Primer Pocket Reamer Battle

[d31tc]

In the past, for reaming crimped primer pockets, I had bought the Lyman kit with the multiple primer pocket tools. After I used it the first time I ever rammed primer pockets, I had issues seating the primers. I went back and reamed the brass more, and still I had problems seating a primer. Then I chucked it in a drill and reamed the heck out of the brass that still needed primers. Finally got all that brass primed. I’m prepping more brass and saw that someone recommended the Burstfire reamer. I had been looking into options and thought I’d give the $17 reamer a try before buying a swager.

Using a go/no-go gauge, I checked 20 pieces of once fired Lake City NATO brass to verify the go gauge would not go.

Then I used the Burstfire reamer on 10 pieces and the Lyman on 10 pieces and rechecked all pieces with the gauge.

For the brass reamed with the Burstfire, I used moderate pressure and a single, but long twist. The go gauge fit all 10 primer pockets.

For the brass reamed with the Lyman, I used the same reaming motion as with the Burstfire reamer. The go gauge fit 3 primer pockets.

I will be using the Burstfire chucked in a drill and chuck the Lyman in the spare parts drawer for the temporary black hole that exists near my house to swallow it up at the exact moment I need it.

Below is a photo of my go/no-go gauge that reappeared when the temporary black hole moved on.

 

[Atavar]

I greatly enjoy my Lyman case prep station. Primer pocket tools, inside and outside chamfer tools all mounted and spinning with a touch of a switch. Much handier than a drill motor.

 

[irishlad]

In the past, for reaming crimped primer pockets, I had bought the Lyman kit with the multiple primer pocket tools. After I used it the first time I ever rammed primer pockets, I had issues seating the primers. I went back and reamed the brass more, and still I had problems seating a primer. Then I chucked it in a drill and reamed the heck out of the brass that still needed primers. Finally got all that brass primed. I’m prepping more brass and saw that someone recommended the Burstfire reamer. I had been looking into options and thought I’d give the $17 reamer a try before buying a swager.

Using a go/no-go gauge, I checked 20 pieces of once fired Lake City NATO brass to verify the go gauge would not go.

Then I used the Burstfire reamer on 10 pieces and the Lyman on 10 pieces and rechecked all pieces with the gauge.

For the brass reamed with the Burstfire, I used moderate pressure and a single, but long twist. The go gauge fit all 10 primer pockets.

For the brass reamed with the Lyman, I used the same reaming motion as with the Burstfire reamer. The go gauge fit 3 primer pockets.

I will be using the Burstfire chucked in a drill and chuck the Lyman in the spare parts drawer for the temporary black hole that exists near my house to swallow it up at the exact moment I need it.

Below is a photo of my go/no-go gauge that reappeared when the temporary black hole moved on.

View attachment 1182197

I greatly enjoy my Lyman case prep station. Primer pocket tools, inside and outside chamfer tools all mounted and spinning with a touch of a switch. Much handier than a drill motor.
View attachment 1182205

I have the same gauge, reamer tool and case prep. It worked. I bought the Lee Ram Swagger awhile back. Faster, easier and no cleanup!!

 

[Skgreen]

I believe this is the webpage for the product being reviewed: https://burstfireguns.com/products/burstfire-ultimate-case-prep-tool-kit-with-handle-case

 

[Charlie98]

For the brass reamed with the Burstfire, I used moderate pressure and a single, but long twist. The go gauge fit all 10 primer pockets.

For the brass reamed with the Lyman, I used the same reaming motion as with the Burstfire reamer. The go gauge fit 3 primer pockets.

Understand the tolerances involved in reaming (not swaging) a primer pocket. It can be dangerous, if not inconvenient, to OVERream a primer pocket... in effect, trashing the brass. The Lyman tool is trying to balance that task, and err on the side of caution. What is likely happening is... you are cutting the crimp out, but leaving a sharp edge where the brass is removed. Some primers will catch that edge... I have that problem with CCI Arsenal primers, but not with Winchester primers. You need to hit the freshly cut primer pocket with a deburring tool, to remove the sharp, cut edge.

I greatly enjoy my Lyman case prep station.

