Is it LEE'S fault?

[M77]

Hmm my Lee trimmer didn't come with the spindle bit that runs through the body of the casing, does a person have to buy one of those on the side specific to their caliber?

The spindle as you word it is called a Case length guage. Don't worry, in time you will learn the terminology. Yes, you need one for every caliber you need to trim. They run around $5.00 each and screw into your cutter.

 

[John Y Cannuck]

You can't take a lee decapping pin out of the mandrel of a Lee collet die or their full length die. Decapping live primers isn't advised, there is a one in a million chance of firing the cap with the decapping pin. If you get away with it you save a dollars worth of primers that you can't trust anymore. If you are wrong you might shoot yourself in the prick with a small but high speed projectile. Those odds suck. The safe thing is to chamber the cases in your rifle and fire the caps. They are loud so warn your wife first.

News to me, I've decapped live primers many times in the die without incident. Always wise to wear safety gear anyway, but I bet if you try it, none will go bang.

 

[Dogleg]

News to me, I've decapped live primers many times in the die without incident. Always wise to wear safety gear anyway, but I bet if you try it, none will go bang.

See if you can find a die or primer manufacturer, or manual that reccomends the practice. I've decapped live primers too, it still doesn't make it a good idea, esp when you have exactly nothing to gain.

 

[t-star]

if you think about it for a second, it SHOULDN'T HAPPEN- when you decap, it's a realtively SLOW CONSTANT PRESSURE by the DECAPPING PIN on the anvil of the primer that forces the primer out- the anvil also pushes on the cap the same way- now when you hit primer properly with your firing pin , it's a SHORT , FAST RAP that causes the priming mixture to detonate- your firing pin could be slightly off center and still detonate

 

[John Y Cannuck]

See if you can find a die or primer manufacturer, or manual that reccomends the practice. I've decapped live primers too, it still doesn't make it a good idea, esp when you have exactly nothing to gain.

Just for fun, I've re-used those primers, without a problem. I'd never do it for a hunting load, but they do appear to be fine for plinking. You are right of course that it's not a practice you will find even mentioned in most reloading books. Still works.