EJS primer pocket uniformer?

[jr81452]

will the EJS primer pocket uniformer work for opening up a military primer pocket? in my testing of various brands of .308 win brass someone on this forum said i should not neglect the military brass. so i got 100 LC84 and went through my usual work ups adding the extra step of chamfering the primer pocket. however no matter how many times i turn the chamfer tool the pocket is way to tight for me to seat my primers (fed 210m). normally i would just take my usual attitude about military brass and chuck it in the recycle bin but i have already gone through all the work (neck turned, flash hole uniformed, sized, trimmed chamfered, etc etc) after putting in all that time it would be a shame to have to toss it. but i am not willing to spend $30 on a swagger that i will never use again. so i am hoping that a pocket uniformer will work for this as at least i could use it for my match brass. your thoughts on other inexpensive ways to get the primer pockets to spec would be most welcome.

thanks

 

[Mark whiz]

Used military brass like Lake City or Israeli IMI is excellent brass to use. They are definitely tougher and thicker than standard commercial brass - and as such, you need to reduce commercial brass powder loads by about 12% when switching to mil-spec brass.

Using the EJS uniformer to remove the crimp is an exercise in futility - it can be done, but that tool isn't going to take the abuse for very long. If you're going to be doing many cases, you need to get either the Dillon or RCBS press tool that forces the crimp back into the case from whince it came. This will be both easier and the pockets will be stronger than if you just grind away the crimp.,

 

[jr81452]

i will only be doing these 100 cases so buying a dillon super pooper or the RCBS press mounted swager is not going to happen. if you had read the whole post and not just the opening line you would have known that the info you provided was not very helpful. i indicate within the post that i am aware of those options but do not wish to buy a tool i will only use once. i do not wish to be rude, but i read many posts where the response is completely inaccurate and/or useless because the person to reply did not read/retain all the information in the OP. IMO these types of posts only serve to frustrate/confuse the person whom is asking the question and take up the time of those following the discussion. thank you for trying at any rate.
jason

 

[fatelk]

i do not wish to be rude

Sorry, too late.

I think he was just trying to tell you that USGI brass is pretty good stuff if you give it a chance, and I believe that he did answer your question about the EJS primer pocket uniformer.

If chamfering doesn't work for you and you don't want to get a swageing tool, I'm sure there are many reloaders around who would be glad to buy it from you for more than scrap. 7.62/.308 brass is rather hard to come by right now, and USGI surplus sells high on ebay.

 

[jr81452]

believe that he did answer your question about the EJS primer pocket uniformer.

care to explain why you think that? reading his post it does not even sound as if he owns an EJS, yet alone that he has attempted to use one for the application i inquired about. i really don't intended to be a dic* about it. i just get tired of asking a question only to have 6 posts by captain obvious before someone with actual knowledge is kind enough to reply. to say

Using the EJS uniformer to remove the crimp is an exercise in futility - it can be done, but that tool isn't going to take the abuse for very long

is at best unhelpful and raises questions about whether or not he even knows what one is. i mean the darn thing is made out of carbide, how is using it on brass going to wear it out? i am well aware that dillon and RCBS make tools specifically for the purpose of swagging out primer pockets but that was not my question. my question was will the EJS work for this task. not do you think it will work. not should i buy a super swagger. and certainly not do you like military brass and what do you think its worth to sell. so if you can't stay on topic, please find someone else's thread to clog. preferably someone who isn't stuck at home today with a nasty migraine.
thank you
jason

 

[Mark whiz]

Jason,

Why YES I do own a EJS uniformer and I use it on every cartridge I load - uniforming the pockets on the 1st reload and to clean the pockets on subsequent reloads. Often I do this with it chucked into a drill to speed up the process. And why YES I have come across some mil-spec brass that the crimp wasn't fully removed and even hitting it with the EJS chucked in the drill was difficult.............you would have to be Hercules to try and do it by hand on 100 cases. So it's "possible", but not feasible for us mere mortals.

AND btw - I did warn you that using the EJS for crimp removal would weaken the pocket AND on the case thickness issues with mil-spec brass..............You're welcome for my looking out for YOUR safety.

Maybe a little Midol might help your posting in the future.

 

[ocabj]

Do not use a primer pocket uniformer to remove primer crimps. A primer pocket uniforming tool is designed to uniform a primer pocket, hence the name.

While it can be adapted to 'ream' the pocket crimp out, it wasn't designed for that purpose. For one it's going to take too much energy/effort. Second, reaming increases the chance that a primer pocket will be offcenter with respects to the flashhole. I tried it on some PMC .223 brass a long time ago. After going through five pieces, I stopped because it was killing my hands already and I wasn't about to try and go through another 195 pieces like that.

I have an EJS primer pocket uniforming tool and I don't use it anymore. I've found that it takes too much material out of the primer pockets.

Primer crimp removal tools that use a swaging method are the best. I have the RCBS press mounted tool and it works ok, but is not as efficient as the Dillon Super Swage. If you don't want to shell out for a Super Swage because you think that you are only going to have to remove primer crimps from these 100 pieces of brass, just forgo the brass. Give it away and buy Lapua. Lapua is the best brass you're going to find and it's only $50 per 100, and less depending on your shopping methods.

But if you're stubborn enough to go through with it, use the EJS tool. It'll take you a good while to ream the pockets out, but it will eventually open the pockets enough for you to seat primers.

 

[jr81452]

thanks mark and ocabj those were very helpful posts with clear explanations.

Mark: i wish you had explained it that way in the beginning. it would have saved me from my temper tantrum. i am sorry i took your post the wrong way and i am sorry i lashed out at you that way. clearly my fault. nothing personal toward you. i am just having a bad day with a five alarm headache and got frustrated.

fatelk: same goes for you, i apologize for my comments.

ocabj: thanks for the information and the advice. i already use lapua as my mainstay (have 3k from the same lot) i was only going through this LC in an attempt to include it in my previous post on .308 brass.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=269597

so all that being said. who wants to trade 50+ pieces of mill spec (mostly LC) 7.62/308 in exchange for swaging out these 105 LC pockets for me?
jason

 

[Mark whiz]

No problem, Jason - we all have days like that.

 

[Khornet]

What primers

are you using? Oops, sorry. Fed 210M. OK, I use those in my LC .30-06 brass with no problem.

I've used the RCBS swager, and it's fine for .223 but not for '06 IMHO. I finally got a tool for my Foster case trimmer/neck turner which does a great job. It's a chamfer type tool, easy to use.

How much are you chamfering? I find the chamfer has to be pretty noticeable to be effective.

If you like, send me the brass and I'll de-crimp and return. Don't need any 7.62, though.

 

[wally]

Don't remember if they were from Lee or RCBS but I have large and small primer hand reamer tools that were cheap and have met my needs for occasionally removing crimps for 20+ years.

--wally.