Berdan Primers

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Herk

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I've got quite a lot of milsurp .308 (and other) brass that I'm thinking of reloading. Much of it is Berdan primed. I know where to get a Berdan decapping tool but I don't think that I've ever seen Berdan primers for sale anywhere in any quantity.

All else being equal, I'd prefer to find a source for these in Alberta. If no such source exists in AB then I'd prefer a Canadian source. The less shipping of 'dangerous goods' (and the fees/hassles associated with it), albiet internationally, the better!

Thanks!

-Herk
 
RWS of Germany is the largest manufacturer of Berdan primers and there are alot of diff. sizes, if you can get these primers they will be expensive and not user friendly to decap or recap. I would ditch the brass and get some boxer primed brass it will be cheaper in the end. The only exception i can think of is some hard to find brass that only comes in Berdan, then the extra cost and effort may be worth it.
 
AFAIK there are only 2 types of decappers for Berdan primers. The Lachmiller, it's sold (or was) by RCBS and a hydraulic type that uses water, but that's messy.

CCI make Berdan primers but I know of no one in Canada that has them.

As ben says lose them and use Boxer.
 
North Silva in TO is the Cdn. distributor for RWS.
Reloading Berdan isn't all that much of an ordeal, although I would not bother with common brass like 7.62X51.
Before Boxer 6.5X55 became readily available, I reloaded a lot of Swedish military brass. Took a block of hardwood, drilled a casehead sized hole through it, sawed a split through the hole. Clamped the block in a vise, with a case held in the hole. Tapped in a sharp awl at an angle, levered out the spent cap. Altered a standard press priming tool for the Berdan diameter, reprimed on the press, no more trouble than seating a Boxer primer. Eventually used an RCBS tool. Its a bit faster. Remove the decapping pin from the sizing die stem for FL sizing.
 
Thanks for the replys. Most of the Berdan brass that I have is .308 so perhaps I should just look harder for the Boxer stuff. I'm just having a hell of a time finding any. Who's got the best prices for .308 brass, preferably Winchester? Better yet, who's got .308 brass for sale?

-Herk
 
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