Clearing the primer pocket necessary for small calibe?

francher

francher

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Hi everyone, I do a lot of 556 reloading, but even though I have a lyman cleanup machine, I find that cleaning the 556 primer pocket is a very time consuming extra process. My range is within 200m. I'm wondering if I skip this process, will it have a serious impact on accuracy?

I find that some press like Lee Turret Press, they skip cleaning the primer pocket and go straight to priming.
 
Are you talking about just cleaning the primer pocket, or removing crimps as well? A dirty primer pocket will have very little affect on anything, but you would still need to ream or swage any crimps out.
 
.30/06 FTW said:
Are you talking about just cleaning the primer pocket, or removing crimps as well? A dirty primer pocket will have very little affect on anything, but you would still need to ream or swage any crimps out.
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Thanks for the reply. I was just talking about the cleanup. Also, I found it very difficult to priming the 556 if without ream or swage. the Lyman machine is not convenient. So I plan to purchase a SWAGE die instead.
 
Honestly just get a stainless tumbler your primer pockets will come out clean as a whistle.

For removing swages/ crimps from primer pockets I find a cordless drill with a big counter sink drill bit to be fast and easy .
 
I use a screwdriver bit (blade type) in my portable drill, ground to the proper size, to clean primer pockets. For .556 military cases, I swage the primer pockets using an RCBS swaging die.
 
I haven't cleaned a primer pocket in 15 years. Accuracy isn't hampered by skipping this pointless step. But I don't have OCD
 
Only time I clean primer pockets is when I process large batches of brass. Brass gets cleaned then deprimed and resized. Then back in the tumbler to clean off lube. So they get cleaned to a certain extent as a byproduct

I never individually clean primer pockets.
 
OP - you likely want clear flash holes - regardless if you clean pockets or not - was my PITA for the walnut tumbler - multitude of plugged flash holes - have to check each one individually to be sure - just became a habit, now. Have seen pictures of two stainless steel pins wedged in a flash hole, so that is not "bullet proof" either. So my sizing is done without a de-priming pin on the expander ball shaft.

I guess it could be considered an "advantage" to immediately re-prime, when de-priming - the de-primer pin had just passed through the flash hole, so you do know that it is clear. Or, I suppose that I could just put the pins back into the expander ball shaft, and that would verify that the flash hole is indeed clear while re-sizing.

Similar to some above - I usually de-prime - either manually ( I do not own a .22 de-priming die) or in a de-priming die for larger than .22 size, then tumble in stainless pins to clean, if the cases need cleaning - that is about the extent of "cleaning primer pockets" for me, any more.
 
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Gatehouse said:
Only time I clean primer pockets is when I process large batches of brass. Brass gets cleaned then deprimed and resized. Then back in the tumbler to clean off lube. So they get cleaned to a certain extent as a byproduct

I never individually clean primer pockets.
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I never realized I had to clean the lube off the case. I usually keep the lubricated cases press directly into the bullets
 
Cleaning primer pockets is a phenomenal waste of time, IMHO.
Never noted any change in accuracy between clean/dirty primer pockets.
Media in the flash hole is a bad news item, though. Dave.
 
Cleaning primer pocket is a good habit.
If ammo with dirty primer pocket is used up within short period of time after reloading this will not cause any issue.

However if this type of ammo gets stored and if stored for long period of time in changing environment then its highly likely that primer deterioration will occur. No matter how good primer cup is seated against the case. Carbon residue will attract moisture and will cause primer to fail.

With clean primer pocket risk of failure to ignite is reduced and ignition is done reliably even in adverse conditions.
 
gewehr76 said:
Cleaning primer pocket is a good habit.
If ammo with dirty primer pocket is used up within short period of time after reloading this will not cause any issue.

However if this type of ammo gets stored and if stored for long period of time in changing environment then its highly likely that primer deterioration will occur. No matter how good primer cup is seated against the case. Carbon residue will attract moisture and will cause primer to fail.

With clean primer pocket risk of failure to ignite is reduced and ignition is done reliably even in adverse conditions.
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Very useful advice. I'll remember it, thank you!
 
gewehr76 said:
Cleaning primer pocket is a good habit.
If ammo with dirty primer pocket is used up within short period of time after reloading this will not cause any issue.

However if this type of ammo gets stored and if stored for long period of time in changing environment then its highly likely that primer deterioration will occur. No matter how good primer cup is seated against the case. Carbon residue will attract moisture and will cause primer to fail.
Click to expand...

And where, pray tell, will these carbon deposits find moisture in a loaded round? If moisture actually
finds it's way into a loaded round, I would suggest more than the primer will be affected.

I accidentally sent 3 loaded rounds of 257 Weatherby reloads through the clothes wash. To be sure
they were not compromised, I broke them down.....Not the slightest indication of moisture egress in
any of them.

Additionally, I have some 7x57 ammo that was loaded by me in 1997 that I recently decided to shoot.
If there was any issue, I'm sure it would have been apparent. All shot great and grouped well.
Regards, Dave.
 
Eagleye said:
And where, pray tell, will these carbon deposits find moisture in a loaded round? If moisture actually
finds it's way into a loaded round, I would suggest more than the primer will be affected.

I accidentally sent 3 loaded rounds of 257 Weatherby reloads through the clothes wash. To be sure
they were not compromised, I broke them down.....Not the slightest indication of moisture egress in
any of them.

Additionally, I have some 7x57 ammo that was loaded by me in 1997 that I recently decided to shoot.
If there was any issue, I'm sure it would have been apparent. All shot great and grouped well.
Regards, Dave.
Click to expand...

Moisture has a nasty habit of getting in to dry stuff. powdery substances will get damp no matter what.
What works for you, may not work for everybody and conditions as well as expectations of ammo vary significantly from person to person.

S&B sealed their primers on their ammo. Hmm they have OCD with moisture getting in to their cartridges? Their brass has the tightest primer pocket on the market and yet they still seal the primer cup as they do know that primer is the most vulnerable part of the cartridge to moisture intrusion.
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How about military cartridges? do they just put lacquer on primers to make them look pretty?
Obviously they don't have the crud from previous firing in their cases either.

Leaving the carbon residue in front of the primer is twice likely to cause crooked seating of the primer, not fully seated cup and expansion of the primer pocket as well as erratic or inconsistent ignition.
 

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[Gewehr76: Leaving the carbon residue in front of the primer is twice likely to cause crooked seating of the primer, not fully seated cup and expansion of the primer pocket as well as erratic or inconsistent ignition.]

No possible way to verify this. 50+ years of reloading has taught me to differentiate facts from conjecture.
We'll just have to agree to disagree :) Dave.
 
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