Breaking Decapping Pins

[thebloodsonthewall]

I just started sizing some .223 brass and I keep breaking decapping pins. I have RCBS dies and it is mixed headstamp brass. Nothing berdan primed though. I messed around with the height of the decapping pin, what else can I try?

[ar15barrels]

I just started sizing some .223 brass and I keep breaking decapping pins. I have RCBS dies and it is mixed headstamp brass. Nothing berdan primed though. I messed around with the height of the decapping pin, what else can I try?

The decapping pin should only extend from the die by 1/4".
Also, check that it's well centered.
It's common when breaking your first pin to bend the decapping stem.
Then the pins always sit off-center and you will tend to break a lot more of them.

Contact RCBS tech through their website and request a replacement decapping stem assembly and some extra pins.
They will send them right out.
Make sure you tell them the year on your die as the specs changed a while back and you want to make sure to get the right one.

[ocabj]

I broke several decapping pins when I first tried depriming Lake City .30-06 brass. I bought a 100 pack of the pins and after I broke 5 pins in less than 50 cases, I ordered a Lee universal depriming die. Best depriming product out there. I bought two spare stems with it (the Lee universal die has a unibody decapping pin and stem). Those spares are still in the original wrappers.

[762cavalier]

I just started sizing some .223 brass and I keep breaking decapping pins. I have RCBS dies and it is mixed headstamp brass. Nothing berdan primed though. I messed around with the height of the decapping pin, what else can I try?

I probably have spare decapping pins if you need one. Are they the straight pins that go into the collet? If so shoot me a PM

[ar15barrels]

I probably have spare decapping pins if you need one. Are they the straight pins that go into the collet? If so shoot me a PM

The straight pins and collet arrangement are the old style.
The new style pins have heads on them and the decapping stem does not have a collet anymore.
The new pin simply drops into the expander button and the expander button screws on to the decapping stem.

[spencerhut]

Sorry if any of this is a repeat, I'm still ignoring the AR15 dude. Some .223 brass will have a smaller than normal primer flash hole. These small flash holes will break the rather brittle RCBS decap pin, but not an el'cheapo Lee universal decapping die pin. I use the Lee on all my range pickup .223 brass to decap. When the Lee die hits a small flash hole or a berden primed case it just pushes the entire decapping rod up. When this happens, pull the brass and check for a berden primer and toss in the scrap bucket if it is berden primed. If not berden primed, put the case back in your press and get a *small* hammer and force the primer out by whacking on the Lee decapping pin, don't worry it can take it. Then check the decapped case to see if you need to re-drill the flash hole with a Lyman or similar flash hole deburring tool. I got the Lyman since I can remove the wooden handle and run it in my RCBS Case Prep Station.
The tall one, it comes with a nice wood handle that works just fine if you do not have a case prep station.

[ar15barrels]

Sorry if any of this is a repeat, I'm still ignoring the AR15 dude.

That makes me smile inside.

[thebloodsonthewall]

I probably have spare decapping pins if you need one. Are they the straight pins that go into the collet? If so shoot me a PM

I went to Cordova Guns and bought some but thank you.

Ar15barrels: Thanks for the tips. I will look to make sure that it is centered.

spencerhut: how do you like the case prep station? I thought about buying one but I'm not sure if it is worth the money.

I am leaning toward just getting the Lee dies. I have the cheapo Lee dies for 308 and I had zero problems running over 1000 rounds.

Thanks guys.

[bohoki]

yea i had some ik brass

i trashed it cause my lee sizer wouldn't fit in the hole

[Beelzy]

You probably have some crimped primers on some of those cases. Some
are fierce to remove even with the robust Lee dies.

Hammer and punch time, or sort them out.

[rayra]

You can also wind up breaking quite a few pins depending on your style of press and your reloading style.
If you have a progressive press and the baseplate it set too loose for ease of turning, you can have a problem with properly aligning the plate as you bring down the lever, leading you to miss the hole.
Compound that by trying to go too fast and applying more force than necessary and you wind up trying to drive the thing home even when it plainly isn't working, and you wind up with a broken pin. With some practice / experience you can develop a fine enough touch to be able to recover from a missed stroke or berdan case.

Another tip to prevent breaks with a replaceable pin system is don't seat the pins all the way down into the collet / holder. Make the collet tight, but leave a bit of travel for the pin, so when you do have a problem the pin will have a chance to give before you break it.
If you are re-using brass and have previously reamed or swaged the primer pocket, you should be able to pop out those primers without bottoming the pin in its holder.

/and you've reminded me I need to pick up some more pins. Broke one a month ago and only have a couple spares remaining.

[spencerhut]

spencerhut: how do you like the case prep station? I thought about buying one but I'm not sure if it is worth the money.

I am leaning toward just getting the Lee dies. I have the cheapo Lee dies for 308 and I had zero problems running over 1000 rounds.

Case prep station is great. Very strong motor and makes some of the primer pocket and case neck operations less of a pain.

Get a Lee Universal Decapping die. In addition to being tougher than the RCBS decapping pins, it's slightly smaller in diameter and goes through some of the undersized holes much easier than you would expect after using an RCBS or similar. Lee makes the best value dies out there. I use Lee and RCBS with equal luck and while the RCBS are better made, the Lee dies turn out ammo that is just as good.

[bohoki]

You probably have some crimped primers on some of those cases. Some
are fierce to remove even with the robust Lee dies.

Hammer and punch time, or sort them out.

tell me about it



this is a pic of a case with a decap pin through the primer the ik stuff is a nightmare

[spencerhut]

Processing IK ammo the first time through is not fun, but it's not THAT bad if you have the proper tools and techniques. I've already processed 1000 or so I have and it was not that big of a deal. But, I'll take Lake City or WCC over IK any day.

[tommyid1]

how do you like that case prep station.