doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com OT, to use #57 primers on modern cases.

I would lean towards swaging, as described above, before using a sealer like silicone. You need a little "tougher" barrier to the gases coming back around the primer than silicone, IMO. As my Grandaddy used to put it, "That's a lot of sugar for a dime". You're going to a lot of trouble to save a very little money, unless there are other considerations in Mexico, such as scarcity of 209 primers, or maybe a "lot" is something like thousands.

If you really want to pursue it, make up a little swage like Kutter described, load one really light load with a 57, put it in an old beater single shot and shoot it with a string. Then evaluate for gas leakage. All is pure speculation until you do.

It does not take nearly as much to prevent gas leakage as we think, sometimes. I had a dear old friend who was raised very poor in Texas. They had access to a single barrel 12 ga. as kids, but no access to 12 ga. shells. But, they had access to plenty of 16 ga. shells for some strange reason. He said they would wrap tape around the shell head until it was a snug fit in the chamber, then happily kill game along the Red River. Did this for years with no apparent damage to the gun.

SRH

The last time I bought WW 209 primers they cost 150 for a tube, (5000) That equals .03 each. Can all this fooling around be done for 3 cents?

bill

Jose -
I admire your pursuit of thrift. I have learned over the years that there is a time to cut the loses and change directions. I would suggest that this is one of those times for you. Dump the old crap and save yourself time and expended energy. If the $ are so tight that using the 57's is a plan then I would find a second job and use the time for that instead of wasting it on the 57's.
JMO of course YMMV

have another day
Dr.WtS

Hello Gentlemen,

Thank you for all your comments.

Maybe a previous explanation why I "need" a way to use those old #57 primers had been apropiate: since many years ago, in Mexico there are no reloading components in the legal market. It is not prohibited to reload, but you can not legaly buy primers or powder.
I just finished my lot of 209 primers, so I "need" to use the #57�s that I have to keep "alive" the reloading hobby.

Nothing to do with saving money is to "save" reloading for me.

Best,

Have you thought about an aluminum foil solution. Perhaps two layers thick placed over the hole. Use a deprimer punch to drive it up into the primer hole, open a passage and give it a rough shape. That should hold your primer and give you a good seal. Trim it after the primer is seated.

Considering all the solutions mentioned, I'd buy shells off the shelf and make a boat anchor of my reloader...Geo

Jose..I admire your spirit.
Have you tried the snipped drinking straw for a fit... that might work...though I'd test a few rounds with string on the trigger first n check what things look like.
Labour intensive, but a couple of boxes at a time might only drive you half crazy,lol
good luck,but be carefull
keep us posted mate
cheers
franc

I already reload a box with the "straw technique".
Everything looks ok, but until I fired them, I will know if the plastic straw seals or not (someone here told me, via private message, that it will perform perfecty!).

I reload about 2-300 shotshells a year, so if the straw technique is fine, I have primers for the next 5 years!

Thank you all!

One thing about 57 primers that hasn't been mentioned is the flash holes. I seem to remember that most, if not all have open flash holes which are a danger if using fine spherical powders. I have seen one gun where the firing pin and hammer were blown back so hard that a piece of the stock was broken out. This was on a good quality double, an SKB.

Tom, do you mean that tiny powder grains could work their way into the open flash hole & could cause weird things?...wonder if you could , with a tiny artists brush, put a film of varnish across the open flash hole?
But then again that could also cause weird shit to happen....
Jose, ...I guess you gotta have to put a couple in the chambers n do the stringbehind the barn test
Good luck...where there's a will, there's a way...as was proved last night...yeah!
Let us know what happens when you pull the string man
cheers
Franc