Federal primers won't seat. Please advise..

Joe Amorosi

Joe Amorosi

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I tried to prime some 30/06 last night with questionable results. The primers would not seat and were proud of the base. Primed 4 cases all with the same result before stopping.
This is the first time I have tried using Federal Match 210M primers. I have always just used CCI 200. I have not uniformed the pockets in my brass because I never had an issue seating when using the CCI primers. Two different manufacturers of brass. Federal and Remington, both with the same result, protruding primer. And not just a little proud, I'm talkin' obvious to the eye without having to measure. My pockets were well cleaned before seating. No crud in them.
I'm using a Lee hand primer and seated the primers with far more force than I have ever had to use in the past. I can tell by the feel that the tool is bottoming out. I have taken my priming tool apart and checked the ram and the cam for wear to see if I was getting full travel on the ram and, all looks good. Shell holder is clean and tight.
I popped the Federals out of those 4 cases and went back to the CCI and they went in easy peasy..... All Good.
I measured the thickness of the cups and, the difference was only 1 thou (Federal being larger). No where near enough to account for the difference in seating depth.

So,.... could somebody please school me on what's going on?

Thanks,

Joe
 
CCI are radiused. Try using a deburring tool to lightly work the top of the pocket. I would blame your primer tool but if the CCI work it sounds like a brass/primer issue.
 
The primer cup should be 0.027" thick regardless of brand or type. I assume the 0.001" difference is in the diameter? Try measuring the difference in height just for S&Gs.
 
Lee has had issues with the hand primer shell holders being out of spec. They allow the brass to move up too far and the seater will not be able to fully seat the primer and will leave it proud. I had this issue. Contact Lee, tell them that the shell holder is bad and they will send you a new one free of charge in my experience. This was the case on the belted magnum shell holder and the small rifle (223 etc) shellholder for me. The standard rifle shellholder worked for me but doesn't sound like its working for you. To diagnose this watch to see if the brass moves up in the shell holder when seating any primer regardless of make.
 
Buckmastr said:
Lee has had issues with the hand primer shell holders being out of spec. They allow the brass to move up too far and the seater will not be able to fully seat the primer and will leave it proud. I had this issue. Contact Lee, tell them that the shell holder is bad and they will send you a new one free of charge in my experience. This was the case on the belted magnum shell holder and the small rifle (223 etc) shellholder for me. The standard rifle shellholder worked for me but doesn't sound like its working for you. To diagnose this watch to see if the brass moves up in the shell holder when seating any primer regardless of make.
Click to expand...

I had a similar issue with my 270win now that you mention it. I tried buying another shellholder, but it has the same issue. To fix this, I took a pop can, cut a square out of it, folded it a few times and wedged that between the ram and the piece that connects to the handle. Now I have enough travel to bend the rims before the tool bottoms out.
 
Joe Amorosi said:
Thanks Suther,
I'll try that
Also bought a reamer and uniformer from Amazon today
Click to expand...

I'm guessing it wont fix YOUR problem, because the CCI primers are seating but the Federal ones aren't and you say they're only 1 thou different in height, but its a good little trick to be aware of IMO either way. Hope you can get this sorted out! I know the feeling, it sucks when you can't figure out wtf is the problem.
 
Measure the primer height and compare to table below.

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I would trouble shoot it and try some CCI primers. If you have the same issue with CCI, than it is narrowed down to either your hand primer or brass. If CCI primers seat inside the primer pocket, sans high relief, I guess remain with the CCI in the interim.
 
It would tell him if it was the primers or the seating method that was the problem. Primers in my experience are very consistent. Brass pockets usually are too. Seating methods vary.

However new Lapua brass can have tight pockets. I seat those on a press first time as my hand hurts after a few
 
Buckmastr... you are correct. It was the seating method. I apparently got a piece of schmeg caught between the primer tray and shell holder which created a gap large enough to really screw things up

Suther... Once I solved the above issue, my primers were still a little high. I noticed a flat spot on the cam. Your shim idea solved that problem

Thanks for all the help guys.... i just finished priming a hundred cases with the Federal 210M's and all is well in my world

Cheers
 
I had the same problem with a Lee auto prime after many thousands of rounds. The cam (or linkage) was worn.
 
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