223 primer seating woes

I use the Lyman primer crimp remover chucked into a drill . They make press mounted primer pocket strangers like the RCBS and the Dillon super Swager is the Cadillac of primer Crimp remover’s . On a sidenote and I’m sure you now have learned , you never want to force anything in Reloading if the primers are binding up or are hard to seat , stop !

Some of the chamfer and de-burring tools have a peg in them that can chuck to a drill, use the chamfer side to remove the pocket crimp. This can also be done by hand, ad tedium.

Also, a simple carpenter’s counter sink bit in a drill will do the same thing.
Don’t go too deep, just remove the edge.

I trust you wore proper PPE while placing explosive charges into the case heads, inches from your face, right?

OP, I also recommend this primer pocket gauge to check that the crimp has been fully removed and that the pocket is not too loose.

You can either swage the pockets with a swaging tool that reshapes the opening of the primer pocket or you can use a reamer designed to cut the crimp out.

The problem with swaging primer pockets is that you have to separate your brass by head stamp or the swaging may not remove the crimp entirely or it will destrpy your primer pockets. Each headstamp has a slighty different case thickness and so the adjustment on the swagign tool is critical.

I have removed primer pocket crimps both ways and I prefer using a pocket reamer instead because you don't have to separate brass by head stamp.

If you do decide to ream the crimp from the primer pocket, be sure to use a primer pocket tool. many guys will jsut use a drill or 45 degree deburring tool and if you are not careful, you will remove too much of the actual primer pocket. I primer pocket tool stops cutting once you reach the shoulder so you can never take too much of the primer pocket. I use an RCBS primer pocket reamer checked in a cordless drill. It cost less that $15, takes a second to remove the crime, and last about 10,000 cases.

Hope that information helps

Ruger 15151 said:

many guys will jsut use a drill or 45 degree deburring tool and if you are not careful, you will remove too much of the actual primer pocket.

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While I agree, at the same time, have you seen someone do this, to the point of actual failure?

I have seen some ridiculous cutting jobs that keep on working. Though I obviously do not recommend carelessness.

I have used the swage tool and found that, even though the crimp was removed, the sharp edge would sometimes cause hang ups and turned primers.

I like the idea of simply cutting a chamfer or radius. Does this tool ream any other part of the pocket, or just the edge?
In my instance I would not want to ream any other part of the pocket just the mouth.

I had some range brass that some one did remove too much and every primer looked like a flat top since there was not any brass to support the top ~0.070". I scrapped the whole batch. I prefer the swager for it does not remove any metal just moves it back to where it was before the crimp. Depending on the type of crimp used you may have to use a deburing tool design for primer pockets.

Which every way you go use the proper tool, It will be better in the long run. And less likely to do damage to the brass.

I started about 200 .223's last week. Primers were hanging, turning sideways and even upside down. I dug my RCBS Primer Pocket Swage out and fixed them. I haven't loaded any .223's in 10 years, SLOW and Labor intensive. I need to load another batch. OUCH! I like the Lyman tool in the drill idea!

I haven't removed crimps in a looong time. Way back when we used a old pocket knife, now I have a hand held reamer, don't know brand but it has a brown wood handle. Never had 100s to do so by hand worked for me.

It's a one time deal, anyway.

life is too short for crimped primer pockets. scrap them and pick up some brass without. 223 brass is everywhere. or else it was.

Yep a pocket knife or reamer will work well. Heck a new #2 Phillips bit will work well. That said i want to swage mime as I think the pockets will last longer. If you want to invest in a swaging tool take the time to check out all the youtube videos first. I did and ended up with the CH4D combo primer swager and ram prime set. The advantage is you use the top of the press and don't have to adjust a punch that fits inside. Its faster in my opinion as well. I just set it up using a non swaged brass and go to town. No more ruined primers or tools for me.

greyling22 said:

life is too short for crimped primer pockets. scrap them and pick up some brass without. 223 brass is everywhere.

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Very true but some of the best cases for reloading have the military crimp (my opinion.)

I would have bought the Dillon (the best) except that I refuse to sort cases and then adjust the tool for every batch due to case size differences. Unless I am not understanding the process.

There are dedicated reloading tools for removing a mil spec crimp from primer pockets, from inexpensive to fairly costly. I am a life long machinist mechanic and when I first encountered a primer crimp I immediately thought of a counter sink. I had a few in my toolbox so I cut the crimp out of some 5.56 brass, and since then I have decrimped thousands of cases with a plain old 60 degree x 1/2" countersink with a 1/4 hex drive (I use a hand drill or power screwdriver, takes about 1 second). I attempted to put too much chamfer on a pocket just to see how deep I could go safely, but stopped at about 3/32"-1/8" and no blow outs. I never had a problem with crooked swaging or off center reaming ot too deep chamfering. I've removed annular and stake crimps quite easily (I've reloaded a bunch of HXP brass for my Garand). Works for me...
https://www.mcmaster.com/countersinks/

double post

mdi said:

I attempted to put too much chamfer on a pocket just to see how deep I could go safely, but stopped at about 3/32"-1/8"

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I have an 87degree 1/4” counter sink reamer for stainless marine fasteners, and found the same outcome. The nose hits the web before it cuts through the head too deep.
Not all counter sinks are made the same though.

Well, I can’t find what @Ruger 15151 describes on the RCBS website.

However, I have found one on Amazon for $40.
I’ll keep looking as that is a little steep, but it is exactly what I would be looking for!
It cuts only the chamfer into the mouth of the pocket. No wall or web reaming, which I think is detrimental.

After I get it I’ll have an RCBS swage die II for sale...

Thanks for the heads up, Ruger!

I have over two thousand new pickups to begin on, this will be ever so much more pleasant!

This is the best swage tool that I’ve ever used. It’s unavailable here on Amazon right now but can be found from any of a number of other sources.

https://www.amazon.com/Hornady-041227-Lock-N-Load-Single-Primer/dp/B01N0JFLOO

I just got the Dillon Super Swager 600. I tried the reamer attachment on the Lyman cutter with a power screwdriver. The Dillon, for $115 or so, works SOOOOOO much better and gets rid of the crimp without error in seriously two seconds with old fingers. See the You-Tube videos for demonstrations. It works as advertised.

I concur with fotheringill. The Dillon Super Swager is super fast and easy.