The Crimp From Hell

[Enfield47]

I was resizing some .223/5.56 range brass today and I ran into some cases that had the strongest crimp I have seen. These crimps were so strong that the primers wouldn't come out without considerable force and would bow outward. I was using my Lee FL sizing die and they kept pushing up the decapping/sizing rod, so I would have to stop, unscrew it, push the rod down, and tighten it back up. This kept happening over and over so I got frustrated and cranked down the cap that holds the rod and now it is completely stripped.

I finally ended up switching over to my universal decapping die I recently purchased and was able to get all of the primers out. It still took some doing as the primers wanted to bow outward instead of coming out. Has anyone run into this before?

Here are a couple of pics of the cases. If you run across this headstamp, beware that the primers are very firmly staked.

[J-cat]

Yup.

[tiller]

It's the sealant not the crimp... They stop my 1050 in its tracks

[Enfield47]

Wow, that sealant around the primers is better than any crimp. I couldn't believe how strong it was.

[cgates]

The crimp on the piece that doesn't have the primer bulging out looks to be very wide and deep. That's a whole lot of brass that needs to be displaced before the primer will come out, so I would doubt its just the sealant causing that. Have to love that universal decapper!

[koehn,jim]

It happens a lot with military cases. after the first use you wont have the problem.

[3006mv]

those darn south koreans. also check for off center flash holes. good brass though should last many reloadings

[Jimi Jah]

That used to happen on my Lee press with mil ammo and epoxy primer glue.

A quick smack with a sledge hammer pushed it right back down. I re-tightend the cap and now it works without slipping. It does need to be very tight.

[SmokeWagon]

Yeah, PSD is the military brass for PMC and they are known to have very overdone crimps as well as an offset flash hole on many of them which doesn't aid in decapping. The sealant is just a lacquer and shouldn't cause any noticeable resistance when popping out primers.

[gunboat]

Oh, 'deed so -- "Back in the day" that is why a wilson or lachmiller decap tool was used -- slow, but sure -

[M1NM]

I've had my RCBS decap pin push right through some crimped primers.

[devster55]

I love that brass. One of my favs. It lasts a long time.

[Enfield47]

Good to know it is quality brass that will last. Is getting the crimp out of these cases possible with a swager or am I better off cutting it out with a #2 Phillips head bit chucked in a drill?

[devster55]

I used my rcbs swager and it worked just fine.

[ireload]

Enfield I keep on hand a Lee decapping rod and base that I purchased separately just for that "special occasion" decapping from hell. Cheap but effective way. I also keep a small ball peen hammer.