The Berdan Water Torture

[Farnham]

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

 

[Farnham]

So nobody else reloads Berdan primed brass? Feh. Guess I'll get the .284 Win brass and Boxer prime the Swiss and throw out all the Port cases. How pedestrian.

S/F

Farnham

 

[Ross]

Farnham,
The supply of Berdan primers seems th have dried up again.
I suppose we'll have to wait for more to get here.
The brass is as good as ever, and does not rust in storage. Be patient.
You might want to look at Dave Cushman's fine beekeeping site for a good description of the old Wamadet Berdan uncapping scheme, with instructions for replicating it. I hope this works for you.

http://website.lineone.net/~dave.cushman/shoothome.html

Cheers from Darkest California,
Ross

 

[P95Carry]

I am very unsure on this but IIRC the old western scrounger used to stock Berdans.

I still have a good many left and use some periodically.

I use a hydropunch device to decap - made in UK and quite effective - if I find a pic I'll post it.

 

[Farnham]

Ross, good point, brass won't rust in storage. I'll hold on to it. Thanks for the link, too!

P95Carry, I couldn't find any Berdan primers on Old West Scrounger, Wideners, or on any of a half dozen other websites Google brought up. The device I built in the garage is a little messy, but it's cheap and works. Why spend $95 on the RCBS Berdan de-primer or something else when mine cost about 8 bucks?

The main reason for these questions is this: money. If I can reload Berdan primed 7.62 NATO, and Berdan 7.5 Swiss, I'll buy two new expanders and chop the decapping pins off, because all that surplus brass is worth the trouble. If I can't reload all the NATO rounds, I might as well just go .284 Win and Boxer prime for the Swiss, as it's probably less money (and less work) in the long run.

But really, imagine all that cheap Port NATO brass reprimed and shiny...gives ya a fuzzy warm feeling, don't it?

S/F

Farnham

 

[Dave R]

Somewhere, on some gun forum, I saw a post from a guy who basically shaped a hook out of a rod, and just pried the berdan primers out. Seemed much easier than the water method. But I can't find it now, so not much help.

 

[vesmcd]

Go to surplusrifle.com and read the three part series on Berdan priming.

 

[Farnham]

That's where the link in my original post leads, vesmcd. I've got the depriming part down.

It's the locating Berdan primers part that's tough.

S/F

Farnham

 

[Berek]

Farnham,
The supply of Berdan primers seems th have dried up again.
I suppose we'll have to wait for more to get here.
The brass is as good as ever, and does not rust in storage. Be patient.
You might want to look at Dave Cushman's fine beekeeping site for a good description of the old Wamadet Berdan uncapping scheme, with instructions for replicating it. I hope this works for you.

http://website.lineone.net/~dave.cushman/shoothome.html

Cheers from Darkest California,
Ross

Dang is that site hard on the eyes. My GF was reading over my shoulder and thought the primers were still live when you hit them with a hammer...

Gotta love it.

Berek

 

[JA]

With the RCBS berdan tool there is no mess but you will tear up the anvils of
3-4 brass adjusting the depth of the depriming pin. Once you get it adjusted it is a snap to use and really fast. They are only $46.89 at Midway.
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=245983

Try here for berdan rifle primers.
http://www.specialtyammo.com/home.php

The berdan large rifle primers are .217" so you will have to measure the primer pockets of your brass to see if they will fit. Make sure to remove the primer crimp if the case has one before measureing.