Primer pocket -shot or not- redux

Whoa, I thought primer pockets got bigger in diameter when worn not deeper. Are these all from the same lot?

Dumb question: as long as the primer seats, does it matter?

Your using a " - " pin gauge, these normally are 0.0002" under size. Depends on the primer your using. See if you can push a primer in by hand or eject 1 by had using a universal deprimer. If so don't use those. It kind of depends on the primer used you may get a couple more firings. Not all primers are the same size. I found that the #41's will fit tight where the Rem 7 1/2 can be pushed out easily.

I toss mine when the #41's get loose.

Yep if I can push a primer out by holding the brass in one hand and using a Lee universal deprimer center shaft in the other it is too loose to reuse. The Wolf/Tula/ Magtech primers are the most oversized I have and I will try/use them when the WIN/CCI primers are too loose.

If the head walls are ok you can swag them back in place. If they stretched and compromised you can toss them out.
Still can be reloaded a couple of times using nail polish as filler and make hunting rounds and such.
It really depends on how they are and how much time you have for this.

1stmarine said:

If the head walls are ok you can swag them back in place.

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I have not done this, but I've been told you can use an RCBS pocket swager for the purpose. While it is generally used to remove military crimps, it also swages the pocket tighter. Is my understanding correct?

Legionnaire said:

I have not done this, but I've been told you can use an RCBS pocket swager for the purpose. While it is generally used to remove military crimps, it also swages the pocket tighter. Is my understanding correct?

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I am not sure with that swagger. It might be just to remove the military crimp and make the pocket uniform but when the pocket is stretched past a point
you have to bring it back and I am not sure that is designed to compress the web of the case.
Nothing that you use with the typical dies and press is going to work. you need a bad ass press or specialized tool and a lot more torque.
It is like cold forming jackets and bullets, cannot make it with the average press.

The key here is to make sure the web/wall area is not compromised through over stretching or you risk even head separation if you go too far with the cases.
Otherwise the nail polish trick works fine in a pinch. That is what I do with many cases for a last load or two and then I toss them into the recycling bin.
Or might save them and use them later for a hunting round as sometimes you loose cases in the snow.

The Swagger won't shrink a pocket, the opposite is the case.

A Dillon 1050 with the crimp station may work.... But your brass is still EOL.

I use a hand primer to seat rifle primers and when I feel very little resistance when seating a primer I mark them for last round fired and then I throw them in the scrap bucket after firing it. But your idea of using the pin gage is a good one for scraping the brass before primping the case. I have about 1k of 9mm brass that I've been reloading for a bunch of firings and I need to scrap a bunch of them before putting them in my Dillon to reload. Once I size and prime them I want to go head and load it rather then stop the process and throw a primer away. Lol

Nature Boy said:

It should be a minus pin since it's a "no-go" gage. If it was a plus gage you be past the tolerance before it would enter the primer pocket.

I'm probably way over thinking this issue, but such is the nature of this hobby

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There is a fine line between hobby and insanity. I am afraid some of us has past that line a long time ago. lol

What is the external dimension/diameter at the base of the case, both the base and the rim?

I am on a business trip so I cannot check that for you right now but post your load and barrel anyway.

But this is my thinking....

Measure the base and rims of the cases. If they are spread take the one that seems the worse to you
and cut it open to check on the head/wall situation. you can feel with a metal pick but nothing will tell you better
than a dissection of one case. If you neck sized and lapua being such strong brass I would be surprised
if you are not fine on that end.

Then you can proceed to cold form the brass at the base. There are many ways to skin this cat.
If you have a bad azz press that is good for forming cats (for example I have a reddign big boss II) you
can try a forming die that is going to put the base and rim back at .470
Last night looked for the one that I used before I think a 8mmx50mm from 7.62x54 and then cut but I might be wrong
since this was a long time ago. Normally I reuse what I can and relabel them in order to save.

But in order to save you could use a number of cheap FL dies that you could ream and cut so only
a beveled ring is left for the case to swagg after properly lubricated of course.
If you have an average press another method is to use a cut bushing and a pair of blocks that will
allow for the case base to fit and stop at .470 you could fit that into a vise or a press but it might be
hard to control consistency here so you might want to build a stop using a large bolt and nut to adjust.

This involves drilling and tapping and such.

Whether you are reaming or making a bushing you will need a lathe or someone who can do it
for you that otherwise is a very simple and quick arrangement and will save form existing or custom
forming dies.

One could even make a block to screw in bolt cutters that have a lot of torque. Again w/o a stop
will be hard to control consistency so this type of setup might be better for the average folks who
do not have much hardware nor are setup for wildcatting and those kind of jobs.

For those wildcatters this might seem like a walk in the park and fun, and for others a nightmare.

Choose your poison carefully! lol

Nature Boy said:

May as start another .... best bear defense load thread.....hahahahah!

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This has been exhaustively covered before. The Constitution as a whole, and the protections of the Second Amendment in particular, DO NOT extend to bears. They simply have no right to keep and bear (rimshot!) arms, so determining the best defensive load for bears is an absurd and Jesuitical exercise.

Nature Boy said:

That's why I believe I'm over-thinking this issue. Plus or minus .0002? Seriously.

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Only you can decide if this is practical or not, or simply to scratch the itch of curiosity.

Many years ago I realized as I marked end of life pockets with permanent marker that those primers would go in with more resistance.
then I put a larger mark on them well inside and when dry it turned out to be good for another couple of loads that way.
With nail polish can be fixed pretty decently and one could not only go more but seal them for ever for water tight hunting rounds (mouth too).

But if lets say you have a lot of lapua or other expensive brass and still good inside and want to salvage the right way then swagging back in place
and then resizing, annealing, etc.. might give them new life for a bunch of extra reloads. Again, assuming they are ok at the web junction.

Over the years I have saved some of the brass berdan for who knows what reason. Maybe when I am retired I want to find things I can do with it.

This is like anything, some people do origami, some model trains and some fiddle with cases and cats.

btw ... when doing so with care in order to avoid contamination of the primer compound.
same like folks who sealed cases with locktite. I have not used this but it seems to work in a pinch.