I use the LEE Hand Press Kit BTW and like it for it's light weight
and ease of use once the dies are set.
/Salute
Posted on 12/28/2010 3:04:57 PM PST by rawhide
A man has been arrested after FBI and TSA officials said his luggage contained volatile gun parts, which caused his bag to explode Tuesday just before it was about to be loaded on a plane.
The unidentified 37-year-old man had 500 to 700 bullet primers in his luggage. Primers are considered the "spark plugs" of a bullet and ignites the gun powder, projecting it toward the intended target.
Officials originally said the exploding bag was caused by a hairspray aerosol can.
The situation turned out to be much more serious and could have been even more dangerous if the bag containing the combustible elements would have exploded while the plane was in the air.
Officials believe when the baggage handler sat the bag down on the ground, it caused one of the bullet primers to rupture and explode, which ignited a chain reaction among the other tiny pieces of metal.
While it is legal to have a gun and ammunition in your checked bags, it is illegal to pack primers or percussion caps.
The passenger faces federal charges of transporting hazardous materials.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcmiami.com ...
I’ve never reloaded. Would it be difficult to rig something that would strike the primers when you set the bag down roughly? Some sort of plunger that was spring loaded and poised to strike the primers?
Or the garbage department.
Unless you're a competition marksman there is no reason to move reloading supplies
and if so, a marksman would absolutely know how to properly store primers for transport.
This guy deserves an anal exam from TSA-Bubba in public for stupidity.
Yes, but putting them loose in a coffee can would be nearly equivalent. Bulk primers stored outside of packaging that isolate them amount to a bomb.
Yes, but putting them loose in a coffee can would be nearly equivalent. Bulk primers stored outside of packaging that isolate them amount to a bomb.
I did some checking on this last year when I was forced by circumstances to catch a flight.
Depends on the airline, and there are a lot of damned hoops to go through, but you can carry locked-down weapons in your checked baggage, and also properly tagged and packaged ammo in small quantities. At least so I was told by a Delta airline official who dealt specifically with these kinds of questions.
Surprised the heck out of me.
Even given that, I have known fouled weapons to leave a slight dent in a primer and still not cause the round to fire. Rechambering the round in a clean weapon produced results.
So just how thin was the bag and just how hard did the baggage gorilla 'set it down'?
Short of driving over it, I don't see the primers going off.
What is the guys name that was detained?
Has it been released yet?
I don’t know.
Well, at least it wasn’t a guy lighting lady finger fireworks like last Christmas.
Short of driving over it, I don't see the primers going off.
Maybe, a nylon ripstop bag, dry air, static electricity, and the guy grounds the bag. People who work with lead styphnate do wear antistatic grounding bands for a reason.
And tell the TSA that primers are NOT volatile gun parts.
Has anyone ever tried the following? Put two primers in a vise, almost touching. Set one off and see if the pressure wave generated is enough to set off the second one.
Active ingredient in primers is lead styphenate. A simple test for lead residue would be a truth check.
Truth check from TSA? You must be nuts.
Years ago as a teen, I came into possession of a 9 ball shotgun shell. After removing the balls and powder, I put the powder in a jar lid on the stove and lit it. It left a nice mark on the ceiling.
Later that evening, I got the idea to fire the primer. I went to the basement, cut away the case, set it on the floor, and smacked the primer using a hammer and a punch.
Damn, that was loud! My ears were ringing. My parents upstairs said, "Hey! What are you doing?" My stock answer was, "Nothing." Their stock reply was, "Okay."
I always have primers in my shooting bag because I frequently reload at the range. Because of the reloading equipment that I use, Lee Classic Loader (which requires the use of a hammer!), I meet a lot of people who have never seen simple hammer dies and I usually end up in some interesting conversations, which frequently turn into small seminars. I try to start people reloading in the hopes that they will continue.
The conversations sometimes end up with me giving my business card with a list of equipment written on the back and a URL (usually Midwayusa.com) where they can buy the equipment.
So I carry primers every time I go shooting. But they are removed from the tray three or so at a time as they can be dangerous if they go off and set others off.
Primers are manufactured wet and are loaded into the trays wet. I don’t mess around with them.
I use the LEE Hand Press Kit BTW and like it for it's light weight
and ease of use once the dies are set.
/Salute
Oh, and women would love this kit because it would keep their breasts firm.
I have the same hand press and it is wonderful. I use the Classic Loader becuse it is so satisfying to put a cartridge together.
Also because when I am at the range and I hit the cartidge with a soft faced hammer, women faint dead-away.
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