dropping a primer in the case with the powder

Anybody ever heard of dropping a primer in the case with the powder?

I was reading Handloader’s Digest 1994 13th edition edited by Bob Bell.
page 102 says a guy named John Buhmiller “dropped a second primer into the case along with the powder”.
It was for “ensuring ignition of his big bore magnums”.
That was awhile back. On page 105 it says he died peacefully in 1975.
Anyway, I would not recommend that but I was wondering if anybody ever tried it? I guess you would need to reduce the powder charge some.

no but i did see some shotgun slugs that were hollow and you fill them up with blackpowder and then cap the top of the slug with a 209 primer.... so they explode when they hit....

I cannot remember the company that makes them but it was some specialty ammo company.... saw them at the last gun show we worked in early december...

It seems to me,dropping a live primer in the case with the powder charge would have inconsistent results and cause pressure spikes more than anything and really isn't any different than mixing powders(BIG no no). If you are having a hard time getting magnum powder to burn...you better back up and try a different approach.

you got to remember the technology for developing powders and probably even the consistency back then, especially for magnum calibers, probably wasn't the greatest 30-40 years ago.

I would not attempt this in today's market.

I had never heard of it. but you have documentation of it. Personally I don't see any reason to do that. and I don't think that I would for lots of reasons. first what happens to the primer cup and anvil if it didn't expel out the bore it could cause serious damage to your action or even cause a bore obstruction. and those are the least worrisome things that could happen. as Hawcer said i don't think that you would develop consistent pressures or for that matter even ignition. If I were worried about good ignition on a magnum round I would maker sure i had a good flash hole and use magnum primers.

That's just some off the wall crazy sh!t right there. Please don't ever consider trying that Ed.
I don't think you would, but just in case it ever crossed you mind..........Please don't.

I've done duplex loads with slow powder in 458 win mag but never would attempt that .

never heard of such a thing, different strokes for different folks

Ditto: If that powder don't light with 1 primer I'd want to see what was wrong and fix that rather than adding something that could not be controlled.

Ha ha ha!
I never would have thought of that nor would I ever want to try it! Sounds just a tad sketchy.

If you put a couple of 'em in there with a light charge it might work like shot.... better yet, fill some of those shotshell capsules that you can buy... with primers. There's a recipe for disaster baby!

I got a small box of .45 ammo that appears to have a primer at the front of the bullet. They are called exploders, have not shot any as of yet but they look old. I am judging age by the look of the domed shaped primers. I will try to figure out how to post pictures.

exploders pictures. Note the domed primer. And what appears to be a primer in the nose of the bullet.

now thats cool id like to have some of them!

Never heard of dropping a second primer in the case - seems like a bad idea to me as well.

I have done Duplex loads in my crazy youth - not something I would do now, and thankfully I never hurt myself or my weapons.

In some states having explosive ammo is a no-no - so watch your state regs folks.

I have seen some molds for pouring your own (or swaging) shotgun slugs with a hollow cavity that you could fill with mercury nitrate, very fine BP or flash powder.

Some books out there and web sites also detail how to make explosive rifle bullets, 37 mm shells, etc. Most of this information is neat stuff to know but can get you in serious trouble with the man.

In my collection I have some near turn of the century BP or cordite .475 Kynoch 600 gr explosive loads I guess designed for elephant or rhino. I have never shot one as I do not own a weapon in that caliber and they are so old that I would not consider shooting them if I did own an appropriate weapon.

If I was trouble igniting powder I would consider looking at my primers, changing to a hotter primer (IE a "magnum" primer) or trying some newer primers.

I had some Winchester small rifle primers that were near 10 years old and had fallen behind the bench where I "discovered" them one day. Some of them did not perform so well but all lit my powder OK and I used them for plinking ammo.

Some of my .357 Rem Max loads call for small rifle magnum primers, but I have had good luck with small rifle bench rest primers.

Sometimes a different brand of primer seems to work better for some powders. Going over nearly 24 years of reloading notes is a pain (which is why I am moving my reloading notes to a PC netbook), but I have discovered that overall I have better results with CCI primers than others.

FWIW Ironworker, that's a shot shell primer that's stuck in the nose of the bullet. Are you gonna shoot one?
Suit up in full body armor and welding gloves, face sheild, stand behind a tree with only the gun hand sticking out???

Please report back with the results when/if you do.

One last thing, I don't think I'd use them in an auto loader, I've had a couple jam before when entering the chamber and the part that buried into the ramp just so happened to be the tip of the hollow point.

Like Mo said - please shoot one!!

I'd like to see one shot into some ball. gel if you could!!

I don't have any .45 autos that aren't autos, but I suppose I could chamber one with an empty magazine. I don't know of the legalities I guess I had not thought about it. I got these for free as part of a trade for some work I did. I don't have any ballistics gel scorge, but I could drive up to your place and use yours. I just live down in the south end.

I do not have any bal gel either Ironworker but you are welcome to come up and shoot.

If the monsoon slacks off the outdoor range here is pretty nice.

If the regulations allow, I should make some of these!~ provided your experiments with shooting them is not fatal.

Please shoot 'em! :worthless-with

Dang, Big AG.....where the hell have you been hiding....

Geez- I don't know..
I've been preoccupied with a new motorcycle and a new girlfriend. I haven't picked- up a gun in about a month. That's a horrible thought.
I need a huge casting session before I can have anything to... er... load
I wonder if you could load a grain or two of bp into the nose of the bullet and seat a primer... maybe coat it with nail polish to form a sealed vessel. explosive performance

For a primer to work ,won't it have to have a direct impact on the anvil? Maybe not, since the full force of the bullet is behind it. Maybe one could cast a 22lr case or tube into the center of the of the cast bullet to use as the powder chamber? I wonder if a 209 primer would work better...
Interesting idea...I don't know about the legalities of it  though.

dont believe that i would want to be pouring hot lead on a live round. maybe nothing would happen but OMG if it did the least thing would be cleaning my undershorts.

Now i could see making a deep hollow point filling it with BP and then crimping in a 209 primer in the point form die. dont know if it would go boom but would be kewl to find out

and like you Hawcer I dont know the legalities of it

ohhh,no no.... I didn't mean to cast around a live primer or case. Just use a spent 22 case as a chamber then press in the primer afterward.

I knew what ya' meant by the .22 shell. Use it as a little chamber. You'd have to secure the primer so that it wouldn't move around.

or!! do this... Cast a .22 shell into your bullet, put some powder in there, put your primer in, then crimp some kind of anvil in front of it but not touching it... the force of the impact would push the anvil thing right into the primer and set it off. As i typed this though, I realized that the acceleration of the bullet leaving the gun might trigger this reaction and your projectile would go off before or shortly after leaving the gun.