I purchased a couple hundred rounds of one fired 223/556 mixed brass. I was able to deprime about 35 or so before the pin on my die broke. I have a set of Lee dies and they have worked for me in the past only using my own once fired non crimped brass. I ordered new parts but then thought that I may be using the wrong tool for the job. I know that some of the brass was military because of the crimped primers. My question is, are there recommendations on better dies to remove crimped primers from military brass?
Depriming bought once fired brass.
- Thread starter jmuv
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1KPerDay
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RCBS universal decapping die works for me.
FROGO207
Member
Lee also makes a universal decapper. Dont have the linky but squirrel daddy makes a replacment decapping stem that they claim is indestructable for all the universal decappers. My Lee universal is about 8 years old and still going strong with original pin.
ImjinScout85
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I use the Hornady dies and have not had any problems de-capping 223/5.56 with crimped primers
MauriceSam
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I use the Lee universal decppaer with the squirrel daddy pin as well. Works just fine. Have decapped thousands and thousands of cases with it, rifle and handgun, no issues.
Random 8
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With unknown brass in military caliber, be sure to check for berdan primers. Most common in 7.62 and the WWII rounds, but they're out there in 5.56 and 9mm too. Not saying this was your issue, but a possibility. I use a Lee universal decapper for first run military brass. If it feels hard, I check for Berdan or other issues.
herrwalther
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I use the Lee universal decapping die when I don't have the caliber specific die. For awhile my wife made jewelry out of range brass to sell online as a time killer. The universal die had no issue knocking out primers on whatever I ran across. Obviously won't work on Berdan primed stuff so have a flashlight handy to look inside for anything suspected of Berden primers.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1011183740?pid=136543
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1011183740?pid=136543
lightman
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I also use the Lee Universal Depriming die. I've broken 1 pin in thousands of cases. I just ordered 3 replacement pins and kept moving along. I'll order the Squirrel Daddy pins if I ever break all of these.
bullseye308
Member
I’ve got at least 60k on my Lee universal decapper die and it is still going strong. I deprime everything as it comes home from the range then tumble it and sort/sell what I don’t use. Most of what I pick up I don’t load and I pick up a lot. That one Lee die has paid for itself many times over and I expect it will continue to do so for quite a while longer.
Another user of the Lee universal decapping die. I'm also a convert to the Squirrel Daddy hardened steel decapping pins.
https://www.amazon.com/Squirrel-Dad...qid=1635056201&sourceid=Mozilla-search&sr=8-2
https://www.amazon.com/Squirrel-Dad...qid=1635056201&sourceid=Mozilla-search&sr=8-2
Blue68f100
Member
I have the Lee universal and the RCBS universal. The Lee will do down to 20 cal where my RCBS 25 cal up. I believe the Lee came with an extra shaft/pin. The RCBS spring is the weak link in the RCBS. RCBS replaced it a couple of times before I found a Heavier Duty Spring to put in it. Since then it has been trouble free. With the new spring there is no chance of a primer sticking to the pin. It launches the primers with authority.
FROGO207
Member
Send your broken pin(s) back to Lee. They have replaced mine for free in the past.
Charlie98
Member
That. Buddy of mine bought a ammo can full of 5.56mm... only to find out... the hard way... that it was Berdan primed. It's still out there....
Thanks for the reply’s. I went back and checked the case that broke the pin. The head stamp was IK 21. I looked through some more of the mix and found two more of the same head stamp. They all have flash holes that are much smaller than say RP or FC. The broken pin was stuck in the smaller flash hole. I has to use a Allen wrench to drive the broken pin from the hole. Now I have a new “use don’t use” standard for my brass checking. I will check the size of the flash hole to insure that I don’t over stress the pin on my dies along with all the standard checks.
gifbohane
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My biggest problem with "once fired brass" is that I don't know if it is once fired, unless it is my own (which I do not have or buy.) Also my pickups are not labeled as "discarded/loaded 20X."
