Small Pistol Primer Testing

 

Crushed Small Pistol Primer

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Testing Small Pistol Primers To See What Will Make Them Go Off

I crushed some Winchester Small Pistol Primers in a vise to see if they would fire (detonate) because I reload ammunition and want to have a better understanding of primers and how they work. All safety precautions were taken. See also Ammunition Reloading Instruction & Reviews.

 

WARNING! Do not handle, detonate or play with primers at home. All of my primer crush tests were performed with all due safety considerations including appropriate eye protection, hearing protection, gloves and use of an improvised blast shield (which turned out to be a small heavy throw rung draped over the top of the vise). The test were conducted in a room with no explosive fumes or flammable materials nearby.

 

	This is a Winchester Small Pistol Primer I placed this primer and others in a  vise and crushed them in an attempt to make them fire or "go off".
	Primer "Crushing Machine" This is my primer crushing apparatus (an old rusty vise). I chose to test Winchester primers because that is what I am currently reloading with. This is how I plan to crush primers.
	Primer Crush Test #1 I placed one primer in the vise and positioned it so that I could squeeze the primer by the sides.
	Primer Crush Test #1a I squeezed the primer easily into a pancake. No bang. It took very little effort to squeeze it in this configuration.
	Primer Crush Test #1b Here is the crushed primer. Zoom into the picture for details.
	Primer Crush Test #2 This is the orientation of the next Winchester small pistol primer that I crushed.
	Primer Crush Test #2a The primer was crushed from top to bottom. In this configuration the primer was very strong and it took a lot of effort on the vise handle to squash it. The primer did not fire.
	Primer Crush Test #2b This is what the primer looked like after this crush test.
	Primer Crush Test #3 I wasn't satisfied with the crush of the second test (not enough crunching going on) so I stacked two primers back to back and repeated test #2.
	Primer Crush Test #3a This is the result. Still no bang.
	Primer Crush Test Powder Spillage During the crushing of the primers I collected the powder that fell from the primers as they were crushed. This is what I collected. I am not sure how much of the residue is explosive powder and how much is rust from my vise. I did a burn test on the primer powder.
	Primer Crush Test Results This is what all the primers looked like after they were crushed in a vise. None of them fired as a result of being crushed.
	Primer Crush Test Results of Crush #1 Squeezed from the sides the primer had no structural strength and was easily flattened.
	Primer Crush Test Results of Crush #2  The primer was crushed to about half it's size.
	Primer Crush Test Results of Crush #3 The two primers shown on top were placed to show the "squeeze" orientation of the test. Both were significantly crushed.

 

 

Primer Crush Tests Description

After my dog chewed on a live primer I became curious as to just what would set off a primer and what would render a primer inoperative.

The first phase of my primer testing involved crushing primers in a vise in various configurations. For the first test I took a Winchester Small Pistol Primer and positioned it vertically in the jaws of the vise. The face of the primer pointed up and the bottom of the primer pointed down. This configuration would squeeze the primer from the sides which is not at all how it is designed to be detonated.

In the second primer crush test the primer was positioned sideward's in the jaws of the vise. This would in effect squeeze it from the top and bottom of the primer. This more closely resembles the function of primer in a gun (except there is no sudden impact of a firing pin).

For the third test I took two primers and placed them back to back in the jaws of the vise. I considered this the "worst case scenario" of the vise tests and had twice the chance of detonation. More combined length meant more crunching room.

 

 

Primer Crush Tests Results

Winchester Small Pistol Primer Crush Test In A Vise #1
Primer Squeezed From The Sides
For this test I place one Winchester Small Pistol Primer in a vise and crushed it from the sides. Nothing happened. No bang. It squeezed as flat as a pancake. All that happened was a little bit of power material was collected after the test.

Winchester Small Pistol Primer Crush Test In A Vise #2
Primer Squeezed From The Top And Bottom
For this test I place one Winchester Small Pistol Primer in a vise and crushed it from the top and bottom. Nothing happened. No bang. All that happened was a little bit of power material was collected after the test.

Winchester Small Pistol Primer Crush Test In A Vise #3
Two Back To Back Primers Squeezed From The Top And Bottom
For this test I place two Winchester Small Pistol Primers back to back in a vise and crushed them from the top and bottom. Nothing happened. No bang. All that happened was a little bit of power material was collected after the test.

 

 

Winchester Primer Explosive Burn Test

I combined all the powder and remnants (which I assumed was the explosives from the primers) from all three crush tests (total of 4 primers) and tried to light it with a match. It would not burn. The most I heard was an occasional "crackle" noise. It did not burn as smokeless powder does. I was somewhat disappointed. Thinking back, I should have tried whacking the little bits of powder with a hammer. Maybe next time.

 

Primer Crush Test Conclusion

Crushing small pistol primers in a vise with a slow and steady force either from the sides or top to bottom of the primer will not detonate the primer. To detonate, the primer must be struck forcefully on the back as with a firing pin.

 

Other Information About Gun Primers

 

	How Does A Primer Work? What is an ammunition primer and how does it work? Bullet primers, ammunition primers, pistol primers and rifle primers. Their just different names for the same thing. Here is a brief explanation of what a primer is and how a primer works.
	The Dog Ate My Primer (A Winchester Small Pistol Primer) The other day I found my dog chewing on something in my reloading room. I made him spit it out. I was a little horrified when it turned out to be an unfired Winchester Small Pistol Primer.
	Wolf Primers Review There has been a lot of talk about whether Wolf Primers from Russia are any good and whether you should by them. Here is a review of Wolf Small Pistol Primers.
	Winchester Primers Review Here is a review of Winchester Small Pistol Primers.
	9mm Luger Primer Failure (Misfire/Dud) Pictorial analysis of a reloaded 9mm Luger round of ammunition that misfired at the shooting range. The misfired 9mm Luger round was photographed, weighed, disassembled and examined in an effort to determine the cause of the misfire.
	Bad Primer (Small Pistol Primer) This is not really a bad primer, just a bad primer installation into a 9mm Luger casing. Reloading mistakes do happen.

 

 

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