OK folks, I have been convinced to try reloading primer cups. I am down to about 4,000 factory primers left, so I am going to try reloading primers for my range ammo.

I have sonic washed and removed the anvil from about 600 used small pistol primers, and have begun hammering the strikes from the primer cups with a 1/8 inch punch. I have ordered a pack of Prime All from Sharpshooter 22LR Reloader site, and my order shipped Friday. I also purchased a few hundred German-made caps from the dollar store. I am going to try reloading primers using both methods (caps and Prime All). If it works, I will use my reloaded primers for range ammo and will be able to keep shooting and get my money's worth out of my range membership.

I tested my reloaded primers at the rang today. I tested 25 with Prime All and 25 with caps and both sets of primers worked great. I am going to be honest if you don't mind the tedium of reloading, then you are not going to like reloading primer cups. It takes time to prepare primer cups, and it takes time filling primer cups with priming compound too, but if you like shooting and you don't have primers, these methods will allow you to keep shooting.

I personally work on reloading primers in stages, one night I will remove anvils from the primer cups and sonic wash the cups and anvils, then dry them in the dryer. If I have time, I will start hammering strikes out of the primer cups, or I will do those another night. Prime All doesn't take long to mix, so I don't mix Prime All until I am ready to add the compound to the primer cups, but whenever I get some time, I am removing the ignition disk from the caps I bought at the dollar store. I store the disk from the caps in a small plastic container, so when I am ready to load them into primer cups, I can do it pretty quickly. Loading compound into little 1/8 inch cups is tedious work and even when I got a rhythm going, it takes about an hour to do 50 primers.

I will start using reloaded primers for range shooting and plinking, and use my store-bought primers for competition shooting and defensive ammo.

Thanks for the update! Reloading primers is something I'd never heard of until recently... (Desperate times and all)

I understand the process with the Prime All, but how are you using dollar store caps? Are you talking about roll-caps or ring-caps? You said you store the discs... I want to know more about that process!

keltex78 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 06, 2021 9:17 pm Thanks for the update! Reloading primers is something I'd never heard of until recently... (Desperate times and all)

I understand the process with the Prime All, but how are you using dollar store caps? Are you talking about roll-caps or ring-caps? You said you store the discs... I want to know more about that process!

I am using Ring Caps, but they need to be from Germany!!! Caps made in Italy and China don't use paper disk, they uses powder, and I haven't had the wanting to test them.

keltex78 wrote: ↑Sat Mar 06, 2021 9:17 pm Are you talking about roll-caps or ring-caps? You said you store the discs... I want to know more about that process!

Here is a link to a good video showing the process I am using for the caps for primer compound: https://youtu.be/opAZoRMztmM?t=85

Here we are at the end of civilization . . .
(what? you thought it would be fun like the movies???)
and components for loading ammunition have become stupid expensive.
If they can be found at all?

I have a few thousand primers left, but I don't see any more coming in
for quite a while. Not at a price that makes any sense.
And what if they dried up completely?

After minutes and minutes of dedicated scientific research (Google)
I learned everything that everybody else didn't know.
And a couple of things that just might help.

So at Cabela's today I noticed the toy guns - cap guns - and cap gun ammo.
They had LOTS of cap gun ammo.
At $2.99 I figured why not?

At home, I got right to it.

Roll Caps:
We all know and love the red paper rolls of tiny explosives.
I popped a couple of them under the hammer of my Ruger Blackhawk.
nice little pop and a bright flash. Possible!?!

Okay, dig out some empty brass.
All I have left is a couple of dozen 38 special.
Which means small pistol primers.
Have you ever noticed how small small pistol primers actually are?

I tried punching out the charges from the paper roll using paper punches,
but the holes are much too large - too much paper around the charge.

The Whitney pinch had a die the right size, but the paper didn't offer enough body
to make a clean cut. Humh.
So a tiny pair of mustache scissors to the rescue!
The paper needs to be trimmed off pretty much right up to the dot.
And that took a lot of time, talent, fine eye-hand coordination and dedication.
But it's for scientific research, so it's worth the sacrifice.
I cut out six, and decided that was enough for now.

