Berdan to Boxer primer conversion

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ali9cg8

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Anyone tried this? I was considering it. I have a couple thousand berdan .30 carbine brass cases just sitting there and taunting me. The brass is from the LC knock offs that the Chinese thoughtfully created. Only had an issue with a couple rounds as far as I can remember and no corrosion issues because I clean every inch of that rifle after every shooting.

I've done some tests against the real LC brass: measuring, stomping, cutting cases in half, basically seeing which one is still standing. No real difference except for the expected variations in cases.

Should I try it? I've heard that it's involved, but it gives me an excuse to use my dremel. And that is one of my greatest joys.
 
I don't think so!
I think he is serious as a heart attack.

The problem I see is threefold.

1. You don't convert Berdan to Boxer with a Dremel tool.

2. You don't know what size Berdan primers the Chinese .30 Carbine used.

3. Or whether .175" Sm Rifle primers will fit the primer pockets.

Regardless of all that?
There are more constructive ways to waste your time.

rc
 
If you like tinkering, sure, try it. You'll need to remove the berdan anvil and drill a flash hole in the center. The 2, smaller berdan flash holes will likely not provide reliable ignition.

You also may need to swage the primer pocket to allow the boxer primers to fit. This is easily done on a drill press. Insert a drill bit, backwards, into the chuck. Use one that is almost the diameter of the inside of the case. Place the case on top of a ball bearing that is 2 times the diameter of the primer pocket, lower the chuck so the end of the drill bit mashes the case against the ball bearing. Be careful not to apply too much pressure, you want to just move a bit of the brass.
 
Don't Recommend the conversion.

The anvil is a problem, hard to remove, and probably hard. Then another piece underneath is directly in line with where boxer hole should be. What are you planning to do about the two little holes, that will not be in line with the boxer flash hole?

You will likely end up with little pieces of brass in the throat/neck area, which could be a bigger problem than you would first consider. How are you going to regulate the primer pocket hole, they are not same size or same depth? Bertan primers are wide and don't appear very thick, they have less back pressure probably because of the two smaller holes for ignition. I would suggest Bertan are shallow compared to boxer.

The strength of the cartridge base would have to be weakened. Split necks are a sign and a concern, but problems in the base of the cartridge toward you are more important.
 
You can do it. To remove the primer, either use the can opener method by building or buying a Berdan primer remover or you can use the hydraulic method (look it up, demos on You Tube). The anvil can be drilled out. Swage the primer pocket so the Boxer primer fits and stays in place, again lots of instruction on the net.

My brother used to do it with surplus .308 cases, but we were young with a lot more time available than money so it was worth it. If you are in the same situation, no reason not to try it. Just stay safe.
 
I was tempted to do the same with brass 7.62x25mm Tokarev and 7.63 Mauser casings to reload for a Mauser C96.
Remove the berdan primer by the hydraulic method (wet and messy).
Drill a small central primer hole where the berdan primer anvil stood.
(Some 7.63x25 Mauser casings had one needle-sized berdan flash hole.)
The pockets seemed to accept small pistol boxer primers (cue the "oooooeeee" spooky background music: close in primer fit is like close in horseshoes).

I calculated if I charged myself a minimum wage of $10.00 an hour, those were the most expensive brass ever. It was cheaper to buy a CZ52 for $129 and buy S&B commercial 7.62x25 cartridges, then save the empty brass for reloading.

Whether I would try that with .30 carbine depends. I shot M1 carbine in military matches and kept a stash of two seasons' requirement ahead (buying whenever cheap and available). So I am not hurting for ammo right now. If I were short of .30 carbine, and had a bunch of the Chinese LC casings and nothing else, yes I would be tempted to do a test batch to see if the idea worked. Maybe a run of ten, so if id did not work, I would not have wasted much time and effort.
 
I suggest hand checkering stock's if you are that bored. It simply is not worth the time nor trouble to convert brass. JMHO :)
 
it can be done, it has been done, there are 'how to's' floating around
it (and this is from the top of my head, been a few years since I read the how to's)
involved using a fine/small snips to remove most of the anvil, drilling the pocket to standard boxer primer size (nothing radical, mostly uniforming it) using a drill press, then drilling a center flash hole FOR DEPRIMING.

Not too hard to do, just time comsuming
 
Man o Man what a bunch of Nay sayers. It can be done. There is info on the internet. I am doing it right now with 7.62x54r. Yeah it's time consuming, but it only has to be done once. And it works fine. I concider this a hobby anyway so so what if it "Wastes my time". If thats the case I should just quit reloading also, cause it "Wastes My Time" also..

Here is a pretty good video on it. I have modified my process from this and it works great.. A drill press will really speed up the process and make it not as much as a guessing game..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkKJfvMyuDg

Here is another article on how to do it. A little differently.
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?143855-Converting-Berdan-primer-pockets-to-Boxer


Thanks
Mike
 
I consider this a hobby anyway so so what if it "Wastes my time". If thats the case I should just quit reloading also, cause it "Wastes My Time" also..
Click to expand...

I agree with you totally Mike, I consider this a hobby.
Just like hunting and fishing if I wanted cheap meat, I'd go to the supermarket.

Half the fun is learning how to do things and making things work to your satisfaction.
 
It can be done-BUT

I read an article on another forum several years ago. I think it was on the "Military Surplus Rifle Forum". I at that time decided it was not worth the time or effort. Perhaps a total unavailabilty of components-[brass] may make such an extreme measure necessary in the post "Hope and Change" era but not now,at least for me.:cuss:
 
I think RCBS makes a Berdan decapper hook. Another method is to fill the case with water and then use a snug fitting punch to force the primer out with hydraulic pressure. Both methods will get the job done, but water seems a bit messy to me. And don't forget to remove the crimp if it has one, or re-priming will be a no go.

GS
 
I tried it with some LC 52 headstamped brass that I picked up at the range. I broke a decapping pin on the first one before I realized that I had some mixed in with my brass. After looking at a thousand empties and finding about 20-30 berdan cases I got a new decapping pin and tried again. popped out the old primer and seated a new one. No dice: the primer stuck out too far. Then I tried to drill out the primer pocket in a drill press to see if I could make it work. after about 5 minutes of that I threw all the berdan cases in the trash and went back to reloading boxer cases. I hated to throw away 30 carb brass, but it just wasn't worth fighting it.
 
Actually....I'm a "she", not a "he". And, regardless of my gender, I consider heart attacks to be very serious, but I always prefer not to associate medical emergencies with my reloading hobbies.

Very much enjoyed your blatant and mocking dismissal of a simple idea that I brought to the forum in order to confirm whether or not anyone has ever attempted such a thing. Simple as that.

You might also want to address your replies to the actual commenter instead of posting general wisecracks to amuse fellow readers. I'm serious. As a heart attack. And I'll also "waste my time" in whichever way I prefer. Feel free to elaborate on the various ways that you enjoy spending your free time. I feel certain that you will enlighten us all.
 
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Its an extremely long and tedious process. If you like to do these type of thins go ahead and give it a go. It only has to be done one time. If you get bored or tied of it dont do it anymore. Its your choice and no one elses. You can always scrap the brass or buy berdan primers from dga and load them that way.

I say give it a whirl and let us now how it goes.
 
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