Berden Brass - cautionary tale

[MErl]

223 supply getting low so dug a big bag of range pickup brass from a few years back out of the basement and started prepping it.

Getting into a good routine, kachunk kachunk kachunk deprime and resize, kachunk kachunk CRUNCH!

a piece of berden primed brass was in there. Snapped off the decapping pin, chipped up the expanding ball at both ends, bent the spindle rod. GAH! At least the case came out of the die, it wasn't stuck.

With everything sold out, spare parts are nowhere to be found. Cannibalized another die for a spindle, dremeled the sharp edges off the ball. It works, doesn't scratch the neck and seems to size properly.

so, keep spare parts around, check the headstamps. Wish me luck with the rest of the bag.

 

[Hondo 60]

Good luck!

 

[Match10]

I stuck a .223 in mine die and bent the expander stem. If your die is an RCBS, call up customer service and ask nice. You'll have a new one in about a week. (Even in these times!) If you have a Lee...

 

[NeuseRvrRat]

If you have a Lee...

if he had a Lee, then the expander rod probably would've slipped up through the collet on top instead of breaking

and if it did break, Lee still would've sent a replacement. i broke the decap rod on my Lee .223 FL sizer and they actually went ahead and sent me two replacements.

 

[Tolkachi Robotnik]

Hard to see down a .223

Sorry to hear this, but it is hard to look down that small neck to check those...

 

[45lcshooter]

Every now and then I had some berdan, brass 223 mixed in with either range pickups or stuff bought in. Needless to say after I snapped a pin on one head stamp, I got the maglite out and shined down all of that head stamp cases, lucky it was only about 10 out of 200. Into the "reloading supply fund" bucket they went.

 

[FROGO207]

So I DO have replacements for most of my dies. Those that are bottlenecked I buy a second set of Lee RGB dies as a spare to keep with my regular Lee/RCBS sets. On carbide sets I watch for a used set and buy them as I can find them. I also have a Lee universal decapper to use on casings that are traditionally crimped to avoid what happened to you.

 

[geist262]

I found a pile of 223 brass and finally picked up a die set to load. Out of 300 pieces, I hit one about 100 pieces in. I inspected the other 200 and nothing. All it takes is one to ruin your day.


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[KansasSasquatch]

223 supply getting low so dug a big bag of range pickup brass from a few years back out of the basement and started prepping it.

Getting into a good routine, kachunk kachunk kachunk deprime and resize, kachunk kachunk CRUNCH!

a piece of berden primed brass was in there. Snapped off the decapping pin, chipped up the expanding ball at both ends, bent the spindle rod. GAH! At least the case came out of the die, it wasn't stuck.

With everything sold out, spare parts are nowhere to be found. Cannibalized another die for a spindle, dremeled the sharp edges off the ball. It works, doesn't scratch the neck and seems to size properly.

so, keep spare parts around, check the headstamps. Wish me luck with the rest of the bag.

I had the same exact thing happen with a Hornady die a few months ago. I had been planning on buying an RCBS small base die so I picked it up since I couldn't find Hornady parts locally. Had to call Hornady a couple weeks ago for another issue and mentioned the broken decapping rod. Within a week I had a new rod, decapping pin, and expander button in my hand. Just call up customer service if it's a Lee, Hornady, or RCBS, they'll probably set you up.

 

[Mobuck]

That's why I use LEE dies. Considering the amount of range brass I prep, doing that much damage to a die from a single Berdan case would be a continual problem.

 

[KansasSasquatch]

if he had a Lee, then the expander rod probably would've slipped up through the collet on top instead of breaking

and if it did break, Lee still would've sent a replacement. i broke the decap rod on my Lee .223 FL sizer and they actually went ahead and sent me two replacements.

I know that's what a Lee decapping rod is supposed to do, but one time I wound up with a berdan case in a batch of my 7.62x54R PPU brass, the Lee die punched right through the berdan anvil without any extra force. One good thing about Lee dies is they're tough.

 

[thump_rrr]

Now more than ever a Lee universal decapping die is worth every penny.
Yes I have spare decapping rods for it.

 

[rondog]

Go to WalMart, to the sporting goods dept., and get a Rayovac pocket flashlight for $2.98. Best investment ever! Perfect for looking in cases, checking barrel bores, looking guns over in evert nook and cranny, and a million other uses. I'm never without one.

Seriously, it's the best pocket flashlight I've ever found, perfect for looking in rifle cases.

 

[ObsidianOne]

Friend of mine did the same thing a couple weeks ago with an RCBS die and they sent him two new pins free of charge. Lee advertises that their decapping pin is indestructible and should damage come to it, It's guaranteed.

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[cwbys4evr]

Newbie question. What does a berdan look like when you check the inside of the case?

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[FROGO207]

Berdan primers have 2 or 3 off center holes in the casing. Boxer have one large single hole in the center , those are easy to center the pin and remove the used primer. Lining up 2 or 3 small holes with a pin without being able to see how is impossible. There are a couple ways to decap them but not with standard Boxer type dies, this makes them not popular to reload.

 

[JRH6856]

Lee die punched right through the berdan anvil without any extra force.

Well, that's good. Converted it to Boxer for you.

 

[fguffey]

Unread Yesterday, 08:17 PM #5
Tolkachi Robotnik
Member



Join Date: July 26, 2012
Location: Midwest
Posts: 59 Hard to see down a .223

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Sorry to hear this, but it is hard to look down that small neck to check those...
Tolkachi Robotnik is offline Report Post


Ture, I sort cases by head stamps, cases with year stamps get separated by arsenal and by year, I do not load cases with odd and or unseal head stamps, I purchased and then sorted 23,000 cases, I found 3 Burdan primed cases, after separating and organizing the cases I could not find the 3 Berdan primed cases. Lucky? The Berdan cases were 9mm, there were only 7,000 + 9mm cases. All the 223 cases were Winchester and Federal.

F. Guffey

 

[fguffey]

Old Today, 05:29 AM #15
cwbys4evr
Member



Join Date: March 20, 2013
Posts: 54 Newbie question. What does a berdan look like when you check the inside of the case?

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The Berdan has the anvil built in to the primer pocket, the flash holes are not in the center but align around the anvil, the Boxer primer has the anvil in the primer, Boxer was from there, Berdan was from here, and no, it is not particle to use Boxer primers in the Berdan primed case, the Berdam primer is larger in diameter.

F. Guffey

 

[rondog]

Simple answer - Berdan brass has two very tiny flash holes, like a tiny snakebite. Boxer brass has one large flash hole right in the center.

 

[mdm]

I was running 9mm range pickup brass last weekend and got a "thunk" on the down stroke. Pulled the brass out and found it was a Berdan primer. I wasn't pushing hard on the lever so no damage was done. It's the first one I've run into in five years.

 

[cwbys4evr]

Is it possible to even see the holes before you deprime? My eyes are at least as old as I am lol

 

[plodder]

I have a Lee decapper die that I run all my range pickup brass through. It's supposed to allow the pin to slip before bending or breaking but it doesn't always work out that way. I have replaced the pin a couple of times and right before the current madness set in, I was prescient enough to order in 5 spare pins at about $1.89 ea. Should last me the rest of my life if I am smart enough to check out the headstamps on stray brass I scrounge.

 

[JRH6856]

Is it possible to even see the holes before you deprime? My eyes are at least as old as I am lol

Pretty easy to see in straight wall brass. Need a flashlight for bottleneck rifle cases.

 

[kerreckt]

You have to be careful in every aspect of reloading. A broken pin is a small price to pay for carelessness. I check the stamps and am also very gentle depriming. Using Lee depriming dies also helps. Better luck next time.