OK, this is not my idea to start with, so I'll credit the fellow who planted the seed. He made a post to the effect that he had scads of boxer brass but was short on rifle primers. He had the idea to use shotgun primers, of which he had an abundance.
I have experimented previously with some Czech/Yugo ? Berdan brass, but wasn't impressed. I was having trouble keeping the brass centered when drilling out the primer pocket to accept a shotgun primer.
Another good CGN'r posted the idea of drilling a hole in a hockey puck, just a wee bit smaller that the base of the brass, in my case it will be 30-06, 308 (7.62x51), 8x57, to start with. Then cut the puck in half, through the hole, side to side. Clamp the brass in the hole, and squeeze it tight in the vice on the drill press bed, then center it using the adjustments available on the vice. I drilled a couple of brass down through the mouth, to avoid having to deal with the little anvil sticking up in the pocket. I used a "C" letter drill bit, which works great for shotgun primers.(the tip about using a "C" letter bit came from another good CGN'r)
I turned the brass over, clamped it and centered it, then used a bigger bit and "chamfered" the base to allow the primer sleeve to sit flush with the base. I used a sleeve from a spent shotgun primer, tapped it in flush. I have a small supply of C-I-L 4B primers that were used to reprime the sleeve back in the day. I set the 4B into my brand new LEE hand primer and seated the primer. (this worked like a charm, but it won't work with a modern shotgun primer) Then I FL sized, belled and chamfered the mouth, and ...there you have it - a primed brass. These brass will be used for light rifle plinking loads.
Yes, I know it's a lot of fiddling around!! Today, the wind is blowing, it's snowing, so this is what I did. I should also credit my buddy Deaner, who drilled the precision hole and cut the puck in half. I will pay attention to any tips or suggestions regarding this little project.
I have experimented previously with some Czech/Yugo ? Berdan brass, but wasn't impressed. I was having trouble keeping the brass centered when drilling out the primer pocket to accept a shotgun primer.
Another good CGN'r posted the idea of drilling a hole in a hockey puck, just a wee bit smaller that the base of the brass, in my case it will be 30-06, 308 (7.62x51), 8x57, to start with. Then cut the puck in half, through the hole, side to side. Clamp the brass in the hole, and squeeze it tight in the vice on the drill press bed, then center it using the adjustments available on the vice. I drilled a couple of brass down through the mouth, to avoid having to deal with the little anvil sticking up in the pocket. I used a "C" letter drill bit, which works great for shotgun primers.(the tip about using a "C" letter bit came from another good CGN'r)
I turned the brass over, clamped it and centered it, then used a bigger bit and "chamfered" the base to allow the primer sleeve to sit flush with the base. I used a sleeve from a spent shotgun primer, tapped it in flush. I have a small supply of C-I-L 4B primers that were used to reprime the sleeve back in the day. I set the 4B into my brand new LEE hand primer and seated the primer. (this worked like a charm, but it won't work with a modern shotgun primer) Then I FL sized, belled and chamfered the mouth, and ...there you have it - a primed brass. These brass will be used for light rifle plinking loads.
Yes, I know it's a lot of fiddling around!! Today, the wind is blowing, it's snowing, so this is what I did. I should also credit my buddy Deaner, who drilled the precision hole and cut the puck in half. I will pay attention to any tips or suggestions regarding this little project.
