes.
Had you fired them in test loads without FTF?
Any chance that the primers were not seated all the way?
Well, it's possible but, they all looked like the depth was consistent looking.
I am only asking because that can make a round not go off if the primers were can move in the pocket. It could be bad primers, but I have shot some old primers without any issues.
Ditto. I have some primers that are 20 years old and some mil '06 from the 60's that still work like they should. Storage is the key. Guy I hunt with traded me a box of Federal 7mm Rem Mag that was supposedly only a couple of years old. Took them to the range, 18 of 20 did not fire, one hang fire. I pulled the bullets and the bases were corroded. He told me later that the ammo was stored in a plastic bin in the garage.
Omega
Well-Known Member
It happens, new or old, doesn't matter. Primers are hard to kill, I've fired 30-06 rounds I found in a lake still in enbloc clips. Ran them in my vibratory brass cleaner due to some surface brass corrosion, but all went bang. I've also fired many 7.62 that had FTF in our weapons (dented primers) and most went bang too, with a handful that needed a couple tries. Now, these are military rounds that have sealed primers, but I've fired civilian rounds that I had stored for over 5 years without issue, and they were stored in badly climate controlled areas.
LY
Well-Known Member
We use both primers and powder from the 80's and 90's. In fact I just opened an old school metal can of 4227 a couple of weeks ago that still has the $15.99 price tag on it.
Never had a problem.
Never had a problem.
Most of my primers are 20+ years old, with the exception of being raked over the coals for a few thousand purchased recently.
I had a few misfires, but I attribute mine to a faulty and worn out hand priming tool. I bought a new one, and all seems right since then.
I keep my powder and primers in a climate controlled room year round.
I had a few misfires, but I attribute mine to a faulty and worn out hand priming tool. I bought a new one, and all seems right since then.
I keep my powder and primers in a climate controlled room year round.
megalomaniac
Well-Known Member
I still have a few pistol primers from the early 90s. No problem.
My lifetime supply of rifle primers (30,000) were bought back in 2008. Never had a misfire with them, either.
That being said, a buddy just finished a 708 build. He bought a couple boxes of hornady factory ammo to start with before handloading. One of those rounds in the first box refused to go off. 'I think I'll just stick with handloading' he said.
I'd trust my handload to function better every single time over current factory junk.
My lifetime supply of rifle primers (30,000) were bought back in 2008. Never had a misfire with them, either.
That being said, a buddy just finished a 708 build. He bought a couple boxes of hornady factory ammo to start with before handloading. One of those rounds in the first box refused to go off. 'I think I'll just stick with handloading' he said.
I'd trust my handload to function better every single time over current factory junk.
Well, I normally do trust my handloads too. But, these primers I bought, there's no telling where they've been.
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I've got to pull and reprime over 200 rounds of handloads for 45-70, 30-06, 458 I'm, 25-06, 308. I worked up loads for these rifles 7 to 8 years ago using new primers at the time. I had 1 or 2 ftf at the time but attributed it to light strikes. Fast forward to deer season 2022. I had a ftf on a buck. I chambered another round and dropped him. On to dear season 2024. I checked zero on several guns near the end of archery season. I had multiple ftf in all guns. Also had a ft with one of my sml's. All ammo and primers were clean, dry and stored in a humidity controlled environment. Just bad primers. These lots were not involved in recalls. I'm in the process of switching all primers to cci going forward.
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What brand are you experiencing the failures on? I'm assuming these were not CCI.
