Primer Seating Issue

[Art]

I have a bunch of S&B .303 British brass that I have trouble seating primer in. About one out of five wind up just a bit high, not a huge problem in a bolt action but an irritant. This does not happen in any of the other brass I use (Remington, Winchester, Hornady/Frontier.) The press is a Rockchucker. Has anyone else had this problem with this brass?

[Johnny P]

If you have a dial caliper use the end to check the primer pocket depth on the cases that won't allow the primer to seat properly. When you said a bunch I suppose that there is enough that you don't want to toss the entire lot, but you could toss those that are shallow.

RCBS makes a primer pocket uniformer, but may be cheaper to toss the brass.

[joem]

I did the pocket uniformer on some brass. I put the tool in a drill press and held the case with a channel lock plier. Worked great and you only have to do it once.

[Art]

Thanks guys, I have several hundred once fired cases of this stuff. I did toss the high primer ones last time. The pocket uniformer sounds interesting!

[Matt Anthony]

[QUOTE=joem;430500]I did the pocket uniformer on some brass. I put the tool in a drill press and held the case with a channel lock plier. Worked great and you only have to do it once.[/QU

I don't believe I just read you used pliers to hold the case. I just can't believe it.
Matt

[psteinmayer]

Agreed.... YIKES!

[PhillipM]

I read one post on a national match shooter's forum once that said everyone knows brass gets longer and has to be trimmed, but few know the primer pockets become shallower with each firing.

It was like a slap in face to me because I'd been wondering why I couldn't get the primers to seat below flush on well used cases. I bought a uniformer and used a battery drill to fix them up.

One thing I realized though, the uniformer loads up with chips quickly and has to be cleared often. Don't try to muscle it, just back it out and let the chips fall free.

[joem]

"I don't believe I just read you used pliers to hold the case. I just can't believe it. Matt

If you haven't tried it, why knock it. Drill press speed set above 600 RPM and the tool is carbide and very sharp. I did a 1000 for my friend and he primed, loaded and shoots them all the time.

[Tuna]

S&B are well known for having shallow primer pockets. The brass itself is OK but the time to work the primer pockets does not make it worth while. You will find this also with ammunition made by S&B for Winchester like the 7.62x54 and .303 Enfield.

[Matt Anthony]

[QUOTE=joem;430580]"I don't believe I just read you used pliers to hold the case. I just can't believe it. Matt

If you haven't tried it, why knock it. Drill press speed set above 600 RPM and the tool is carbide and very sharp. I did a 1000 for my friend and he primed, loaded and shoots them all the time.

I use Lapua cases which are expensive and I certainly would never use pliers to hold them for any case prep. I use the Wilson set up to trim and uniform the pockets. Another point is I benchrest, and not having the case perfectly straight to the cutter would be a waste of my time. I read this forum sometimes for pure amusement, and this was amusing.
Matt

[mikld]

Sure pliers are ok to use on brass cases, but the chance of ruining a case are pretty high. First, what happens if the tool digs in/grabs the case? Very common with soft metals. The sharp jaw serrations/teeth of the pliers will grind away at the brass. What happens if you wanna make sure the case doesn't spin and you hold it tight with the pliers? Crushed or gouged cases. Nope, not good machine shop/reloading shop practice. (lifelong machinist/mechanic)

I have found S&B primer pockets to vary some and most do not have enough chamfer at the pocket mouth; entry/mouth too sharp/square...

[tmark]

I reload for 30'06. I find that the primer pockets don't get shallower but wider to no longer have a snug primer in the pocket.

[psteinmayer]

I reload for 30'06. I find that the primer pockets don't get shallower but wider to no longer have a snug primer in the pocket.

One of the reasons that I use primer sealant on all of my 30-06, 30-40 and 7.7x58 brass!

[joem]

The cases I did were from 1942 and had smaller primer pockets then what is now standard. All that was necessary was to use the super swedge to start a larger primer pocket, then use the carbide cutter to make the correct size pocket for a L pistol primer. And I did't riun any cases.

[da gimp]

this might be a silly question.. but would using the Dillon primer pocket Swager tool help at all? When our brass gets so old that primer pockets are loose, we toss them.... I saw one reloaded USGI 5.56 case lose a primer, that the primer crimp was removed using the electric drill & carbide cutter method.... The guy that fired it, was an active duty USN pilot on the USS Enterprise back in the late 70's early/mid 1980's, he ended up with metal in his face, right hand & powder in his R eye.... it was touch & go whether he would be forced to retire as a pilot by the light surgeon.........after that I bought the Dillon swager & all of us around here use it....it is impossible to hurt the dern thing............