Secondly, the Berdan primed are also not labeled.
I finally manged to break a mighty armory universal decapping die, after going through over 2 - full 5 gal. buckets of dirty mixed range brass. I had to spend 15 seconds replacing the screw on pin that was in the extras baggie.I thought these were indestructible.
Dane R. Marley
Member
556/223 always gives my Lee decapper problems. Never any issues with 3006 down to 9mm. I have a large supply of replacement pins so when I am down to 1 replacement pin I am going to purchace a Mighty Armory Decapper.
Hadn't heard of, or forgot about, those, look/sound nearly indestructible.
And added to a list on Amazon, thanks.
riverats
Member
Charlie98
Member
Funny... I had some Norinco 5.56mm that would neck crack the brass... about every 1 in 5 or 6 factory rounds.
That's me, now. After having insane problems with 'once-fired' 7.62mm brass, I've sworn off anyone's rifle brass unless it's MINE. These days, you just don't know what it is, just lying there on the ground. I still pick up handgun brass, but that is limited to just a few cartridges, and it gets a pretty thorough look-see.
That's me, now. After having insane problems with 'once-fired' 7.62mm brass, I've sworn off anyone's rifle brass unless it's MINE. These days, you just don't know what it is, just lying there on the ground. I still pick up handgun brass, but that is limited to just a few cartridges, and it gets a pretty thorough look-see.
I use my Lee decapping die, it has been the most robust decapping die I have used. If the firing pin hole in the case is offset enough, the pin will break. The spindles that broke the most for me, were Bonanza match sizing dies. I broke a number of them reloading 308 Win, after I got tired of shelling out money for Bonanza spindles, I found that RCBS spindles would fit in the hole. Bonanza spindles have the expander way up in the die and that makes the spindle thin, and the screw joint delicate. Incidentally, older sizing dies have screw in de capping pins, because pins break! That flash hole is a small thing, and not all brass manufacturer's are careful just where the flash hole is placed. You can find lots of pictures of really off center flash holes. A decapping pin can take only so much stress, and then it breaks.
I do recommend buying extra decapping pins for the calibers you use most often. Especially for the range pickup cartridges. Not all 223 is carefully made. There may be some Berdan primers in those cases. Never say never.
A rock found its way into one of my 45 ACP cases and was so tightly lodged that it did not fall out during tumbling. That busted a Dillion 45 ACP spindle, and even though it was due to my negligence, Dillion replaced the decapping spindle for free! Great no BS Warranty!
splattergun
Member
I haven't processed a lot of military brass, but I have used my Lee Universal decapping die for a several years. I have broken only 1 pin when I ran into a batch of Berdan primed cases.
Lee uses a collet nut to tighten the pin. This is supposed to be a self-saving feature. If the primer is out of round, off center, crimped too tight, or a Berdan primer the pin should slip instead of breaking.
In this instance, I had the collet too tight so that it broke instead of slipping. I spent a little bit of time to find the balance between tightening the collet nut so that it easily presses out most primers, but will slip if there is any issue. When my pin slips on a case, I simply set aside that case for further examination later, retighten the pin and move on. I haven't bent or broken a Lee pin since, and that was 5 or 6 years ago. For those crimped cases that do slip the pin, I use a manual decapper set from Lee.
Decapper & Base 30 Caliber - Lee Precision
Lee uses a collet nut to tighten the pin. This is supposed to be a self-saving feature. If the primer is out of round, off center, crimped too tight, or a Berdan primer the pin should slip instead of breaking.
In this instance, I had the collet too tight so that it broke instead of slipping. I spent a little bit of time to find the balance between tightening the collet nut so that it easily presses out most primers, but will slip if there is any issue. When my pin slips on a case, I simply set aside that case for further examination later, retighten the pin and move on. I haven't bent or broken a Lee pin since, and that was 5 or 6 years ago. For those crimped cases that do slip the pin, I use a manual decapper set from Lee.
Decapper & Base 30 Caliber - Lee Precision
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