Someone school me on BERDAN prime

[IrishJoe3]

Funny peice of trivia which I was just talking about today at the range is that Berdan primers where developed here in the US and used today mostly in Europe, while the Boxer primer was developed in Europe and is used mostly in the US.

I have often wondered why that is the case.... any idea?

Get a short piece of dowell that fits the case mouth snugly. Fill case with water insert dowel a smack with a hammer on flat surface with a hole in it for the primer to go. Hint from Dixie Gun Works.

I tried that one time, ended up just making a mess!

[paul0660]

Get a short piece of dowell that fits the case mouth snugly. Fill case with water insert dowel a smack with a hammer on flat surface with a hole in it for the primer to go. Hint from Dixie Gun Works.

That is step 3. Steps 1 and 2 are put on swim trunks and go outside.

Surplus 7.5x55 swiss is berdan primed, and it is a pain to decap. I have thousands of empty cases, primers I picked up for a song years ago, and lots of M80 bullets. I don't reload anything yet, but I figure that will be my project after shtf and the lights go out.

[timdps]

Lots (most?) of eastern European ammo (combloc) is Berdan primed.

[9mmepiphany]

Most folks in Europe don't reload at home...they collect they brass, turn it into a factory and get reloaded rounds. At least that was how it was explained to me by a shooter from Sweden...and they shoot a lot of long range target stuff.

If you think about it, the double flash holes of a Berdan case should give you better ignition than the single flash hole...at least more even. And I would think it cheaper to produce primers without anvils in each one.

I have often wondered why that is the case.... any idea?

Likely politics, even then...that is why Russian tanks during WW II (T-34, likely the best tank from that war) and quite a bit after used a suspension system invented by an American (Christie), the American Military just didn't like him

[stix213]

New Russian Wolf & Bear steel cased ammo is all berdan primer. So I'd expect that it is somehow cheaper to do since this is pretty much the cheapest ammo you can buy new.

[Spetsnazos]

Most folks in Europe don't reload at home...they collect they brass, turn it into a factory and get reloaded rounds. At least that was how it was explained to me by a shooter from Sweden...and they shoot a lot of long range target stuff.

If you think about it, the double flash holes of a Berdan case should give you better ignition than the single flash hole...at least more even. And I would think it cheaper to produce primers without anvils in each one.



Likely politics, even then...that is why Russian tanks during WW II (T-34, likely the best tank from that war) and quite a bit after used a suspension system invented by an American (Christie), the American Military just didn't like him

I'm going to make it a project to reload about ~400 .308 Berdan primed casings I'm just collecting for now!

Great thread though! By the way, is there any way to tell if its berdan primed just by looking at the round? I mean before firing the ammo?? I just want to know incase I accidentally buy some ammo in the future.

[Maltese Falcon]

....That was a great set of pics IrishJoe3.

Can it be determined which is which by looking at a new ammo round?

.

[bigthaiboy]

Get a short piece of dowell that fits the case mouth snugly. Fill case with water insert dowel a smack with a hammer on flat surface with a hole in it for the primer to go. Hint from Dixie Gun Works.

I have a special jig just for this purpose. It holds the casing in place, you put water in the casing, smack the steel dowel with a hammer, and the hydro pressure pops the berdan primer out.

[Mssr. Eleganté]

...Can it be determined which is which by looking at a new ammo round?

.

There is no way to see if a round is berdan or boxer primed until you fire it. After firing it you can look inside to see if it has one centered flash hole or two (sometimes one) off center flash holes.

You can also just ask on here since it's likely somebody has already checked the ammo you are asking about.

[9mmepiphany]

Can it be determined which is which by looking at a new ammo round?

Not usually, it is usually a function of tradition for the caliber, combined with the country of origin

[iareConfusE]

Most steel cased stuff, especially milsurp ammo is berdan primed. I think for the most part, all modern brass is boxer primed, including nickel plated brass. Be careful not to confuse silver zinc plating with nickel plating though. The zinc plated stuff is also berdan primed.

[Swiss]

I too have a pile of excellent Swiss brass waiting for the day I begin reloading. Can you point me to a source for primers?

That is step 3. Steps 1 and 2 are put on swim trunks and go outside.

Surplus 7.5x55 swiss is berdan primed, and it is a pain to decap. I have thousands of empty cases, primers I picked up for a song years ago, and lots of M80 bullets. I don't reload anything yet, but I figure that will be my project after shtf and the lights go out.

[Vlad 11]

I have a special jig just for this purpose. It holds the casing in place, you put water in the casing, smack the steel dowel with a hammer, and the hydro pressure pops the berdan primer out.

...

[Vlad 11]

...

[Spetsnazos]

thats a harbor freight caliper, cheap ***! j/k j/k

Thanks for the tips guys