Reload 209 Shotgun Primers Using Field Expedient Methods

Warning: For educational purposes only. Use these techniques at your own risk.

Tools used for field expedient reloading

Items needed to reload 209 primer

Removing 209 primer components

209 primer assembly

"Urban Man" My survival buddy sent me another post in a series of reloading shotgun ammo. This video shows how to reload the primer as well when you have no primer replacements."


Suggested tools used:

1. Antique hand primer crimp tool
2. Wood dowel for powder, wad and shot compressing
3. Primer removal tool with socket base (5/8 inch socket)
4. Rubber hammer
5. Wad cutter tool (for what ever size shell you are loading)
6. Flat punch that fits inside primer cup to flatten out dimple
7. Flat piece of metal stock
8. Flat piece of wood
9. Strike anywhere matches
10. Powder and shot measuring cups
11. Wad material (paper, plastic, wool, etc)
12. Over shot card material (cardboard, playing cards, etc)
13. 5.5 mm socket (used to remove primer cup)
14. Pin or finishing nail used to pound out primer cup.
15. Lighter or similar flame source
16. Glue stick
17. Rifle and shotgun powder with container (I used Pyrodex RS)
18. Bird shot with container (I used #7 1/2 in the video) 


Note: Do not allow the ammo to get wet. Do not jar the ammo around by throwing into an ammo can or something of that nature. Protect the ammo until it is needed. It is best to shoot this ammo from a single shot or double barrel shotgun rather than a pump action. A pump action can be used if you load and fire one round at a time rather than using the pump action.

One drawback from reloading spent primers is the chance that the match head powder or what ever other ignition source was used may not ignite and you get a dude fire.

In the event the primer does not ignite, wait about 60 seconds with the end of the barrel pointed on target in the event there is a cook off. A cook off is when the powder could be smoldering but has not yet ignited. If it ignites and the end of the barrel is pointed toward someone, there may be a chance of an accidental shooting.

Always inspect the shells for damage and cracks. Do not reuse or shoot damaged ammo. Use safety glasses when loading your ammo and keep open flames away from your powder. 

Fielding Expedient Ammo Reloading

"Urban Man~ Here is an interesting lesson from a survival buddy of mine."

Caution: This lesson is for educational purposes only. Gun powder is dangerous. Firing damaged or incorrectly loaded ammo is dangerous as well.

There may be a time in ones life when it may become necessary to have to reload ammo in the field, especially in a wilderness survival situation or the collapse of society. 

We are comfortable in knowing that at the moment we have access to ready made store bought ammo. But, what if that luxury was some how taken away? What if there were no stores left or available to purchase our ammo?

In such as situation, ammo can still be available if one knew how to obtain what was needed to reload their own. Spent ammo shells, especially shotgun shells can be found laying around all over the desert. Primers can be reconditioned and reloaded. Black powder can be homemade. Lead shot can be made from scrape lead.

You really do not need fancy reloading equipment in order to reload ammo in an emergency or self reliant situation.

Learn now to start saving your spent ammo hulls and shells. Set them aside to be reloaded at a later date when the time is needed.

Here are the steps that were covered in the video to reload a 12 gauge shell: (if this is the first time a plastic shotgun shell is being used, cut the top crimp fingers off the shell where the crimp line meets the star crimp.)

1. Remove primer
2. Install a new primer
3. Measure powder and add to shell
4. Using dowel rod, gently compress the powder in the shell
5. Add correct amount of wading (plastic, paper, animal hair, leather, etc.)
6. Using dowel rod again, gently compress the wad into the shell
7. Add correct amount of shot. (insure that there is enough room at the opening of the shell to add the over-shot card)
8. Add over-shot card and compress gently with dowel rod
9. Add glue over top of shot card ensuring that the inside walls of the shell receive glue as well
10. Immediately add another shot card over the top of the first one and apply gentle pressure to allow glue to spread out

Note: Do not allow the ammo to get wet. Do not jar the ammo around by throwing into an ammo can or something of that nature. Protect the ammo until it is needed. It is best to shoot this ammo from a single shot or double barrel shotgun rather than a pump action. A pump action can be used if you load and fire one round at a time rather than using the pump action.

Always inspect the shells for damage and cracks. Do not reuse or shoot damaged ammo. Use safety glasses when loading your ammo and keep open flames away from your powder. 

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You Have No Food - Now What?

During the collapse you have no food- Now what?

I felt compelled to write this after reading The Survival Institute's article on "What To Do If You Run Out Of Food When The SHTF".

http://survivalinstitute.com/what-to-do-if-you-run-out-of-food-when-the-shtf/

The Survival Institute article leads into foraging for food and some excellent guidelines for edibility testing on suspect plants. Great information and a key wilderness survival skill, but there are few regions in this nation that will, in small areas, provide adequate plants for forage to sustain a small group for very long. Even supplementing with fish and game, this is a iffy proposal.

This is in no way a rebuttal against the Survival Institute, as the scenario they are describing is certainly a type of contingency and we are all about planning contingencies using the PACE model (Primary Plan, Alternate Plan, Contingency Plan and Emergency Plan). Don't try to read into what each letter stands for P-A-C-E,....the idea is to have an alternate plan in case the current plan goes bad. When executing the current plan you may reach obstacles, indicators or criteria which would cue you to switch to the alternate plan. In this case the plan is food sources.

I get it that even the most well stocked SHTF warehouse could (and eventually will) run out of food. So procurement (hunting, fishing or barter) and growing your own food (both animals and plants) have got to receive adequate if nor primary attention (along with water and security) in your overall Collapse Planning. While you should have wilderness survival skills, you also have to an adequate, time effective plan for food and sustaining (growing) the sustainment!

In my mind - in the way I categorize and plan, my food sustainment plan is pretty much what I have outlined below:

~ Pantry or canned, boxed and refrigerated food for immediate use. During a Bug In (hunkering down in place) I will use these foods until they are largely gone.

~ I have vacuum packed small to large bulk storage of food. Everything from rice, beans, chick peas, flour, sugar, coffee, tea, honey, peanut butter, various nuts, ....Some of these are in buckets with handles so you can put them into a vehicle and support a mobile mission away from the defended Bug In site for a certain number of days. The deployed team would be eating out of this bucket and saving their food and supplies in their bug out bags in case they had to leave or abandon the vehicle for any reason. The bucket also serves as a stool, table or to collect water or other material in when emptied.

~ Dehydrated Canned in large #10 cans, vegetables, nuts and fruit.

~ While I do not currently have Chickens, I have boxed up chicken coops so at the right time I can barter for chickens and rabbits to have a source of protein from those sources.

~ Seeds and Growing your own food. While I have a small garden, this year limited to squash, tomatoes, cucumbers and potatoes, I have a large supply of hybrid and non-hybrid seeds to plant more and for barter purposes. I also have lumber and hardware to build off the ground container beds for crops, or to take the material with me if I have to Bug Out and use it elsewhere.

So the topic of food and planning is so important. I probably receive as many questions on food and food stocking as I do any other single subject. Many questions are prepping on a budget. This is simply re-directional spending and does not require giant wads of cash to buy just a bit extra each trip and put it way. If you put the occasional change and dollar bills in a can soon you be surprised to have $80 to $100 to buy a case of dehydrated food. Where there is a need there will be a way to get there.