removing crimped primers
- Thread starter westerner
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notsorichguy
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I had the same problem to over come, I really wished I had not bothered! You didn't say what kind of brass, so here's my experiance........
I spent ALOT of time cleaning up the pockets of 1000 9mm brass (I figgure about 15 hrs), plus I used up a couple of de-capping pins in the process. I was expecting to get 15 to 20 reloads out of them (I load nowhere near max). I have been getting, on average, 6 reloads out of the IVI brass (9mm)....
Now I just throw them out now, the brass is junk, I had a bunch of splitting cases in my last batch (no it didn't blow up, I caught it before that) I am just about done culling the IVI brass from my bins.
I have some pistol/commercial brass that I have 25 firings out of with little signs of wear, and no prep work to make them servicable when I first got them.
Sure the IVI brass was "cheaper" on inital cost, but IMHO, SOOOOO not worth the effort!
Cheers!
I spent ALOT of time cleaning up the pockets of 1000 9mm brass (I figgure about 15 hrs), plus I used up a couple of de-capping pins in the process. I was expecting to get 15 to 20 reloads out of them (I load nowhere near max). I have been getting, on average, 6 reloads out of the IVI brass (9mm)....
Now I just throw them out now, the brass is junk, I had a bunch of splitting cases in my last batch (no it didn't blow up, I caught it before that) I am just about done culling the IVI brass from my bins.
I have some pistol/commercial brass that I have 25 firings out of with little signs of wear, and no prep work to make them servicable when I first got them.
Sure the IVI brass was "cheaper" on inital cost, but IMHO, SOOOOO not worth the effort!
Cheers!
As Jarlath said, make sure you have lots of spare decapping pins.
I bought 1000 30-06 military brass from the states (when you could still order from the US). I decapped as normal with my RCBS die and once they were all done I used the RCBS primer swager http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=447022
Really simple to use and you do it once and that is it, nothing harder than one more step that needs to be done. On most of the cases I have at least 2 reloads and some have three.
Hunter can you describe for me how that RCBS primer swager works... I have a number of IVI casings that need to be done and I'm looking for an economical method... Would love one of the Dillion supers but I don't think I can afford one.
That's one of the advantages of Lee decapping/resizing dies. The pin'll get pushed out before it breaks. I've decapped hundreds of crimped-in primers, never broke a pin.
I'm not Hunter but I have an RCBS swaging die. It's pretty straight-forward. Instead of a case-holder, it comes with two bases that snap into your press ram, one for small primer pockets, another for large. Inside the die is a shaft that pushes against the web of a case when raising the ram, which pushes the primer pocket down into the base, enlarging it. The larger, cylindrical metal piece in the photo on the page Hunter linked is what allows you to bump the case out of the base on the downstroke; they can get stuck pretty good on the swaging pin. Works pretty well!
X2 on this.LEE....DAN>>>
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I have not had an issue decapping crimped in primers provided the flash hole is the normal size. Sometimes brass has a small flash hole and you end up bending, breaking, or pulling out the decapping pin. There are several ways to deal with the crimp; I bought a pair of Wilson primer pocket reamers preferring cutting the crimp to swaging it, but these are super aggressive and you have to be careful not to cut too much.
Well, yeah, the two bases I mentioned do snap onto a Lee ram like a shell holder. The problem is, the way the press is designed, you can't use the cylindrical piece that pulls the cartridge off the base after being swaged.
So in short, it's possible to use that tool on a Lee turret press, but it becomes inordinately complicated (having to find another way to pry the cartridge off without damaging it).
BattleRife
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I have decapped hundreds of 5.56 cases with RCBS dies and never broken a pin, either.
The cheapest way to do the pockets is to get a reamer. They are available from Lyman and Hornady. You chuck it in your drill and guide it in into the primer pocket, and run it until it bottoms out. You won't do any damage to the pocket unless you start tilting the drill off axis with the case. It takes seconds to do each case, I can't imagine a Dillon, at 15x the price, is any quicker.
The cheapest way to do the pockets is to get a reamer. They are available from Lyman and Hornady. You chuck it in your drill and guide it in into the primer pocket, and run it until it bottoms out. You won't do any damage to the pocket unless you start tilting the drill off axis with the case. It takes seconds to do each case, I can't imagine a Dillon, at 15x the price, is any quicker.
