From what I understand, Boxer primers have only 3 components... a cup... a small amount of priming compound which is deposited as a paste... and an anvil. The very sensitive paste is dried into a so-called pellet during manufacturing.
Benchrest and competition shooters have long preferred to use hand priming tools that allow them to feel the primer bottoming out in the pocket without crushing the pellet of priming compound, which might negatively affect accuracy. For this reason, I have always used a hand priming tool to prime my rifle cases in a separate operation that takes very little time. I recently bought an RCBS Automatic Bench Priming Tool at an Auto Parts Swap Meet, of all places, and look forward to trying it out. I load for economy, but also reload for better accuracy than I can get with factory ammo. I know that primers may detonate from any sharp blow, and they also may be removed from a primed case if done gently. Then we have to consider the greater force that is needed to removed a lot of old military primers that have crimped or staked primer pockets. My biggest concern, aside from inadvertently detonating one, would be having the decapping pin push the anvil into the compound hard enough to crush it. That could lead to misfires or reduced accuracy, which may not be a real concern for casual plinking or target shooting.
Primers are still relatively cheap, especially if you stock up when they are on sale instead of waiting until anti-gun Democrats cause price spikes, shortages, and panic buying. A lot of old commercial and especially military ammo was primed with the very corrosive mercury fulminate primers too. The first SKS rifle I bought was a Yugo that looked nice outside, but had a bore that looked like a sewer pipe. It's nice to know that I could take the time to salvage and re-use old unknown primers if we were ever in some SHTF situation. But for now, I'll work on using up my considerable stockpile.
