Decapping problem

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Chuck Perry

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I started sizing fired 357SIG brass tonight with a Redding sizer die. Every now and then (maybe 6-8 out of the 100 I did) the primer punch would get sucked right out of the die and end up lodged in the flash hole of the case. Lots of fun retrieving those. It only seemed to happen on cases that required a bit of extra effort to size. In hind sight, that extra effort was probably from forcing the decapping pin thru a too small flash hole in some of these cases. The brass is once fired Speer. Has anyone else run into this? Am I on the right thought process about the too small flash hole, or is there something else happening here?
 
Are you saying the decapping pin would pull out of the rod, or the whole rod would pull out of a Lee sizing die?
 
What brand of brass? I've had some brands (Igman specifically) that had very, very tight flash holes that would tend to do that (or push the pin up through the collet on Lee dies).

In the end, I ended up decapping them separately with a dedicated decapper, and then taking a very small drill bit and enlarging the flash hole just a tad. YMMV.
 
Several years ago Speer couldn't keep up with the demand from Law Enforcement for the 357 Sig ammunition. They didn't have the case manufacturing capacity to make enough, so they contracted with an outside company to make the brass for them, and then they loaded it on their machines. That brass normally has a small "s" on the headstamp, and I believe it was made by Starline. It also has smaller flash holes than standard Speer 357 Sig brass. What you're running into is the brass from that contract run.

I've talked to the reps at Speer about this at the SHOT Show and they told me they did in fact contract out the brass, but they really hadn't paid any attention to the size of the flash holes, since they weren't decapping any of it, only seating primers and loading it.

I ended up with about 5,000 rounds of that once fired contract brass, from when Midway was selling it really cheap several years ago. I ended up using a Lyman decapping pin to deprime it, and then drilled out the flash holes as I came across it.

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
ReloaderFred, you the man. I just checked the brass and the culprits do indeed have a small S on the case head (marked "357 SIG s").
This is what I have to work with, I'm going to have to make due with this brass. Two more questions. I don't have a universal decapper and need to buy one-which is the best out there? Question 2, how do I go about enlarging the flash holes on these?
 
A flash hole uniformer, or a drill bit. Go very easy with the drill bit if you go that route. Straight in and out one time.
 
What size drill bit would I use? Is the Lyman hand tool any good for what I need to do? From the product description it seems like it is meant to both uniform the size of the hole as well as debur it. Their decapper die looks like what I need too.
 
Yes, the Lyman would work.

Drill bit size? A hair bigger than the decapping pin, whatever that works out to. I can't remember off the top of my head.
 
I use the Lee universal decapping die. It's designed to let the decapping rod slide up, instead of breaking, if too much resistance is met.

As far as flash hole deburring tools, there are several good ones on the market. I like the cost and performance of the Lyman model, plus I can unscrew the handle and install the tool on my RCBS Trim Mate.
 
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You'll have fewer issues with the Lee Universal Decapper die. RCBS centers their decapping stem on several sets of screw threads, which is in-effective. Lee, Hornady and others use a collet system that is highly concentric.

Bottom line: fewer broken decapping pins.


Don't take my word for this. Roll several sets of dies on a smooth table top and watch the decapping pin. :eek:
 
I sent an email to Redding last night and received a prompt response this morning. Long story short, they are going to send me out some reduced diameter decapping pins to try out. Great service Redding! I'm not out of the woods yet, but this will at least save me a step on getting these cases ready to go.
 
I have a Sinclair flash hole reamer to ream the roughness and occasional flap of metal visible inside the case at the primer hole. If you had that, you could just run that into the hole and that would drill the hole the proper diameter with a couple of twists! Then decap as usual.
 
rfwobbly said:
You'll have fewer issues with the Lee Universal Decapper die. RCBS centers their decapping stem on several sets of screw threads, which is in-effective. Lee, Hornady and others use a collet system that is highly concentric.

Bottom line: fewer broken decapping pins.


Don't take my word for this. Roll several sets of dies on a smooth table top and watch the decapping pin. :eek:
Click to expand...
I needn't roll anything anywhere. I've been reloading with RCBS Dies since 1982 and have NEVER had a problem associated with this, or anything else.
 
Bored tonight, so I thought I would try out a carbide 40SW sizer and see what kind of luck I would have. I had two in stock, a Dillon and a Lee; went with the Lee first. Success! The Lee is popping about 90% of the cases. I am setting aside the other 10% for when I get the smaller decapp pins coming from Redding. Now I just need to get to the store and find a drill bit of the corrrect diameter to ream these suckers out. Wouldn't you know of the drawer full of bits I have, too small and too big :banghead:
 
Actually, my first thought was the decapping pin was extended too far out of the die. Some decapping pins are tapered and get larger beyond a certain point. If you have more than 3/8" sticking out of the die you might make sure that isn't your problem. I've never had a decapping pin jam in the flash hole in tens of thousands of deprimed cases.
 
No, it's definitely undersized flash holes. Using the decapping pin as a gauge, it's readilly apparent that they are undersized compared to other brass I have on hand. The Redding pin is ..062, Lee also .062 and Dillon .074. The .062 pins will just barely squeak thru on about 90% of the cases. The Lee is anchored more securely in the die than the Redding, which is why it is working for me. I am re-drilling the cases with a 5/64 bit to .076.
 
gamestalker,

Read Post #4, as that is where the problem is. I brought this up to the Speer reps a couple of years ago and it was agreed that it is the contract brass that is the problem.

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
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