[Grassman]

Well I broke the deprimer pin in my 22-250 die, I've heard that RCBS has a really great return/customer service policy. I guess I'll find out. Anyone had to return to RCBS? Good results or bad?

[earplug]

But if your in a hurry most reloading shops carry the part as a normal use repair part. Hand guns brass always gets a pebble or a smaller caliber brass case inside etc.
Good idea to have several on hand. They only break when your in a hurry and the shop is closed.
Several die manufactures depriming parts interchange.

[Grassman]

No hurry, I've got about 500 rounds of 22-250 stocked up now. Time to concentrate on some other calibers.

[avan47]

No need to return anything. Call them. They will send the parts you need. If you ask them the cost to send you some extra decaping pins, they will probably just send them to you.

[jibjab]

Apart from decapping crimped primer pockets it seems like a unlikely thing to happen :confused: I would make sure the decapper assembly is centered in the die body. I have found off centered flash holes in Remington brass, but not off enough to break a pin.

[rbt50]

you should always keep some on hand, some die sets come with a extra one.

[Varminthound]

Like avan47 wrote. Tell them the pin broke and they will send you 5. Happened to me. Great service.

[JackOfAllTradesMasterAtNone]

No need to return anything. Call them. They will send the parts you need. If you ask them the cost to send you some extra decaping pins, they will probably just send them to you.

They break, but it certainly doesn't disable your reloading. Just rob a pin from another die set until the replacement ones arrive. I've broken the RCBS, Lyman and Dillon decap pins over the years. Call any one of the reputable companies, (I imagine Lee too), and they'll send you new pins fer nuttin.

-Steve

[VINTAGE-SLOTCARS]

They usually break when your in a hurry and dont center the case in the shell holder or pull too hard and fast on crimped primers. Buy extras and have them ready so that you have them as needed, they are too cheep not to have extras. Clean your dies and lightly oil them you take them apart to put in the pin.

[Afy]

I broke my universal decapper pin yesterday as well.
Now I need to find some here in europe as well. :(

[qajaq59]

Call 'em, the'll send you some. RCBS has a good reputation for that. Once when I was desperate I cut the head off a brad and used it for a week until my new pins came in. I just happened to have a brad that was the right size.

[243winxb]

RCBS has 2 types of decapping pin. One is very old, just a straight pin. New ones have a head on them. Large and Small sizes also. Great service from RCBS. But pick up new pins at your local sporting goods store. RCBS sent me a brand new Rock Chucker press for the one i wore out. I have owned and used RCBS reloading dies for over 40 years now, and I have never had a single complaint. They are literally a lifetime investment.

[Bostekrisco]

Like avan47 wrote. Tell them the pin broke and they will send you 5. Happened to me. Great service.

Hmmm. I broke the pin on my Lee 223 AND 308 dies this weekend. I called Lee and the lady said they are 3 bucks apiece. I asked her about the warranty and she said I'd have to send the dies in. I paid her the 3 bucks apiece for 4.

Just a little FYI for all the "which brand should I buy?" crowd.

[rcmodel]

Heres a tip.

When you adjust the expander/decapper rod, run a fired case into the die with the decapping rod backed out a ways.

Then screw the rod down while feeling around for the flash hole, and continue adjusting it down until the primer is popped out + another 1/2 turn or so.

Now the lock-nut is still loose, and the pin is centered in the flash hole of the case.

Only then, tighten the lock-nut.

If you tighten the rod lock-nut with no case in the die, thread slop between the die body, rod, and lock-nut may throw the decapping pin off center by quite some distance.

rcmodel

[Walkalong]

you tighten the rod lock-nut with no case in the die, thread slop between the die body, rod, and lock-nut may throw the decapping pin off center by quite some distance.
Ditto. Good advise.

I had one that it took bending to center it. Argh....

[fireman 9731]

From the sticky for handy ideas:

"How many times have you broke one? I`ve done it so many time it will make your head spin,Most of the time it`s a small rock in the case from the range, or a 22lr brass in the case? in any event they never break at a good time or you don`t have a replacement,So for the passed 20 years i`ve been using finishing nails?After installing it i simply snip off the point and get back to work,I have one in my 357 sizing decapping die thats been there for 10 years now,Thats big jon tip for the day."

[rcmodel]

An even better tip is to inspect empty brass for things that rattle or bite before resizing them!

I haven't broke a decapping pin in the last 25 years, so it is avoidable!

rcmodel

[qajaq59]

Hmmm. I broke the pin on my Lee 223 AND 308 dies this weekend. I called Lee and the lady said they are 3 bucks apiece. I asked her about the warranty and she said I'd have to send the dies in. I paid her the 3 bucks apiece for 4.

Just a little FYI for all the "which brand should I buy?" crowd. Sounds familiar.

[glockster157]

I have used a lot of military brass so I have broken many decapping pins in my 28 years of reloading. In a pinch, I either A. borrow a pin from another set of dies B. make one out of a nail or drill bit shank/blank as stated above C. If I am only doing a few cases, like 20, I will manually punch out the primers and them resize them with no pin at all.

BTW, I have also had pins break in commercial cases many times, sometimes because of something I did/missed and sometimes for no reason at all. So get you some extras and don't worry about it.

As to Lee dies, all of mine have the decapping pin made on the neck expander plug. Did you break that? I don't think they have pins.

[Grassman]

I tried to call RCBS today, but I kept getting a busy signal, I finally got through then waited on the phone for 25 minutes, and then just gave up.....I'll try em' again Friday. As far as scavenging from another die, that won't work for me, the broken die is a new one, with the head on it.....all of my other dies are 40 years old and they have just a straight pin, so I'll have to wait on them. I've been loading a ton of .40 s&w in the meantime.

[rodregier]

Berdan primed cases are tough on Boxer decapping pins too :-(

I broke the pin on my Lee 9mmx19 resizing die, but then I reload a lot of mil-spec brass and range pickups too. It went significantly over 50K rounds in 19 years, so I don't think of it as a premature failure.

[Jeffs_Dad]

Bostekrisco,

Based on your comment about Lee, it appears that the company is doing so well it can afford to be snotty to customers. I think they should set up a seminar for all the other companies that are closing their doors due to the current economy. Lee could teach them about company reputation - and how they are surviving. (I'm sure GM and Chrysler would love to attend.)

jp

[krs]

Grassman,

I'd bet they've either taken off for the holiday or are victims of weather, or both. I was going to link to the store but couldn't get their site to open at http://rcbs.com RCBS has an online store in their website where about anything they make can be bought direct from them, if you can stand the price. On something like decap pins it'd be about the same no matter what so it doesn't hurt to use their store.

[qajaq59]

Bostekrisco, wise choice. Paying the $12 bucks for the pins from Lee was probably cheaper then shipping the die back, at today's shipping rates, so they would give you just the one pin under the warrantee.

[Sunray]

You won't have to send anything to RCBS. Just call 'em and they'll send you a package. I'd try the elderly pins anyway.