Touching primers?

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Mike38

New member
For some reason I have it in my head that you should not touch primers with your bare fingertips. Maybe I read it somewhere, or someone told me this. The reason is because over time, the oils in the skin can play havoc with the priming compound. Any truth to this?

Reason I ask is because I've gotten tired of fighting the worn out plastic primer feed ramp on my 25 year old Lee single stage press, so I bought one of those primer dies that require manually placing a primer in the ram one at a time. It works great. Not that much slower. And seats the primers at a perfect depth just below the head.

So is this touching a primer a whole lot of nothing? Or should I be wearing latex medical gloves to keep the skin oils off the primers? Thanks.
 
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Unclenick

Staff
It was a standard warning decades ago, and I heard it many times. But having looked at reports of experiments where all sorts of petroleum-based oils have completely failed to deactivate some primers even after days of soaking, I've concluded it was one of those cautions born of imagining what might happen, rather than from actual experience. I suppose it is possible it caused problems with some percussion caps or with old-time primers. Plus, if you can get Federal primers with their lacquer seal, you pretty much guarantee it won't affect ignition.

The one thing that could still happen is your fingerprint grease could cause corrosion on the sides of the primer over the long term. Some people have much more salty finger oils than others, so I can see that being an issue for some if they don't use their ammo promptly. But, in general, if you are going to shoot the ammo in a few days, there is very little likelihood of causing a problem. Also, if you have a "ruster's" hands, you can buy fingercots at the pharmacy and roll one over your index finger and either use another for your thumb, or, if that's too tight, get one of those red rubber thumb covers used for counting money. Between the two, you should be able to pick up primers without making direct contact with them.
 
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seanc

New member
Thanks Unclenick!
I've been doing the same as Mike38 for years but it's always been in the back of my head that it could cause a dead primer. I've got other things to worry about now :).
 
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BillyBoy 57

New member
I too have wondered about this . I really dont touch them unless I somehow drop one . I prime using an rcbs hand primer .
 
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44 AMP

Staff
surgeons gloves will also do the job, or tweezers, forceps or anything else you can pick up the primers with.

My hands tend to be very dry, never had any issues with my touch or prints causing rust, but I have seen others who can rust steel in hours after touching it with bare hands.

Primers are probably not nearly as sensitive as we worry about, BUT why take the chance in case one is??
 
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ballardw

New member
Remembering that some of the older primer compounds contain an interesting assortment of heavy metal compounds it might be that some of the "don't touch" concerns had to do with poisoning as much as possible damage to the primers.
Boxes of primers get shaken, in transit if no where else, and minute bits of compound may be anywhere on the surface.

Maybe the idea should be "don't lick the primers"?
 
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Dead-Nuts-Zero

New member
I used tweezers a few times when I first started loading on single stage press 50 plus years ago. That method lasted maybe 200 rounds then began using bare relatively clean fingers.
Haven't had any know problems associated with bare hands/fingers including loads loaded many years ago.

However, if eating salt & vinegar potato chips while loading, you may want to reconsider your method.
 
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jetinteriorguy

New member
When I get down to the last 2-3 primers in the Lee Safety Prime they won’t feed through so I just dump them and feed them by hand. But I make sure my fingers are clean and dry just in case it would contaminate them and have never experienced a misfire. I figure whether it’s necessary or not, it doesn’t hurt to be careful.
 
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Jim Watson

New member
A club member here handles primers with tweezers.

I normally dump primers directly from tray to flipper for Dillon pickup or to Lee hand primer. BUT, if I have an odd primer or if I have gently decapped a round, I just pick it up and pop it in. Never a misfire.
 
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Shadow9mm

New member
I generally don't touch my primers. I dump them in the tray shake to flip, and prime. If I'm loading a large batch I wear nitrile gloves through the process just to keep things from tarnishing. If doing a small batch, I simply wash my hands thoroughly with dish soap. Gets rid of any excess oils on my hands prior to loading.
 
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Geezerbiker

New member
Dead-Nuts-Zero said:
I used tweezers a few times when I first started loading on single stage press 50 plus years ago. That method lasted maybe 200 rounds then began using bare relatively clean fingers.
Haven't had any know problems associated with bare hands/fingers including loads loaded many years ago.

However, if eating salt & vinegar potato chips while loading, you may want to reconsider your method.
Click to expand...
Same here. I've been loading for over 40 years and I've always hand fed my primers when except for when I sent up my Dillon for .45ACP.

Tony
 
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Nick_C_S

New member
Having worked in the electronics industry for years, I've been conditioned to not touch anything metallic with my bare hands. I use gloves and/or tweezers. I'd use finger cots (which I used extensively in my electronics days), but they seem a bit hard to find.

And coincidentally, for me personally, my hand oils seem to be particularly acrid. I now work part time at a large home improvement chain, in the plumbing department. If I touch the copper tubing, you'll see my hand prints on them the next day. The same happens with my brass cases too, but not as bad.
 
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Nick_C_S

New member
Finger Cots

Thanks Unclenick. Sometimes it's more difficult in your head. I never even thought of checking CVS for finger cots - who knew?! :p

I ordered some on a website years ago, and when I got them, they must have been sitting for a looooong time - maybe a decade, seriously. They were so oxidized, they literally disintegrated as I attempted to put them on.

Anyway, pursuing the finger cot thing was never a high priority. I'll be moving into a new home for my wife and I in Idaho here in just a week. After I get everything set up again, I'll poke my head in a CVS to see what they have.
 
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