Hey all I have a question about seating primers. I was swaging a few WCC 11 223 cases when I noticed the primer pockets seemed a little shallow. So I took a primer and primed it. Turns out the pocket is good because the primer went in and sat a little below the case head. I noticed though the primer looked uneven but was not bulging over. Has anyone had this happen to them? If so did you shoot them and did they work? Also I know the webbing around the primer hole is NOT uneven because that is what I looked for when I decapped it the second time. Any help is appreciated.
.223 Primer Seating
- Thread starter RuggedAK
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rcmodel
Member in memoriam
Yes.
You didn't swage all the crimp out enough.
So the primer went in crooked.
You can shoot them.
Or, de-prime the live primer, throw it away, swage or ream the pocket more, and the next primer will fit perfectly next time.
rc
You didn't swage all the crimp out enough.
So the primer went in crooked.
You can shoot them.
Or, de-prime the live primer, throw it away, swage or ream the pocket more, and the next primer will fit perfectly next time.
rc
243winxb
Member
Seat , rotate case 180 degrees, seat again.
gamestalker
member
If you are seating them all the way home, then they should all be straight, at least to the naked eye. Other wise, if your worrying about a small measurable difference, then I think you might be over thinking this bit. IMO.
GS
GS
I actually might be overthinking it a bit. But I couldn't help but wonder why they primer looked slightly uneven. Or maybe it is an optical illusion. I just don't to load up a few hundred rounds and have them all misfire. I guess the only thing I can do is load a few up and take the to the range.
Longhorn 76
Member
Most primer pockets are not precise. For accurate loading, I use a pocket uniformer. It usually mills the pockets on one side only, so I know they were not uniform prior.
gamestalker
member
The optical illusion thing is something I see all the time. It's when I turn the cartridge a complete 360 that I realize it just an optical illusion.
GS
GS
45lcshooter
Member
Ream primer pocket out then, get flash hole debut, and debut both sides of flash hole.
amlevin
Member
For those that are swaging out military crimps on their .223 primer pockets, a great little tool is the primer pocket go-no go gauge made by Ballistic Tools.
http://ballistictools.com/store/exclusive/swage-gage-small-primer-pocket
$10 gets you a tool that tells you if you haven't swaged the primer pocket enough, or if you've set the tool for too much of a rolled edge.
If the "go" end fits you won't have any problems seating primers properly.
If the "No-Go" end fits in then back off on the swage anvil (on the RCBS or Dillon tools) until you only have enough "roll" or chamfer so that the "go" end fits.
This tool is also great for culling out oversized primer pockets before you waste a primer on them. I use one after every shooting session after I've sized and cleaned my brass. Part of the final inspection before I start to load.
http://ballistictools.com/store/exclusive/swage-gage-small-primer-pocket
$10 gets you a tool that tells you if you haven't swaged the primer pocket enough, or if you've set the tool for too much of a rolled edge.
If the "go" end fits you won't have any problems seating primers properly.
If the "No-Go" end fits in then back off on the swage anvil (on the RCBS or Dillon tools) until you only have enough "roll" or chamfer so that the "go" end fits.
This tool is also great for culling out oversized primer pockets before you waste a primer on them. I use one after every shooting session after I've sized and cleaned my brass. Part of the final inspection before I start to load.
spitballer
Member
243winxb has winning suggestion. Rotating 180 degrees and reseating.
For about 2 cents I get a primer & seat it. I guess if one fails to seat I'll be out 2 cents but that wold have to happen 500 times to pay for the tool.
medalguy
Member
That's a neat tool. I can see where it would be great to have when setting up the Dillon swager to determine when it's properly adjusted. Currently I swage 10 cases, try to seat primers, and then do ten more until the primers seat easily. This eliminates wasted primers and wasted time. Well worth $10.
amlevin
Member
It's not necessarily the $0.02 primer (which today is more like $0.03) but the potential for a loose primer either blowing out in a semi-auto or etching the bolt face in both semi and bolt actions.
Also, not all primers are uniform. This tool is and makes for a great way to weed out those cases that are potential problems before they occur. That can make the $10 pretty cheap overall.
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