Alright, so I sometimes see things on the internet that I probably shouldn't try at home. Berdan depriming is now going on that list. Not because it's that's difficult, but because I'm now looking at thousands and thousands of Portugese and South African surplus 7.62x51 cases in a whole new light.
I read the above article, and thought, "Hey, that might be a fun project for a Sunday afternoon!" and, "Hey, I've got a whole pile of GP-11 brass!" all at the same time. I constructed the thing (learning that .5" copper pipe doesn't like the oxy-acetylene flame as much as it may like propane) in a few minutes out in the garage, and then promptly made a mess of ejected Berdan primers and water on the counter.
After cleaning up the mess, and laying out my GP-11 brass to dry, I happened to look up and see one of my spent Port cases on the bench. GP-11 and 7.62x51 both use .308 bullets! Eureka! The 5/16ths clevis pin you use to blow out the GP-11 will work just the same on ALL 7.62 cases!
So, two questions (since I should've asked the first one before smelting a new alloy in the garage ). One, where can I get Berdan primers (and would they be the same size in 7.5 Swiss and 7.62 NATO), other than Grafs (currently out)? And, B., is the Port and SA surplus brass suitable for reloading?
I don't plan on annealing it first, just punch and go, if that makes any difference.
S/F
Farnham
I read the above article, and thought, "Hey, that might be a fun project for a Sunday afternoon!" and, "Hey, I've got a whole pile of GP-11 brass!" all at the same time. I constructed the thing (learning that .5" copper pipe doesn't like the oxy-acetylene flame as much as it may like propane) in a few minutes out in the garage, and then promptly made a mess of ejected Berdan primers and water on the counter.
After cleaning up the mess, and laying out my GP-11 brass to dry, I happened to look up and see one of my spent Port cases on the bench. GP-11 and 7.62x51 both use .308 bullets! Eureka! The 5/16ths clevis pin you use to blow out the GP-11 will work just the same on ALL 7.62 cases!
So, two questions (since I should've asked the first one before smelting a new alloy in the garage ). One, where can I get Berdan primers (and would they be the same size in 7.5 Swiss and 7.62 NATO), other than Grafs (currently out)? And, B., is the Port and SA surplus brass suitable for reloading?
I don't plan on annealing it first, just punch and go, if that makes any difference.
S/F
Farnham