Primer pockets

[1976B.L.Johns.]

I have saved spent primers over the past five or six years.


When I first started reloading, every piece of brass was saved. (Cheap, frugal) Picking everyone up was "There's another nickel, another nickel " and so on.

I soon realized that tight primer pockets were important!

Having pulled the handle many times I feel that I can tell if it is a tight or loose pocket.Lately, I have been culling brass by the way spent primers feel during the de-capping process with a universal die in my old Rock Chucker. The ones that give up primers easily go in to the recycle bucket.

Do you think this is a fair way to assess primer pockets? Or am I throwing away potentially good brass?

(I know a go- no go gauge would tell me my answer, just wanted to get others response of this idea...Thanks in advance!

 

[lightman]

Your method works ok. You may be trashing a few cases that are ok but probably not many. I do just the opposite. I cull loose primer pockets when I am priming.

 

[Chuck R.]

Pistol I don't sweat. The majority of them get lost during a match or class.

Rifle brass, I've gone to de-capping prior to wet tumbling. 1st step in my process once dry is to check the primer pockets with these:

https://ballistictools.com/store/small-and-large-primer-pocket-gauges

Saves me a lot of potentially wasted time that would have been spent prepping brass with a loose pocket. It also culls the crimped primer pockets for swaging.

 

[edwardware]

Your method works better than a pocket gauge. Using the gauge it's surprisingly difficult to feel the difference between ok and loose. I have a gauge, and it's not nearly as definitive as you'd think.

I'd skip the gauge, and keep doing what you're doing.

 

[Highland Lofts]

My oldest son primes the cases and the ones that the primer slips right in he marks the case with a permant black sharpie and puts them in a seperate plastic ammo case. After he shoots them they get squeezed with a set of plyers and go in the scrap bucket.

 

[1976B.L.Johns.]

I cull loose primer pockets when I am priming.

Me too, marking the headstamp with a "Sharpie".

 

[1976B.L.Johns.]

I've gone to de-capping prior to wet tumbling

That is what I do...

 

[cfullgraf]

Virtually all my handgun cases never fail for loose primer pockets.

A large percentage of cases fired in an AR-15 I find fail for loose primer pockets. I pay attention to the effort to decap a case as well as the effort top prime a case later when I load it. I probably reload a few cases too many times and scrap a few that could still be useful.

Rifle cartridges fired in a rifle where the breech remains closed after firing (bolt, single shot, etc), loose primer pockets rarely seem to be a problem. Cases are discarded for other reasons.

Cases that I deem are on their last loading, I put an "X" on the base with a Sharpie to let me know it is time to scrap that case.

 

[Virginia Jim]

How many do you figure are in those two jars? If they were new primers, they’d be literally worth their weight in gold.

 

[Laphroaig]

I know a go- no go gauge would tell me my answer

I just bought a set of those gauges. I was scrounging through my misc. .223 brass recently trying to find something I could use for a new loading project. The no-go gauge wouldn't go in some LC-84 brass (7 previous loadings) that I ended up scrapping because the pockets were too loose for my liking. If the no-go drops into a pocket, it would be way past the loose primer point, IMO.

Seating primers with a hand tool is how I like to determine the condition of the pocket.

 

[1976B.L.Johns.]

How many do you figure are in those two jars?

I'll have to get back to you on that...(a jar is surprisingly heavy!)
Will figure it out tonight.
(Bringing the Mrs. to an appointment in Virginia, MN shortly.)

they’d be literally worth their weight in gold.

Well, worth their weight in scrap brass, I hope!

And as R.C. would say something about primers in a jar...

 

[1976B.L.Johns.]

Thanks to all for the responses!

Having confirmed my suspicions, sometimes one just needs reassurance.

 

[mdi]

I more often set aside a case that "don't feel right" during priming or decapping for further inspection. If I am being "frugal" or nuttin' else to do I may use a plug gauge and check for loose primer pockets, 98% of the time I just check rifle brass...

 

[1976B.L.Johns.]

How many do you figure are in those two jars? I

Tared an empty jar on a cheap 25# spring scale.Weighed the necked jar full came out at 5 pounds, 11 ounces.
Took three random samples to achieve 100 grains.(+ or- .5 gr.) weighed on my powder scale.
1st: 8 large & 21 small primers.
2nd: 6 large, 25 small.
3rd: 7 large, 23 small.

Sweet coincidence!
Average of 7 large and 23 small. about 25% large, 75% small.

Of course a couple were missing an anvil but one sample did have a loose anvil in it.

100 grains (the sample weights) X 70 = one pound.so.....

70 X 7 large primers = 490 70 X 23 small primers = 1610.

490 + 1610 = 2100 mixed large and small primers to a pound in my jar.

Resulting in 10,500 mixed primers in 5 pounds plus the eleven ounces (2100 primers to a pound divided by 16 equals 131.25 to an ounce) 131 X 11 ounces = 1441.

Concluding ~ 11941, almost 12 thousand primers in an old Miracle Whip jar.

Not very scientific but a small exercise on an older brain plus making my wife say "You have too much time on your hands!"

 

[Highland Lofts]

Close enough for the average Joe. I'll have to write that down.