Old primers and tarnished Brass

[taylor]

I found a large bag of empty shells I put primers in a long time ago the brass are pretty tarnished. what are the odds the primers are still OK? Also is there any way to polish the brass with the primers in? Thanks

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[arakboss]

I found a large bag of empty shells I put primers in a long time ago the brass are pretty tarnished. what are the odds the primers are still OK? Also is there any way to polish the brass with the primers in? Thanks

Odds are good they will fire. Throw a couple of the primed cases in your firearm and pop them to see.

 

[Nosferatu]

As long as they were kept dry, they should be fine.

The brass could be hand polished, depending on how loathsome you find your life.

 

[titsonritz]

Just pay attention for hang fires or squibs and blast it up.

 

[Tarawa86]

Not gonna lie, thread title sounds like a great country song. I asked ChatGPT to generate the song based on the title and here it is

Verse 1:
I found an old box in my grandpa's shed
Dusted it off, opened up and read
It was full of memories from days gone by
And a rusty brass casing caught my eye

Chorus:
Old primers and tarnished brass
Remind me of a time that's long since past
Where men were men and rifles were their tools
And they fought for freedom and the golden rule

Verse 2:
I can almost hear the echoes of the past
Of those brave souls who made it last
They stood tall with rifles in their hands
And fought for liberty across this land

Chorus:
Old primers and tarnished brass
Remind me of a time that's long since past
Where men were men and rifles were their tools
And they fought for freedom and the golden rule

Bridge:
Now those days are gone, but we still remember
The sacrifices made, in the burning embers
Of a time when our nation was young and free
And we stood up for what we believed to be

Chorus:
Old primers and tarnished brass
Remind me of a time that's long since past
Where men were men and rifles were their tools
And they fought for freedom and the golden rule

Outro:
So let's raise a glass to the brave and the bold
And keep their memory alive, let it never grow old
For they fought for a nation, for a land so free
And they did it with old primers and tarnished brass, you see.

 

[PiratePast40]

I just polished several hundred nickle plated completed rounds in a vibratory tumbler. No bangs, booms, or pews while in the tumbler and they came out looking much better than they went in.

 

[po18guy]

Find a wood dowel that "just" fits the case neck. Chuck the dowel into a drill motor. Take a terry cloth washtowel and some Flitz. Be done before you can turn the news on and feel like shooting the TV.

 

[po18guy]

I just polished several hundred nickle plated completed rounds in a vibratory tumbler. No bangs, booms, or pews while in the tumbler and they came out looking much better than they went in.

I found that a Folger's plastic coffee "can" perfectly slides into the drum of my Thumler's tumbler. It stays in place without the drum's end cap attached. The plastic coffee lid ensures that, if anything odd occurs, it will pop off with almost zero pressure.

 

[taylor]

Thanks guys, Mike

 

[Stomper]

Odds are good they will fire. Throw a couple of the primed cases in your firearm and pop them to see.

 

[Nwcid]

Load a few and try. If you are happy with the results when they are loaded throw them in the tumbler.

I just got a couple hundred primed .308 cases from a buddy that are a bit tarnished. I will load them up this year and then tumble them.

 

[Xmark1]

I just polished several hundred nickle plated completed rounds in a vibratory tumbler. No bangs, booms, or pews while in the tumbler and they came out looking much better than they went in.

Won't all that vibrating shake the primer propellant loose?

 

[po18guy]

Load a few and try. If you are happy with the results when they are loaded throw them in the tumbler.

I just got a couple hundred primed .308 cases from a buddy that are a bit tarnished. I will load them up this year and then tumble them.

Shoot an HK? Oh, they'll need some tumbling afterward! The plus: You'll know which fired brass is yours.

 

[Camelfilter]

Won't all that vibrating shake the primer propellant loose?

Maybe, but probably not.

-Just note from various interwebs posts of folks doing suchly over the years.

 

[eb in oregon]

Brass must be clean, tarnish won't hurt a thing. As recommended I'd try a few primed cases to see if they fire, then I'd just load them up and shoot 'em. Oh, buy the way, if tumbling in corn cob before loading you will get bits into the flash hole thus blocking the flash hole.

 

[RVTECH]

I once found a pile of very old .45 ACP brass in the woods - like 1918 date

A lot of it was rotted away at the mouths but the rims were intact and many had unfired primers.

Well, I picked up a bunch and brought it home and after a few days laying out to dry I put some in my 1911 and pulled the trigger. Well, not all but a few actually went 'pop' - not at all full power but some did ignite.

I don't know how long this stuff had been laying out but it was no doubt a long time.

 

[Ben B.]

In my 20s, I found a handful of old .45 hardball in my family chiffarobe drawer. Tarnished, some of it was heavily tarnished. Dad said it was from the 1970s, when a friend loaned a .45 to my grandfather for reasons. That ammo was probably old in the 1970s.

Since at the time I owned a .45 1911 and not much else, one day I took that ammo and shot it. Which led to my first Ka-BOOM. One of the rounds, I think the skankiest looking, had a case head separate, and blew my magazine out the bottom, scattering mag parts and bullets. No harm to me or gun, reassembled the mag and tossed remaining rounds.

 

[eb in oregon]

Tarnished is fundamentally different than "rotted."

 

[Xmark1]

Tarnished is fundamentally different than "rotted."

Rotted is like when you forget you wet tumbled brass a few months ago, and it's still in the blender.

 

[Nwcid]

Won't all that vibrating shake the primer propellant loose?

Hasn't happened yet. A lot of factory ammo is completed this way.

Lots of people talk doom and gloom about tumbling after loading from powder break down to all the ammo exploding in the tumbler. I have yet to see a report of any bad happening and a lot of positive reports.