Decapping pin drawing primers back into pocket!

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minniehill2

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I have been having a terrible time lately with primers being ejected but sticking to to the depapping pin. They then get drawn partially back into the pocket causing my press to jam up. I was using Hornady dies on my Dillon so I switched to a Dillon die set and the problem still exists. The die is set 1/2 a turn off the plate and the decapping pin is back 1/2 a turn from bottoming out. Any ideas?
I have broke 3 indexing cams and have now adapted an optical sensor to detect the jams. This works well but my press is constantly stopping.
My next thought is to make a spring loaded decapping pin the same as the Dillon pistol dies.
Anyone else experience this phenomenon?
 
you could try sanding the pins so they aren't as "sharp" but i have had it happen a couple times with crimped primer pockets.
 
Unfortunately there is no good answer for this. I actually use RCBS small pins mated onto rods that fit a Lee Universal Decap Die for small rifle. That works the best for a balance of reduced drawbacks and the ability to service and replace pins which are bought in 50 packs. For pistol I have adapted a Camdex decapper which is a scaled up Dillon version meant for high speed processing. It works the best but involves considerable expense setting up. The pin is an inch long and has half an inch of travel prior to lockout. So when it decapper it comes off the stem with enough velocity to bounce it across the shop floor (aka I find them everywhere as they will bounce out of a 5 gallon pail occasionally)
 
try polishing the pins to a mirror finish. Harder for the primer to stay stuck to it. Helped me, didn't totally fix it. 2 in a thousand now,was 3 in a hundred before.
 
Does not seem to be a brand specific issue. I use RCBS carbide dies in my RCBS piggy back press and get the same thing.
I can hear the old primer fall into the bin. If it doesn't, I just jog the lever once or twice and it falls.
The powder measure linkage is disconnected and the powder lever is activated by hand to avoid double charges.
In my case it is a pain but i am used to it now.

Not sure why it happens. Does not seem to be related to any specific primer or ammo maker.
 
Before I bought the Dillon dies I tried many things. I sharpened, rounded, polished, filed flat and cut on a 45 angle. Nothing was great. I have measured up and drawn what I need to turn out on a lathe to make a spring loaded version of the rifle die.
With Christmas here I will likely change the press over to 9mm and continue to crank out the rounds. This will also give me time to make a prototype. If it works out, I will make them for anyone wanting it.
 
Had that issue a few years back and did exactly what you are doing now.

I was told to
a) make the decapping pin stick out of the die a "tiny bit" more; and
b) flatten the tip of the decapping pin with a file to widen the contact surface.

It worked for me... until a year later when Santa gave me Redding competition die set. The problem never reoccurred with either set I gave the Dillon set to a buddy at the Club. He still talks to me so I guess it still work. :)

Now that I grew older and wiser (mostly older), I realize I should have sold it on EE for the same price as a new set. :rolleyes:
 
I'm amazed by this. I've been reloading for 40 years, in quite a few different calibers, and in pretty high quantities, and have never had this happen.
Probably 95% of my dies are Lee. I try to stay away from RCBS and Hornady dies due to how fragile the primer punches are. I can see why people buy spare decapping pins in bags of 50 if they use RCBS dies, because you will need them.
Has anyone experienced the sticking primer problem with Lee dies?
 
Fargone4sure said:
I'm amazed by this. I've been reloading for 40 years, in quite a few different calibers, and in pretty high quantities, and have never had this happen.
Probably 95% of my dies are Lee. I try to stay away from RCBS and Hornady dies due to how fragile the primer punches are. I can see why people buy spare decapping pins in bags of 50 if they use RCBS dies, because you will need them.
Has anyone experienced the sticking primer problem with Lee dies?
Click to expand...


Yes. I have experienced this situation with the "small" decapping pins used by LEE. I only get the issue with small rifle and small pistol primers. What I have done to alleviate the problem is to grind the tip of the decapping pin to a 45 degree angle and polish off any marks. It only needs to be done once and seems to correct the issue. Some small primers have anvils with the dimple slightly smaller than the Lee pins by a few thousandths of an inch. I have noticed it has only been happening over the last couple of years. Likely the difference between metric dimension equipment and Imperial dimension equipment. I first ran into the problem decapping the Chinese bulk 223 from CanadaAmmo. Now I find it happening on others as well. I now have a pack of 10 spare Lee decapping pins.

I have never run into an issue with RCBS/Hornady/CH/Bonanza decappers unless it was my fault. Usually when a Berdan primed case gets into the mix or an extremely off center flash hole.
 
I bought a new Redding .243 full length die and the decapping pin looked to be larger in diameter and the tip was flat with very little rounding at the edges of the pin. And this caused the primer anvil to stick to the pin and this happened once in over 46 years of reloading.

If you as stated by other here sand down and round the very tip more "IF" the primer is sticking to the pin. If not then lower the decapping rod further so the primer clears the the bottom of the case.

99.9% of the time the decapping rod is not low enough and 1 percent of the time its the pin causing the problem.

I wet tumble my cases and now use a universal depriming die before tumbling the cases and it is not a issue when sizing now.
 
I run with the pin all the way down until it interferes with the bottom if the shell.

I wet tumble (no pins) all my brass as it has mud, sand and fine gravel in/on it. I then FL size and decap on the press cursing all the way. Then they get s wet tumble with pins to clean the pockets and then dry thoroughly. Then into the Dillion and watch them load themselves at 900 per hour.

By New Year's Day I hope to have my copy of the Dillon pistol spring loaded die ready to a trial run on .223
 
Had the very same thing happen a few days ago resizing 32 special brass, had a brand new set of rcbs dies and about 25% of the time the primers we're sticking on the end of the deccaping pin and then getting pulled partially back into the pocket. I'll have to check out the end of the pin when I have time. Most of them dropped off the pin with a second stroke. Can't remember ever having that issue before, had similar issues with having the decapping rod not adjusted down far enough and not popping the primers all the way out until I adjusted it down further but this time it was definitely down far enough and the primers we're sticking on the pin.
 
Mine are LEE dies,and I tried the extended pin idea. Found out the 2 stroke method worked best. That was with once fired IVI 7.62 brass
 
zuke said:
Mine are LEE dies,and I tried the extended pin idea. Found out the 2 stroke method worked best. That was with once fired IVI 7.62 brass
Click to expand...

Cant 2 stroke on a Dillon when using autodrive.
And you cant run a pin any further out if it is hitting the bottom of the case. Trust me when I say..."I know when I am bottoming out"
 
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