Decapping pin replacement

Kwaynem

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Joined
Mar 30, 2019
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I broke the seating stem and decapping pin on my hornady 223 full length dies. I had another seating stem but the expander ball is different and the decapping pin is longer. Can I use the expander ball on the other seating stem and the decapping pin pin from another die of a different caliber? It’s a hour and a half drive to get another one (if they have one) and 3 days if I order one (which I will) I would like to load some this weekend though
 
You can often decap with a number of dies as long as they don't have an expander larger than what you want (most pistol dies don't have expanders on the decapping pin).

The expander on the stem your decapping pin broke off of, will still expand the case the same as it did before the decappin pin broke.
 
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You can often decap with a number of dies as long as they don't have an expander larger than what you want (most pistol dies don't have expanders on the decapping pin).

The expander on the stem your decapping pin broke off of, will still expand the case the same as it did before the decappin pin broke.
I need to deprime the cases the in I tried using was too big guess I’ll have wait till next week
 
I keep a universal decapping die around just for this eventuality. I had it happen on a Friday evening, with a big family range day planned for Sunday afternoon. Had to leave several 5.56 guns at home due to no ammo. now i have a decapper, extra decapping pins, and an adequate amountof ammo inventory to avoid the issue.
that said, if you can find a small nail that fits where the decapping pin is supposed to and file the point flat it'll work for a while if you're gentle...
 
Check in your die box, all my Hornady die sets came with a plastic bag containing a hex wrench and an extra decapping pin. Swap out the pin and place an order for a few more. When they show up just put the new pins back in the bag, and put the bag back in the die box.

chris
Already used them
 
I had a sheetmetal screw.

7CC41B16-3438-4A33-A4BA-E68C4E8B0BFD.jpeg

Chuck it up and sand down the head.

7D3AC1AD-2152-46D8-A867-255443B1A6A2.jpeg

Now chuck that up and sand down the threaded portion.

8B640916-E55F-4151-8E29-BF25314CC365.jpeg

Use your calipers and duplicate your broken part.

16779CC0-44BB-46CE-BCD2-2F3EFF4C28CE.jpeg


Edit: A nail is a great idea, there are some finish nails that are likely very close to start with.
 
I tried another pin out of a different set of dies and it deformed the flash hole I think I have a nail code to that size
 
Large primer pins may be larger than small and they differ some from make to make. I keep a universal around - come in handy for broke pin fill in and if you have a bad seated primer and dont want to resize the case.
 
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Order more than one.
I usually do I hardly ever reload .223/556 just because I only use a single stage press and by the time I’m done with all the brass prep and loading I might as well buy factory for the price. I was sitting here bored and seen I had enough components to load a couple hundred instead of staring at the tv that’s when I realized I hadn’t bought any yet
 
I'd probably order a couple of these to go along with the decapping pins you need to order.

As long as you don't over tighten the collet, they slip vs bust.

 
Are they all the same size? The one that broke shattered I can’t measure it
I'm not sure with Hornady but the stem on most of my RCBS dies is the same. Its worth a look if you have other Hornady dies.

I'm not one to beat a dead Horse but you might think about ordering one of those Lee Universal decapping dies for use on crimped primers.
 
I'm not sure with Hornady but the stem on most of my RCBS dies is the same. Its worth a look if you have other Hornady dies.

I'm not one to beat a dead Horse but you might think about ordering one of those Lee Universal decapping dies for use on crimped primers.
I ordered one thanks
 
For LEE dies, and undersized flash holes.

Three for about 19 shipped.


Works great on decapping SPEER 357 SIG brass (notoriously undersized flash holes)

IMG_6091.jpeg
 
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