The diviot in the primer cup was driven flat with a steel punch and brass hammer.

The little dot of charge fit pretty well in the primer cup.
Getting the anvil back in the primer cup was a tough challenge.
These small pistol primers really are small. (I may have mentioned that?)
I finally got the anvil in and sorta centered (almost?). But what a pain in the patoot.

I installed my new creation in a 38 Special case and loaded it up!
And gently squeezed the trigger . . .
(click)
Well that was kind of anti-climactic.
After half an hour of messing with it - nada....
My visions of becoming the armorer in the post apocalyptic village were shaken at best.

Cup Type Caps:

I also purchased a package of the plastic cup type caps.
What they are is a tiny amount of explosive compound in a small plastic cup.
The charges are a solid material. But it prys out easily.
Obviously inserted as a paste and dried.

I pried the charges out a few cups using a dissecting needle.
And then one went off all by itself!
POP! Big bright flash.
Very Great Big Grin!
This has possibilities!

The charges come out as a single piece - about a tenth to an eighth inch across.
In other words, exactly the right size for a small pistol primer cup.
(Did i mention how those small pistol primer cups really are?)

Handling the charges is a challenge.
It took sharp pointed tweezers.
They are rather thin, so I put two in the cup and (VERY!!!) gently pressed them
into the bottom of the cup using a brass punch (.140" OD).
V e r y G e n t l y ! !
But they stayed in the cup when I turned it over and tried to dump them out.
So we're good, I think.

So... back to installing the anvil.
Which actually went fairly easy this time.
Not nearly as much material (thickness) under the anvil.
But I had to tap it in using the punch and a small hammer to get it to seat.
That too was done very gently!
V e r y G e n t l y ! !
But it centered up quite well.

Back to the press and install the new Post Apocalyptic Small Pistol Primer
- (PASPP?) - in a 38 Special case.

Into the revolver cylinder and when the hammer fell that sucker POPPED!
Loud and clear!

The cup type caps seem to be the the way to go.
And it's not outrageously difficult either.
It took only a minute to reload a primer, and that might speed up with practice.
And there are probably some special tools that would be helpful.
Like maybe an aluminum block drilled to hold the primer cups?
That might be easier than fumble fingers and tweezers.

250 primers for $2.99?
$12 a thousand?


Skills, baby.
Ya gotta have skills to survive!

cavelamb wrote: ↑Wed Sep 22, 2021 11:29 pm 250 primers for $2.99?
$12 a thousand?

Skills, baby.
Ya gotta have skills to survive!

Good job.

"Hopefully", I will not get to that point. I guy a know is moving and wanted to decrease his reloading inventory. Free 40 cal & 9mm brass AND, wait for it, small pistol primers for what he bought them for. Winner-winner!

Dollar Tree for the German-made ring caps with the paper discs.

But...
On the subject of... Brownell's actually had small pistol primers in stock earlier this morning. $75/thousand, plus shipping, plus hazmat, plus tax, limit two boxes. Still far too expensive, but they are the first I've seen ANYWHERE since last summer timeframe.

Hoping to see more in the near future.

I am glad to see this thread continue. Please remember if you are reloading primer cups using caps to clean your gun more often because the compound in caps is corrosive. There are a couple of newer non-corrosive recipes floating around, but the cost to build the chemistry set to make it is not worth it right now, since primers are obtainable, even if they are still ab bit pricy. I enjoyed reloading primer cups, but it is very time-consuming. But if you want to keep shooting and you cannot find primers to buy, or if they are now a bit too expensive, then reloading primer cups is an option. I also like using "Prime-All," but is also a corrosive compound, so if you use it, clean your guns more often. I am using Discord, and getting regular notices for small pistol primers at MidwayUSA, Natchez, PowderValley, and Brownells. I bought a thousand from PowderValley last week for $60, but after hazmat and shipping, it came to $89.90