As do I. What's nice about the Lyman setup is... you use the primer pocket cutter, to remove the crimp, and then you hit it with the deburring tool to clean the edge up... in two very quick motions.

 

[TRAILS-END]

I do have their annealer and it works great

 

[d31tc]

I greatly enjoy my Lyman case prep station. Primer pocket tools, inside and outside chamfer tools all mounted and spinning with a touch of a switch. Much handier than a drill motor.

No doubt handier than a drill. Looks like brass shavings are handled nicely, too.

 

[d31tc]

I’ll try deburring after the Lyman. See if that makes a difference. Next step will be to try priming the brass reamed with the different reamers.

Lyman on the left; Burstfire on the right. They look similar, but are definitely working differently.

 

[AJC1]

I’ll try deburring after the Lyman. See if that makes a difference. Next step will be to try priming the brass reamed with the different reamers.

Lyman on the left; Burstfire on the right. They look similar, but are definitely working differently.

View attachment 1182228

I do not like case cutting tools that do not have a stop. The redding flash hole deburer, the rcbs military crimp tool any neck turning tool, primer pocket uniforming tool. Reamers are guess work with low possibility of consistency as you have seen. For what your doing a countersink cutter would be more effective.

 

[Charlie98]

I do not like case cutting tools that do not have a stop.

The way the primer crimp remover works is it bottoms out in the primer pocket. The issue becomes the primer pockets that aren't quite square, or uniform... but you can't uniform a primer pocket until you remove the crimp.

 

[9mmepiphany]

I've always been curious why some folks prefer reaming crimped primer pocket over swaging?

I'm using my Lee APP with swaging attachment and it seems very quick and consistent,...plus not very expensive

 

[AJC1]

I've always been curious why some folks prefer reaming crimped primer pocket over swaging?

I'm using my Lee APP with swaging attachment and it seems very quick and consistent,...plus not very expensive

The rcbs crimp remover is neither.... it only chamfers the top of the pocket and doesn't touch any of the primer walls. The reamer and swager do touch the primer pocket which make it possible to overdo.

 

[9mmepiphany]

The rcbs crimp remover is neither.... it only chambers the top of the pocket and doesn't touch any of the primer walls.

Interesting, I didn't know that.

I swage with a Hornady attachment for my LNL (.223/5.56mm), the Lee attachment of the APP and the built-in swagging station for my Mark 7 Apex-10

 

[d31tc]

I've always been curious why some folks prefer reaming crimped primer pocket over swaging?

I'm using my Lee APP with swaging attachment and it seems very quick and consistent,...plus not very expensive

I'm still in the process of figuring it out. I haven't had the need to do much with crimped pockets. The first time I did, I was using the Lyman reamer. I only did 20 or so cases, spun the reamer until it seemed to spin free of taking brass and still had issues seating primers. I wasn't using a gauge to check those, but I subsequently bought some gauges. After reaming some with the reamer chucked in a drill, I still had some issues. Recently started processing a bunch of my range pickup brass and knew I wanted to try something different than the Lyman reamer. I had an RCBS crimp remover in my inbox ready to buy, but after googling, saw a post on the forum referencing the Burstfire and checked out the Burstfire video. I know it's marketing and they aren't going to post their product failing, but they were comparing it to another reamer, and that showed the experience I was having. They also compared it to what appears to be the RCBS crimp remover, and I didn't want that experience, either.

Why reaming? Right now - because it's cheaper. Lee APP and Lee APP Primer Pocket Swage Kit = $182 VS Dillon Swager = $163 VS. Reamer chucked in a drill = $17

The "Automatic" part looks pretty enticing though. I think the Lee looks like the way to go for fast swaging if I decide to up my game.

