Problems seating primers

[JohnM]

Me too!
Then somewhere along thee line I splurged 98 cents or something for a little Lee trimmer.
Believe it or not that tool has trimmed so much brass it's actually gotten dull.

 

[P-32]

A couple of quick questions:
1.) Given my recent experience with destroying brass and primers, my inclination might be to overdo it with a countersink. Can I go too far with a countersink or chamfer tool?
2.) Would the RCBS swage work with my Redding Big Boss II press?
3.) Has anyone tried the Redding primer pocket uniformer tool?

Yes you can go too far with a countersink. You do not have to do any more than take the crimp out. I like I like having a smuch suporr around the primer as I can. Looking at the pics with the brass and primers I would not like the two on the right side.

The RCBS swage tool can be used on any standard single stage presss which your Redding is.

I have not tried the Redding primer pocket uniforming tool. Rewdding don't make junk, so I'm sure it would work. I have a Possum Hollow. I found uniforming the primer pocket was the biggest bang for the buck. The ammo with the uniformed primer pockets made a noted difference on the target.

I don't know about your FC GI brass however. I have used FC headstamped 223 brass and will never use it again in my match AR's. It's heavy everyplace except in the primer area. After processing and uniforming Iwas popping primers at Camp Perry with a barely broken in Kreiger barreled match upper. The problem was the primer pockets were getting enlarged at firing. Getting a primer stuck in your trigger group is no fun. My mistake. If you switch brass to another maker you will need to work your load up again. I have not gotten any of the Federal marked Lake City GI brass since Federal took over the contract. I know this is off topic but you should know Federal Brass can be a problem. It might be OK in a bolt gun but for an AR it's too soft and weak in the primer area.

 

[kingmt]

P32

Are you shooting really overcharged loads? I have used a lot of FC brass without problem. I have had a few split necks on factory loads which seem to be higher pressure loads.

I have checked volume on a dozen random cases & they were all the same. After 20+ fireings I haven't lost a primer.

 

[dtalley]

When I resize and deprime my .223 brass if the old primer is hard to punch out I will ream it a little even if I am not sure if it is crimped or not

 

[P-32]

P32

Are you shooting really overcharged loads? I have used a lot of FC brass without problem. I have had a few split necks on factory loads which seem to be higher pressure loads.

Lets just say I have never had an issue using Lake City brass. The reason I was loosing primers was because the Federal brass was not the same quailty as Lake City brass. The primers that stayed in the brass did not show any signs of pressure. Using Remington and CCI primers, pressure signs are harder to see. I question pressure any time I see even the minor amount of decrease in roundness on the edge of the primers. I use Remington 7 1/2's and Reloader 15 with 77 and 80 gr. SMK's. In a pinch, CCI BR's work well. I use data the upper builder uses when he shoots a match. The Federal ammo was on call. In others words the shot would break and I knew where the shot was going to be on the taeget. I have a high mileage match upper that has never had a problem as well as a low mileage upper. Both uppers have won me money and matches.

I don't know if the Federal vrass would be a problem in a bolt gun.

 

[AFDoc]

For an inexperienced hand loader like myself, would the swage tools offer the prospect of more consistency?

 

[Waywatcher]

Yes.

 

[jmstevens2]

Me too!
Then somewhere along thee line I splurged 98 cents or something for a little Lee trimmer.
Believe it or not that tool has trimmed so much brass it's actually gotten dull.

According to their web site in the FAQs they will sharpen it for you if you send it to them.

 

[jmstevens2]

My question is how do you deprime the crimped stuff without breaking the deprimer pin?

 

[ArchAngelCD]

My question is how do you deprime the crimped stuff without breaking the deprimer pin?

As long as it's boxer primers Lee has a tool that will deprime military brass. They have one for small primers (22 cal) and for large primers (30 cal) and both work very well for only $5 each!

 

[kingmt]

I have never broken a pin on crimped primers. I have only broken 2.53 first one was on a offset flash hole in a 9mm Luger then 5 minutes later in a Berdan 38spl. My son was running the press both times & is new to this. He would have no fell for something wrong.

 

[jcwit]

Crimped primers should present no problem to deprime, Berdad primed cases are the evil ones, and will tend to break your depriming pin.

 

[dbarnhart]

I'm sorry that your wife is getting irritated. That makes things tough.

The best tool for the job depends upon how many cases you have to process and how much time you have available. If you have thousands of 223 cases you should consider the Dillon Super Swage ($110) or RCBS's new equivalent. You can easily swage a thousand cases in an hour.

 

[kingmt]

That sounds slow. I bet if I tried I could knock out 1K in 20 minutes with the CH4D plus I get the ram prime for less then half.

 

[GW Staar]

The following are the cheapest tools that work well.


At Midway This RCBS tool the most expensive of the three and is designed to be used with their Trim Mate, but also fits their green handle. I like it best because it seats on the case head instead of the pocket bottom, which makes it insensitive to pocket depth. After trying swagers and reamers, I like this best for prepping brass for my progressive press, because its reliably prevents interruptions..

At Midway Lyman's Tool. This and the Hornady tool below are designed to seat on the pocket bottom, and both work. There have been several complaints that this Lyman tool is not sharp enough (read the review on Midway), but Lyman is a good company....I expect they have remedied that.....I think they both have the same threads as the RCBS tool so they should work with a Trim Mate as well as with their handles. (or you could use a drill for all three)

At Midway Hornady's Tool is the cheapest, and many swear by it. No complaints that I know of.

For an inexperienced hand loader like myself, would the swage tools offer the prospect of more consistency?

Not in my experience. They work well if you have the same brass and the brass is not old and hard. My experience with old LC brass (pretty old...67 or 72) was that the swagers would work on some and others would shear a tiny circle of brass off and deposit it at the bottom of the primer hole. That caused me a lot of heartburn with high primers and hard insertions on my progressive until I figured it out. Also swagers are sensitive to head thickness and so have to be adjusted for every brand and sometimes even runs of same brass. the other fly in the ointment is brass spring-back. You swage it out and then the hole is sometimes still too small. I wasted $200 trying to find a reliable method for the thousands of .308 LC brass I have. Reamers are flat more reliable for such brass. Using a progressive like I do, stoppages caused by primer holes not cooperating defeats the promise of faster progressive reloading.

Since you're just starting out and need to go inexpensive, my advice is to get the Hornady tool. Someday if/when you get a Trim Mate you can use it on that tool as well, or upgrade to the RCBS tool.

 

[jmstevens2]

I went back and looked the brass had head stamps that were nearly identical to the LC stuff I have and have used. It wasn't. It was berdan primed. I just don't remember ever buying foreign 5.56.
Its what I get for not inspecting better. First damn case too.
Thanks though, works fine now using Boxer primed stuff.