Primers

[Snydly]

I always pop a cap,,but just hearing it go off does not mean your channel is clear. I point the barrel at the ground about an inch from a leaf, twig etc. to see if it moves. This way I know the channel is clear and helped dry out any oil that might have migrated to the nipple. Through the 60s,,70s,,80s,, 90s everyone did it. I still do.

 

[firestick]

No they are not corrosive as in the modern thought in that they do not use mercury fulminate as primers and percussion caps did in the past. Repeated firing of primers and percussion caps do leave a byproduct however and it does build up when fired alone repeatedly.

 

[TNGhost]

I always pop a cap,,but just hearing it go off does not mean your channel is clear. I point the barrel at the ground about an inch from a leaf, twig etc. to see if it moves. This way I know the channel is clear and helped dry out any oil that might have migrated to the nipple. Through the 60s,,70s,,80s,, 90s everyone did it. I still do.

Agreed, make sure it is clear of oil with a cap, and watching the grass or dust on the ground move at the end of the barrel is the most certain way of doing that. Always done that before every hunt.

On the range if the first cap doesn't do the job shooting at paper, no big deal. With game in the sights its a totally different ballgame and you want to be as sure as you can.

And no, they are not corrosive any more than modern boxer primers are, since they use the same compound.