GP11 and what to do with Berdan-primed brass

Pooker

Pooker

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So I just bought a K31 from another member and the reloader in my has been fighting over what to do with the spent GP11 brass I am bound to accumulate. I haven't had any in hand, but it certainly looks like it would be nice brass to reload if it wasn't for the fact that it is Berdan-primed which leads me to my struggle:
What should I do with the empties?
Is reloading 7.5x55 (from new or once fired boxer-primed brass) worth it, or should I just buy GP11 surplus to shoot?
What are your experiences reloading 7.5x55 Swiss?
 
It's a little more involved.

Don't use your decapper, you will break it. You need to ream the old primer out, then bevel the cup edges and drill the flash hole through. It's a fair bit of work. There's a few guides out there on doing it.
 
Polish-Jack said:
Drill a flash hole in the primer pocket and you can you Boxer primers.
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Have you actually tried to do this????

Berdan primers, don't have the same anvils built into them as the Boxer primers.

You need the anvil at the bottom of the primer pockets to ignite your primers proppellant when the firing pin strikes and pounds it against it.

Not only that, to much venting of flame into the case full of powder can be dangerous by creating to much ignition and driving up pressures.

RCBS, makes up a special decapping tool for Berdan primers. Canada Ammo and Budget Shooter supply sell the proper Berdan primers. Not cheap but cheaper than new brass and the Privi made GP11 brass is very good.

Another method of removing the primers is with hydraulic pressure. Make up a dowel that fits fairly tightly in the case mouth, fill the case with water and insert the dowel. Give the dowel a rap with a hammer and usually the primer will pop out from the surge pressure.

All in all, both methods are a pain in the butt. Break down and buy a bag of Privi brass.
 
.217 berdan primers are available here use water and a punch to deprime(outside is best) then seat the primer as normal and reload gp11 is some of the best stuff out there i'll see if i can find a like to the thread about converting them to boxer
 
Thanks for the responses thus far, gents. Yeah I've read up on case prep for berdan brass and making a depriming punch or using the hydraulic method. I wasn't aware (read: hadn't really looked into it) that berdan primers were available here. This is exciting! Well I'm glad to see that there are folks out there who do reload a bit of berdan stuff.
I'm still on the fence as to whether or not I'd be reloading for target shooting with the abundance of GP11 (for now...) but I definitely would work up a load for hunting... Going to the trouble of using GP11 brass or new Privi though... hahaha
Might just end up doing some for the experience.
 
Maybe I'm just not cheap enough, but the work required to reload Berdan primed brass seems very prohibitive to me considering you can buy excellent PRVI boxer primed brass and reload as normal. As for it being worthwhile to reload 7.5x55, it is just as worthwhile as with every other decent sized centerfire rifle cartridge. Significant cost savings and the ability to tailor loads to your rifle and uses make it a no brainer for me.


Mark
 
mmattockx said:
Maybe I'm just not cheap enough, but the work required to reload Berdan primed brass seems very prohibitive to me considering you can buy excellent PRVI boxer primed brass and reload as normal. As for it being worthwhile to reload 7.5x55, it is just as worthwhile as with every other decent sized centerfire rifle cartridge. Significant cost savings and the ability to tailor loads to your rifle and uses make it a no brainer for me.


Mark
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gp11 is almost like match brass infact in the swiss k31 the ammo will shoot well enough to take a surplus rifle match or two very little variance in powder weight or bullet weight
 
antiqueguy said:
not much of a extra step if using berdan primers i think the gp11 uses .217 berdan the hydraulic method works well
Click to expand...

Having to use a hammer and punch to decap hydraulically is a lot slower than simply decapping while sizing. My time is very short these days, so anything that adds steps or increases the time required is not welcome. YMMV


Mark
 
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