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| I know thet this has happened to ya. Yore at yur cousin's trailer park jest layin under his 1959 GMC one ton pickup tryin to get it started after three years a sittin usin the battery and alternator outta yur 1998 F 150, when ya look up ta see the uh...eyes of the next door neighbor lady, who divorced her husband and got the trailer and fuel-injected ‘69 Firebird in the driveway, standin there with the front of her shirt all tied up like a bow and bulgin out, lookin down under the hood sayin she'd just come over ta see what all the bangin and cussin was bout. After bout a minute of chitchat and splainin why ya need three Winchester ‘97s for Cowboy Shooting, a riot gun with an 18 and a half inch barrel (which, of course, could be a cut down), one with a 28" barrel for general principles, and one with a 48" barrel thet ya had a gunsmith make for ya for style points, when ya happen on mentionin that ya have 7 boxes of surplus .50 caliber tracer rounds outta a P38 (well it coulda been a P38), when she looks atcha battin those long lashes and happens on mentionin, "Ya know, I cain't recall ever haven seen the back side of a primer from a .50 caliber tracer round."
What I'm about to describe should not be tempted by the kiddies. In fact, it should not be tempted by anyone but a trained, licensed, experienced expert professional or guys like you an me who know a little bout guns and tools. Ya wanna make sure ya uses yur goggles and hearin protection because if'n a .50 caliber tracer round goes off in yur garage it's real loud and yur ears get to ringin and ya cain't hear nuthin and ya git dizzy, and black stuff goes splatterin yur face and ya cain't see nuthin and ya gotta feel your way into the house and get in the shower with yur boots and clothes and toolbelt on to wash that burnin stuff outta yur eyes. Firmly clamp the brass case into the vice, leaving the bullet free to leave on its own and not explode if ya accidentally make a mistake. You shouldn't point it downwise, rather point it atta 45 degree angle so the bullet will just go a bouncin off outta eyesight. Caution: Be sure ta point it away from yur truck, cause insurance companies jest caint understand how anyone can blow up a 1998 Ford F150 with a .50 caliber tracer round, and ya gotta git three estimates fur a new burnt down garage and ya wouldn't believe how much it costs ta git three melted power lines to yur house replaced on a Sunday evenin. (They won't pay fur burnt clothes neither.)
The best thin to use is a 8 oz ballpeen hammer for delicate work, but if'n you broke the ballpeen hammer handle tryin ta wedge a Ford alternator into a GMC, then ya might hafta make do with a 32 oz. framin hammer. Don't go tryin to use an ol rusty ice pick cause the point might break off and the rest of it stick ya in the palm makin it so ya haveta go off runnin all through the house lookin for thet roll of gauze thet ya thought ya remember buyin but never did cause nobody ever thinks to buy thet kind of thin unless ya need it, and wrappin yur hand in toilet paper ta stop the bleedin while you wonder whether its worth the double charge ta go ta the emergency room for stitches on a weekend or if it'd probably just be all right ta soak some paper towels in Jack Daniels and wrap it all up in duct tape. And don't bother goin ta Sears to git that pointy screwdriver kinda thin thet only comes in the $79.99 sets marked down to $59.99 this week only, cause the point is too thick and will slip toward the center of the primer when ya go ta hit it with the hammer.
The proper tool is a small flat headed screwdriver, but ya gotta grind the sides at a 45 degree angle to get it in. Tap it tween the primer and case till it won't go no more. Then ya pull as hard as ya kin, making sure ta stay low, cause when it gives way the screwdriver kin bounce off yur forehead. Of course you should always work in a clean garage, cause a popped out primer kin get lost in amongst the brass shavings and sawdust, and yur jeans kin get these big ol black spots that won't warsh clean when ya crawl round in knocked over steerin wheel fluid and then, of course, ya have to start all over again ta takin out another primer.
Next week I'll be discussin refined primer extraction methodology jest in case someone ya know might go a thinkin, "they're a mite more all dented up then I spected."
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