Opinion/Review request: RCBS Primer Pocket Swager Combo 2

Have you used an RCBS Primer Pocket Swager Combo 2

  • Yes

    Votes: 13 81.3%

  • No

    Votes: 3 18.8%
  • Total voters
    16
  • Poll closed .
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merlynski

merlynski

Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2009
Messages
202
Location
Eastern Plains of Colorado
Have you used a "RCBS Primer Pocket Swager Combo 2"
Currently $46 at Midway.
I would use this primarily for swaging 5.56 pockets in (mostly) LC brass. I have a couple thousand to do, but probably will not be doing a lot more in the future, unless the SHTF
Maybe some 9mm milsurp cases . . .
Use a Rockchucker press.
What is your opinion?

Link: https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1012920663?pid=235832
 
I have had one for quite some time . I used it off and on with mixed results,I am stubborn but finally gave up . I cut the crimps out now and use the swaging buttons from this kit to test primer pockets as I cut .
 
I have one and use it frequently on a Lee Reloader press. It works well on 9mm, 308 and 225/556. I’ve used it for years and have had no problems. If I get in a hurry or my shoulder hurts more than normal I’ll put a dab of Imperial sizing wax on the button.
 
merlynski said:
What problems did you have?
Click to expand...
I was using about 6 different headstamps , it was finicky because of the differences in brass construction . It seemed I always had to touch them up with a cutter afterwards so I just stuck with cutting . I am also one of those guys that has to have things just right when it comes to loading , especially primers/primer pockets.
 
sparkyv said:
It works just fine, but it's tedious and not very fast. For a few hundred cases it'll do, but if I were doing thousands which I don't, I'd select an upgraded tool.
Click to expand...
Thanks!
I am not in any hurry, I don't have a 5.56 anything myself, but I may load some up for my son. So I would probably only do a few hundred max at one setting anyway. Good function and lower cost are my most important criteria. However, I don't want something cheap that won't work very well, I just want to do crimp removal, one time per case, without have to go back and do rework to 'fix' a poorly done job with a poor quality tool. Hence this thread :D
 
bullseye308 said:
I have one and use it frequently on a Lee Reloader press. It works well on 9mm, 308 and 225/556. I’ve used it for years and have had no problems. If I get in a hurry or my shoulder hurts more than normal I’ll put a dab of Imperial sizing wax on the button.
Click to expand...

I feed the cases with my left hand and pull the lever with my right. I have a little Imperial on the index finger of my left hand and apply a little to the pin every 9-10 cases. Makes things go like a hot knife through butter.
 
I have one, have used it, it works if you set the depth correctly. Be careful you don’t swage too deeply and open up the pocket more than you need to. I’ve run both small and large primer,, it’s not fast but it does work. Good luck.
 
I have and used it for a while. You have to sort brass and adjust the rod for web thickness. Even lubing the button the brass stuck to it requiring me to thump the handle on the up stroke. I looked at alternatives and purchased the CH4D combo swager/ram prime kit. You can just get the primer if you want though. Just search on youtube for the swager in action and see how well it works. Use it on the top of the press and no rod to mess with. Like it a lot more than the RCBS one.
 
FROGO207 said:
I have and used it for a while. You have to sort brass and adjust the rod for web thickness. Even lubing the button the brass stuck to it requiring me to thump the handle on the up stroke. I looked at alternatives and purchased the CH4D combo swager/ram prime kit. You can just get the primer if you want though. Just search on youtube for the swager in action and see how well it works. Use it on the top of the press and no rod to mess with. Like it a lot more than the RCBS one.
Click to expand...
Thanks!
That looks simpler than the RCBS one. Have you ever damaged a case with it? I presume the swage depth is adjusted by turning the die up and down?
 
I've swaged about 1K crimps successfully. But I hate it. Pulling the swage out of the primer pocket is a violent action, and would shake stuff off of the shelf on my bench. Lube helps some but doesn't totally eliminate it.

If I had 2K now and possibly more in the future I'd get something else
 
merlynski said:
Thanks!
That looks simpler than the RCBS one. Have you ever damaged a case with it? I presume the swage depth is adjusted by turning the die up and down?
Click to expand...
I have not damaged any brass so far. Worked with 5.56, 9MM, 45 ACP and 7.62X51. A couple came on a past post and claimed they bent the case rims but slowly adjusting the die down till I got the crimp to work has never caused me to bend a rim. I went ahead and got the combo as I wanted an optional ram prime as a spare anyway. My Lee round hand primer would not work with my 300 WSM brass and needed something that would.
 
Tried to seat a primer with my Lee round type hand primer and compared pressure to a non crimped primer pocket brass of a different brand like RP or WIN. It also put a small radius on the pocket that helped me insert them.
 
FROGO207 said:
Tried to seat a primer with my Lee round type hand primer and compared pressure to a non crimped primer pocket brass of a different brand like RP or WIN. It also put a small radius on the pocket that helped me insert them.
Click to expand...
Thank You! I think with careful attention to detail the CH4D will work better for me than the RCBS one. And the ram prime capability, for oddball cases with a regular shell holder, is a bonus.
 
My method while disregarding instructions but works for me. I've swaged thousands of various .223 brands, mostly LC, using the RCBS Swager Combo on an RCBS Rockchucker press. Also have swaged many 30-06 cases. I adjust the swage die down to impact the punch so that the press handle is just slightly below horizontal when the punch touches the primer pocket. I lower the press arm down nearly to the pocket and "bang" the handle down hard enough to swage. You can FEEL if there was very little crimp and remove the case. If I feel there was a tight crimp I raise the handle and bump it again. I've never had any issues with primer seating not one. You do have to pop the handle up to remove the punch from the pocket and on tight pockets maybe twice. I've got the RCBS swager similiar to the Dillion 600 but don't use it peferring the RCBS Combo. I size on another press then move it over and swage. Over 20 years and thousands of cases I slightly bent the punch rod but it straightened just fine and keeps going. Again, the press handle needs to be barely below horizontal at contact with the pocket.
 
I found the swage to work fine, but had trouble getting cases off; I found that a one inch PVC piece, placed over the Lee Breechlock press ram, helped remove the case.
 
I purchased one and tried it...once. I was swaging pre-cleaned LC .223 and had to wack the handle on every one. Got old really quick, and now it rests quietly in the bottom of the die box stack. I cut the swage out now on the case trimmer - faster and I can eliminate a handling step.
I'll unload it when I get enough to justify a listing.
 
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