I am wondering if a person can overdo the removal of the crimp on a military case. I have the lyman case prep tool with the primer pocket crimp removal tool.looking at it i should only be able to remove so much and no more. However when i prime the cases some are very easy to install and some are tighter then what i would find on a non crimped case. So i am wondering if it is something i am doing or is it just the way the cases are. The only other thing i am doing is using the pocket uniformer tool as well.
Removing the primer pocket crimp?
- Thread starter wce323078
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PitBull1973
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Are your cases mixed in terms of manufacture because some brands are stiffer than others
freezer filler
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
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Dillon super swage
I was given three five gallon buckets of .223/5.56 brass fired by our local Police Departments. It was made up of Federal, Lake City and other mixed brands and the Federal cases gave me the biggest problem. Many of the factory loaded Federal cases had over size primer pockets after their first firing.
Below is a Lake City 5.56 case and it has the hardest brass in the base of any .223 cartridge and the flash hole web is thicker adding more strength. Meaning your primer pockets will last much longer when using military cases. Some brands like Federal have a much thinner flash hole web and use softer brass and this causes the primer pocket to enlarge early compared to other brands.
I use pin gauges to check the primer pockets before doing anything to the case on known "soft" brands of brass. And remember different brands of primers are larger in diameter.
And I use a Lee depriming tool to check suspect loose primer pockets. If I can move the primer with just finger pressure the case goes in the scrap brass bucket.
I have many crimp removal dies and tools but prefer the RCBS crimp removal tool for their case prep station below. It only removes the crimp and the face of the cutter is the case stop. Meaning you can not over remove any brass and make the primer pocket over size.
Below I hit the primer pocket first with the VLD deburring tool to speed up things up and then use the RCBS crimp removal tool. I then check the primer pocket using the Lyman crimp removal tool as a GO NO-GO gauge to see if enough brass has been removed.
Bottom line, you are going to run into enlarged primer pockets depending on the hardness of the brass and how hot you load. Some of you may think what I do is over kill but I'm loading for three different AR15 rifles and one of them is my sons. And "dad" isn't going to be blamed for a etched bolt face caused by loose primer pockets.
The photo below was posted in a AR15 forum and the poster said he didn't worry about loose primer pockets.
And he would just replace the bolt when it got bad enough.
Also if you are not loading for a gas operated rifle a bolt action is not as critical, BUT your finger and the Lee tool will tell you a great deal about your primer pockets.
Below is a Lake City 5.56 case and it has the hardest brass in the base of any .223 cartridge and the flash hole web is thicker adding more strength. Meaning your primer pockets will last much longer when using military cases. Some brands like Federal have a much thinner flash hole web and use softer brass and this causes the primer pocket to enlarge early compared to other brands.
I use pin gauges to check the primer pockets before doing anything to the case on known "soft" brands of brass. And remember different brands of primers are larger in diameter.
And I use a Lee depriming tool to check suspect loose primer pockets. If I can move the primer with just finger pressure the case goes in the scrap brass bucket.
I have many crimp removal dies and tools but prefer the RCBS crimp removal tool for their case prep station below. It only removes the crimp and the face of the cutter is the case stop. Meaning you can not over remove any brass and make the primer pocket over size.
Below I hit the primer pocket first with the VLD deburring tool to speed up things up and then use the RCBS crimp removal tool. I then check the primer pocket using the Lyman crimp removal tool as a GO NO-GO gauge to see if enough brass has been removed.
Bottom line, you are going to run into enlarged primer pockets depending on the hardness of the brass and how hot you load. Some of you may think what I do is over kill but I'm loading for three different AR15 rifles and one of them is my sons. And "dad" isn't going to be blamed for a etched bolt face caused by loose primer pockets.
The photo below was posted in a AR15 forum and the poster said he didn't worry about loose primer pockets.
And he would just replace the bolt when it got bad enough.
Also if you are not loading for a gas operated rifle a bolt action is not as critical, BUT your finger and the Lee tool will tell you a great deal about your primer pockets.
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Most reamers have a built in stop but if you use a deburring tool or drill bit you can overdo it as far as depth goes. But for what you describe it is normal. Some pockets are a little undersize and the reamers only open the pockets to minimum diameter (tight pocket) while some may be stretched or oversized from the factory (loose pocket). I've found with WCC 556 brass that the primer pockets are all over the place with diameter below the crimp as well as depth. Some commercial brass is the same.
bigedp51;12637899 Below I hit the primer pocket first with the VLD deburring tool to speed up things up and then use the RCBS crimp removal tool. I then check the primer pocket[B said:using the Lyman crimp removal tool [/B]as a GO NO-GO gauge to see if enough brass has been removed.
Bottom line, you are going to run into enlarged primer pockets depending on the hardness of the brass and how hot you load. Some of you may think what I do is over kill but I'm loading for three different AR15 rifles and one of them is my sons. And "dad" isn't going to be blamed for a etched bolt face caused by loose primer pockets.
The photo below was posted in a AR15 forum and the poster said he didn't worry about loose primer pockets.
And he would just replace the bolt when it got bad enough.
Also if you are not loading for a gas operated rifle a bolt action is not as critical, BUT your finger and the Lee tool will tell you a great deal about your primer pockets.
I bought that tool initially to remove military crimp, but found out very quickly it didn't work effectively. I was still crushing primers while trying to seat.
Good to know the money isn't a complete waste, thanks for the tip.
Aaron
Actually now I let someone else worry about the primer crimp, if I had it to do over I would have bought the Dillon Super swage and not looked back.
The last 1000 cases I bought below.
.223/5.56 - Cleaned, Deprimed & Swaged - LC Only - 500 Pieces $55.00 Free Shipping!!
http://www.brassbombers.com/223-556-Cleaned-Deprimed-Swaged-LC-Only-500-Pieces-2LC-S0050.htm
The last 1000 cases I bought below.
.223/5.56 - Cleaned, Deprimed & Swaged - LC Only - 500 Pieces $55.00 Free Shipping!!
http://www.brassbombers.com/223-556-Cleaned-Deprimed-Swaged-LC-Only-500-Pieces-2LC-S0050.htm
Link is nice but If I have my info right we cannot buy brass from USA. or if we can it is a long involved process. But I maybe out to lunch To. it is confusing as He__ trying to figure out what we can get from the States without breaking US laws.
American Eagle XM855 is Lake City 5.56 and distributed in Canada..bought some form SFRC last fall.
Same with me, keeping it simple and lightning fast.
Bad man! Not nice to tease the Canuckistaians with your affordable and available American gun things.
