Got my Lee starter kit, question

[Deadon]

Man I starting to respect all that reload even more now. I know it will get easier but when you trying this for the first time it seems like some work.
Anyway I tumbled all my brass, about 2k rounds of it. That took a weekend,lol. Well today I set the press up and started sizing and pulling the primers. I doing .223 right now and the primers are hard to get out. Is it always like this? Also a couple primers wont come out. I punched a hole through them and they wont budge! Is this normal?

[LloydXmas250]

They could be Berdan primers which require an extra step. They're in there tighter and require a special tool to take them out and then resize the primer pocket. I'll let someone more knowledgeable elaborate with the details but that would be my guess. A lot of surplus ammo is Berdan primed and therefore more tedious to reload.

[yakmon]

Sounds more like crimped primers

[XDRoX]

Are you using enough lube and are you lubing the inside of the case?

[LloydXmas250]

Sounds more like crimped primers

That's what I was going for. I had lightly read about it and just confused it with Berdan primers. You need a swage press. Thanks for clearing me up.

[XDRoX]

The primers are likely crimped as a lot of 223 is, but they should still pop right out. If you're having a hard time depriming them either put more force into it or use more or better lube. I use Hornady One Shot spray, it works great.

After the primers are out you will need to swage the brass so you can prime them.

[sniper5]

Here's the question for you: If you get one of them out is there one hole in the middle of the primer pocket or side by side on the bottom of the primer pocket? If it's a 2 holer, those are Berdans. . .you'll probably need to toss them. If 1 hole then the primers are just crimped in and you will need to remove the crimp. You can use a swager or a primer pocket reamer (slower) or you can use a Lee chamfer tool (REALLY slow) to remove the crimp.

Probably a crimped primer from the way it sounds. Trying to force a Berdan primer out usually won't punch a hole in the primer, it will just break or bend the decapping tool. Lee's will usually release and slide up into the die and can be reset by loosening the collet at the top of the die with a wrench and resetting the decapper.

You might consider investing (I think they go for about $10) in a hand decapping tool (pin punch and base-Lee makes one) so you can drive the primers out with a small hammer and save wear and tear on your press for the first go round with crimped primers. Once you get past the crimp and remove it, they reload just like any other brass.

[donger]

Lee makes a universal decapping die. No lube needed.

[Divernhunter]

I am not a lee fan but I use their hand tool(base/punch and your hammer) and it works very well. I have one for 223 and one for 308/30-06. I have worn out 2 in the last 45+ years. I also have the same thing made by wilson I picked up somewhere. It works just like the lee. Get one you will be happy with it. I also have an RCBS universal decapper and broke the decapper rod on surplus brass. So back to the old hammer and punch. Just be sure you feel the punch going into the flash hole before hitting it.

[Flyin Brian]

Lee makes a universal decapping die. No lube needed.

I use the Lee universal decapping die too. That way you can pop all the primers out before you tumble the brass and get the primer pockets clean too!! Plus I imagine it would be really hard to break the pin since it is designed to slip if put under too much force. On the 30-06 HXP crimped primer brass I use the Lyman pocket reamer to remove the military crimp.

[sonnyt650]

What kind of brass? Anything with a circle-plus indicates NATO 5.56 so ignore that, though any letters will tell us the manufacturer.

[rsrocket1]

Are you really having problems with the primers or the sizing? .223 is tough to resize without the right/proper amount of lube. If you are having a tough time pulling the shell back out of the die as well as pushing the shell into the die, it's not a depriming problem, it's a lack of lube problem.

Unless you are trying to deprime Berdan primed shells, the press should easily knock out any primer, even military crimped primers.

You are lubing the shells right? Without proper lubing of bottle necked cases, you are inviting disaster with a stuck case.

[SixPointEight]

If you punched a hole through a primer and it's still in there, that primer is like...cemented in there. That should NOT be happening

[EL_NinO619]

Lee makes a universal decapping die. No lube needed.

I never understood this method..You still have to lube to resize, so why not just do it all at once..Well unless your using a collet die...

@ OP, Where do you live..?