 

[irishlad]

Why reaming? Right now - because it's cheaper. Lee APP and Lee APP Primer Pocket Swage Kit = $182 VS Dillon Swager = $163 VS. Reamer chucked in a drill = $17

$37 for large and small

Ram Swage Primer Pocket Swaging Kit

Ram Swage Primer Pocket Swaging Kit by LEE PRECISION Product Overview: The Lee Ram Swage primer pocket swager works so fast that you’ll want to swage all range brass you pick-up. Works on all single stage presses with standard 7/8x14 threads in a press frame that accepts universal press...

www.midsouthshooterssupply.com

 

[d31tc]

The rcbs crimp remover is neither.... it only chambers the top of the pocket and doesn't touch any of the primer walls. The reamer and swager do touch the primer pocket which make it possible to overdo.

Curious if your experience with the RCBS style crimp remover is like in this vi

$37 for large and small

Ram Swage Primer Pocket Swaging Kit

Ram Swage Primer Pocket Swaging Kit by LEE PRECISION Product Overview: The Lee Ram Swage primer pocket swager works so fast that you’ll want to swage all range brass you pick-up. Works on all single stage presses with standard 7/8x14 threads in a press frame that accepts universal press...

www.midsouthshooterssupply.com

Good point. An extra $20 isn't gonna break the bank. No need to have the APP. Was kind of thinking about speed, too. If the Burstfire is just a touch to the reamer and toss it in a bin, vs placing in a shell holder, pulling a handle, and then removing and putting it in a bin then it should be faster. However, with the reamer, I can see my hand getting tired, so the Lee Ram Swage looks like a nice option. If I decide to go that route, I'm only out $17 and a total cost of about $54 - still half the price of an RCBS swager and a third the cost of a Dillon swager.

I haven't gotten to the actual priming of the cases yet after this round of reaming with the burstfire. I'll try a few this weekend. I have a bunch that I've prepped with the Lyman and I'll have some with the Burstfire. We'll see how it goes. In other's experience, if the go gauge "goes", how often do you still have priming issues after reaming or swaging. Is one method more problem free with priming, which is the end goal?

 

[d31tc]

Just to ask, obviously I see high praise for the Dillon swager. I don't see as much about the RCBS, but they generally seem like the speed would be about the same and I would think the function of the swaging would be about the same.

How does the function of the Lee Ram Swage compare to the Dillon or the RCBS swager? Pros/Cons?

 

[AJC1]

I'm still in the process of figuring it out. I haven't had the need to do much with crimped pockets. The first time I did, I was using the Lyman reamer. I only did 20 or so cases, spun the reamer until it seemed to spin free of taking brass and still had issues seating primers. I wasn't using a gauge to check those, but I subsequently bought some gauges. After reaming some with the reamer chucked in a drill, I still had some issues. Recently started processing a bunch of my range pickup brass and knew I wanted to try something different than the Lyman reamer. I had an RCBS crimp remover in my inbox ready to buy, but after googling, saw a post on the forum referencing the Burstfire and checked out the Burstfire video. I know it's marketing and they aren't going to post their product failing, but they were comparing it to another reamer, and that showed the experience I was having. They also compared it to what appears to be the RCBS crimp remover, and I didn't want that experience, either.

Why reaming? Right now - because it's cheaper. Lee APP and Lee APP Primer Pocket Swage Kit = $182 VS Dillon Swager = $163 VS. Reamer chucked in a drill = $17

The "Automatic" part looks pretty enticing though. I think the Lee looks like the way to go for fast swaging if I decide to up my game.

When dealing with huge piles of Lake city 223 or 308 and Hornaday brass of the same, you will get the swing of it. I recycle the rest of it because I'm only interested in large lots of the same brass. I have handed of several one gallon freezer bags of federal 556 so that's also really common to pick up. Perfection would be access to a police range to get piles of speer brass, I've just never had that access. As you get deeper in the game you'll see what is most common in your area and adapt to that brass flow.

 

[AJC1]

Curious if your experience with the RCBS style crimp remover is like in this vi

Good point. An extra $20 isn't gonna break the bank. No need to have the APP. Was kind of thinking about speed, too. If the Burstfire is just a touch to the reamer and toss it in a bin, vs placing in a shell holder, pulling a handle, and then removing and putting it in a bin then it should be faster. However, with the reamer, I can see my hand getting tired, so the Lee Ram Swage looks like a nice option. If I decide to go that route, I'm only out $17 and a total cost of about $54 - still half the price of an RCBS swager and a third the cost of a Dillon swager.

