Primer Pocket size issue... .308

[NYY]

bsumoba mentioned that you can ruin brass by taking off too much metal just as I did. I've done just that before by not using the proper tool. Ruined a bunch of beautiful military 30-06 Lake City cases.

I switched over to the correct tool at only $9.99, here's the Midway link: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/682...ProductFinding

It's the Lyman and it bottoms out on the base of the primer pocket to ensure that you don't remove too much metal. I did make one modification to the tool, I removed the head from the handle and I chucked it into my cordless drill to speed things up.

It's the economical and safe way to remove primer crimps. I wouldn't use makeshift means to remove the crimps.

Eventually, I purchased the Dillon Super Swager. Really fast way to remove crimps from a lot of brass. It's a bit pricey, but it's worth it.

Either the Lyman with the head chucked in a drill or the Dillon will serve your needs quite well and it will do it safely

yea i understand you. I decided to go with the Dillon Super. Should do the job for my needs! Thank you very much again

[bigedp51]

Below is a RCBS swager, I was very disappointed because it pushed brass into the primer pocket and did not displace the brass outward swaging the brass. (POS)

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I didn't have the money for the Dillon unit so I bought the reamer for the RCBS prep station below. It is tapered and will not touch the primer pocket walls, if inserted in a commercial Remington case it removes "NO" brass.



Still being a cheap bastard I bought the Hornady case prep trio, to speed things up the primer pocket was first hit with the deburring tool and then the RCBS primer pocket reamer. The actual Lyman primer pocket reamer was just used as a GO/NO-GO gauge to insure the primer pocket had the crimp removed.



Bottom line, don't be a cheap bastard and buy the Dillon swager and your fingers won't be so sore from holding all that brass you can't even pick your own nose.

I had three five gallon buckets of .223/5.56 brass to prep the primer pockets on. So please buy the Dillon swager and not cry when picking your own nose with abused and crippled fingers.

Below, just one five gallon bucket of .223/5.56 brass with crimped primers.



I have two more buckets to go and they are waiting for my Dillon swager.



Anti-gun, non-reloaders don't have this problem. (remember don't be cheap and "picky")

[barrage]

yeah i hear you. at this point its a decision where either i am interested enough to buy a swager, or just not even pick up crimped brass

Buy a counter sink bit like was suggested by a few people here. The sooner you do and find out how easy it is to make crimped brass a non-issue, the less you'll want to kick yourself for leaving all that good boxer primed brass at the range just because it had crimped primers.

[klewan]

I don't understand why some of you think it's impossible to ream a crimp by hand and not f*ck it up. You want to remove the displaced metal, and nothing more. That's a couple thousandth's of inch, NOT hogging out an eighth inch...

The counter sink works fast, you don't have to sort the brass into head stamp groups so the swager will work. Pick it up, touch it to the counter sink in the cordless drill for a couple of revs, and it's done.

You're not weakening the brass, the crimp is as far away from the pressure as is possible. Remove just the crimp and you're not changing the primer pocket; the crimp was above the primer.

There was another thread about reaming vs. swaging, one of the swaging peeps complained he didn't have a clue as to what needed cutting; so he had to buy the $130 tool. Just look at the brass, see the little ring of metal that is in the way; remove it. Easy...

[smalltime]

I just stick the Hornady reamer bit into my cordless drill and give it a real quick spin. I've had some where too little material was removed but not the other way.

[barrage]

I don't understand why some of you think it's impossible to ream a crimp by hand and not f*ck it up. You want to remove the displaced metal, and nothing more. That's a couple thousandth's of inch, NOT hogging out an eighth inch...
...

Because people, especially gun people, are as much into shooting guns are they are into over complicating and giving expert opinions on anything to do with everything!

[SWIFT50]

Dillon super swager is the way to go.

[23's Dad]

Here's a quasi powered option

http://i986.photobucket.com/albums/ae344/blosey/Reloading%20photos/photobucket-12948-1354550452715.jpg

[elemenope]

I ordered this exact setup yesterday. I have the RCBS pocket swager and it freakin sucks. I can never get a consistent swage. I tried the countersink bit route and it works, but is slow. So trying the Hornady case prep trio plus the RCBS crimp remover bit.

[klewan]

I can never get a consistent swage. I tried the countersink bit route and it works, but is slow.

How is picking up a piece of brass, touching it to the counter sink for a moment and throwing it into the "done" pile, slower than putting the brass in the shell holder, pull the handle, return handle, remove brass from shell holder and throw onto "done" pile?