I haven't gotten to the actual priming of the cases yet after this round of reaming with the burstfire. I'll try a few this weekend. I have a bunch that I've prepped with the Lyman and I'll have some with the Burstfire. We'll see how it goes. In other's experience, if the go gauge "goes", how often do you still have priming issues after reaming or swaging. Is one method more problem free with priming, which is the end goal?

My experence with the rcbs military crimp remover is about what he showed for his product. 2-3seconds gets it done. The difference is his product has no stop and the same could be done with a plain countersink just as fast, cheaper. Your vld tip will do the same thing on the hand tool. My issue is every one of those products can easily overdone.

 

[wild willy]

I used the Hornady and RCBS reamers before getting the Lee swager I like the Lee a lot bette.I’ve only done hundreds but no complaints

 

[Atavar]

I do not like case cutting tools that do not have a stop. The redding flash hole deburer, the rcbs military crimp tool any neck turning tool, primer pocket uniforming tool. Reamers are guess work with low possibility of consistency as you have seen. For what your doing a countersink cutter would be more effective.

If you look at the picture right above your post you will see a chamfered cut at the top edge of the reamers.
They have a blunt end and will not bore in like a drill. The blunt end is the stop when it hits the bottom of the primer pocket.
These are different from a primer pocket normalizer which does have end cutters and does have a stop.

 

[lightman]

All crimps are not created equal! And having said that, I've never found a single method that works great on all of them! The closest I've found is the 45º countersink from the hardware store, checked up in a drill. The RCBS swage tool with the button sheelholder thingy works well but you can damage the case rim if its a really tight primer pocket. And its slow! The Dillon swage tool seems to be the gold standard. I may be the only guy alive that didn't like it. I sold mine! It worked well if you didn't mind re-adjusting it for different brass. The Hornady, Lyman, RCBS reamers worked well until they get dull. And they seemed to get dull rather quickly! My current favorite is the Wilson reamer that works in their case trimmer. Its slow, its rough on your fingers, but it works well and seems to last.

 

[9mmepiphany]

Why reaming? Right now - because it's cheaper. Lee APP and Lee APP Primer Pocket Swage Kit = $182 VS Dillon Swager = $163 VS. Reamer chucked in a drill = $17

I guess it is a matter of scale. I have a couple thousand militray 9mm cases which need to be swagged. Picking each up and holding it while twisting a reamer was a bit much. Even handling each to place in into a press seemed unnecessary when the APP was available. Plus the APP allows me to quickly deprime a couple thousand easily before swagging.

Judging from the prices you're quoting, I'm thinking the APP Deluxe, which would also be able to prime all the cases I had just prepped . What makes the APP so efficient is the case feeder, the Breech Lock bushings, and the pass-though dies

 

[Charlie98]

I've always been curious why some folks prefer reaming crimped primer pocket over swaging?

I'm using my Lee APP with swaging attachment and it seems very quick and consistent,...plus not very expensive

I had about 10K cases to process... 5.56mm and 7.62mm. I bought a C&H swage tool... and had nothing but problems with it. If I was able to swage it enough to get the crimp out... enough to where I could seat a primer without issues... I would bend the cartridge case rim. I tried all manner of technique with it... to no avail. I bought the Lyman power prep center... and it is nothing but goodness and light. Yes, I'm removing metal from the cartridge case head, which some don't like, but I've not seen any issues with it so far. With the Lyman tool, I cut out the crimp, I tap the edge with the debur toolhead, then uniform the primer pocket... about 5 seconds for each case.

Everyone's use case is different, and... as I like to say... your results may vary, need not be present to win. Swaging didn't work for me. Had I spent the money on the Dillon tool, maybe things would have worked better... but, at the end of the day, I always uniform my rifle primer pockets for my semi-autos so I know I can seat the primers below flush. The Lyman tool does all of that for me with little redundant case handling.

 

[Show Me]

Pull wrenches all day all week. Reloading I try to keep it simple and educational studying everything. My crimp remover makes me look like low rent. My lyman inside reamer cuts the crimp leaves a slight bevel and already had it