Every once in a while somebody admits you really need to sort by headstamps to get a consistent swage. Even the Dillion instructions tell you to do that. I've checked, so don't tell me "no, you don't have to".

[elemenope]

Chucked into a drill it is slow (You assume I was using the single stage press version of the RCBS.) Pick up brass, start drill, hold brass to drill. Two sets of tired fingers. I tried using my drill press, but it doesn't have a variable speed setting and was spinning way to fast and wouldn't cut cleanly.

I just got my case prep trio today and the champfer tool does the same thing as the countersink but twice as fast with just as good results. I'm really digging it.

As for the swage method, my brass was sorted by brand (LC, WCC, etc.), but not year. I'm not that dedicated enough to sort down to that level, so will stick with the slight reaming it takes to remove the crimp.

[NYY]

Dillon Super Swage came today. Used it on 15 pieces of crimped brass. Worked perfectly! 15 more cases primed and ready to go. Thank you all for the tip on buying it. It definitely was worth it. And is easy to use.

[bigedp51]

How is picking up a piece of brass, touching it to the counter sink for a moment and throwing it into the "done" pile, slower than putting the brass in the shell holder, pull the handle, return handle, remove brass from shell holder and throw onto "done" pile?

Because if you over do the bevel the primer can flow outward into the over beveled area. I picked some cases up at the range and the .223/5.56 cases looked like they had large rifle primers in them.

Below, a reaming job done with "your" tool by Bubba the ham fisted over reamer. When this case is fired it will look like it has a large rifle primer in it and the primer will flow outward and look like a mushroom when removed.



If you want a foolproof reamer then buy the RCBS crimp remover for their case prep station. It will only remove the crimp and the face of the reamer prevents over reaming when the base of the case contacts the face of the reamer. "BUT" doing this by hand and doing large volumes of brass makes for "VERY" sore fingers.



Using a reamer is OK "BUT" it removes brass, with the Dillon swager the crimp is displaced to the side and makes the primer pocket tighter. One problem with crimping primer pockets is the crimping pressure can cause the primer pocket to enlarge in diameter. Swaging makes for tighter primer pockets and less cases rejected with oversized primer pockets.

I use pin gauges as GO/NO-GO for the primer pockets "BEFORE" even thinking about priming the case.



To test the for loose primers I use the Lee depriming tool and if the primer can be pushed out with one finger the case goes in the scrap bucket.



My next big reloading purchase will be the Dillon swager after using a friends and seeing how well the work.

[ptmn]

Using a chamfering tool to remove a crimp can work and it can be done safely and effectively; however, it can also remove too much brass and weaken or ruin the case.

There's nothing wrong with that method when done correctly, but using a proper primer pocket reamer or swager is more foolproof in making sure you don't remove too much brass...or just as importantly, not enough brass.

There are some that would argue that a loader shouldn't be loading if he doesn't use enough caution to make sure he doesn't "bubba" the primer pocket using a chamfering tool, but my argument is that everyone can and will make a mistake at one time in their loading lifetime.

As for speed, if you haven't used the Dillon Super Swager, then you really don't know how much faster and easier it is than "touching it to yo the countersink for a moment". Try the super swager and you will be impressed. I've used the countersink method, the Lyman Primer Pocket Reamer method and the Super Swager, and the super swager rocks!

There is also a method on YouTube to make the super swager even faster by using a board and bands to create an "auto eject" feature. It's simple, safe and effective.

Use any method that works for you and your loading needs, but be open minded as well, you might find a method on Calguns that may improve or speed up your loading. There is a lot of diverse experience on Calguns. I've change my loading methods several times after reading something on the board and trying it out.

Main issue is to be safe, have fun, and crank out some outstanding ammo while making good friends and connections in the Calguns board. Enjoy the weekend!

[klewan]

[QUOTE=bigedp51;13338917]Because if you over do the bevel the primer can flow outward into the over beveled area. I picked some cases up at the range and the .223/5.56 cases looked like they had large rifle primers in them.

Below, a reaming job done with "your" tool by Bubba the ham fisted over reamer. When this case is fired it will look like it has a large rifle primer in it and the primer will flow outward and look like a mushroom when removed.

/QUOTE]

When I see somebody so stupid, so clueless, to do something like that; they shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a gun or reloading. Better for them and anyone near them. But, when half the population is by definition below average in mechanical reasoning, the job is to identify them...probably the ones with Velcro instead of shoe laces...

It's still faster to touch the brass to the reamer, just remove the crimped metal. No more. And the tool is only $4. Let the rest of us know how much you have to adjust the swage tool for different headstamps...