Hello y'all, Joe here.

Can anyone tell me what is wrong that out of 50 45acp casings I put through my decapping die, three failed to decap no matter how many times I ran them through.

Pin must be adjusted correctly as the others decapped.

THANKS

most likley military type crimp over the primers some just will not come out.

also some dies like dillion have the decapper on a spring and they retract so that if they hit a rock will not bend so they may not push enough to get out some. Also I think lee are held tight in a collet and the pin can also move when hitting a rock to not bend so some primers are in so tight they will just not move, I dump then or use a strong old nail punch I have to get them out using a hammer by hand.

What kind of brass, what brand of dies? Lee resizing dies will push the decamping rod up, if the collect isn’t tightened down properly.

In addition to the brass being military with primer crimp, could they be small diameter or even Brendan primers?

While true, it is important to add that it needs to be tightened properly, as you said, and properly doesn't mean over-tightened.

If it isn't tight enough, it won't hold the rod to perform the decap operation. And if it is tightened down too much, it is not allowed to perform as designed -- and slip up intentionally so that when you have an obstruction, the stout decap pin does not snap off.

The Lee design is ingenious.

If range brass, primers sometimes get corroded into the primer pocket!

Ivan

Lee makes a decapping stem you beat with a hammer, in two sizes 22/30, The bigger the hammer, the less resistance!

Ivan

Make sure to set decapping die as per the Manufacturer's instructions.

If mixed brass, check for berdan priming. Two small flashholes. For me they hit the recycle bucket or trash.

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GOA
USA Shooting Supporter

I'm with Ivan, I have had the same experience with brass .38 spl cases that got soaked at a match and just left in a bucket.

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Made it, Ma! Top of the world!

Never had such problems, been using RCBS dies since 70’s. Only use single stage, no Dillon or such. I inspect Every case before any process and after each stage. Perhaps I’m over cautious but have seen few incidents over the years that I do not want to happen to me. Old saying, “ Better Safe than Sorry” comes to mind.

Welcome to the S&W Forums! How about more information? What brand of decapping die and what brand of brass?

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

I have the Lee decapper. I finally torqued the collet nut until it cried uncle. Now it always works.

Things to look out for with 45 acp brass :
1.) crimped primers , military and "clean" indoor lead free primers will be crimped .
2.) Berdan Primers - see post #7 ...even the Lee Universal ain't knocking that sucker out !
3.) Small Primers - some companies for some reason have started loading them with small pistol primers ... decapping is easy but the normal LPP doesn't fit , watch out for the pesky SPP cases .
4.) Check Pin Adjustment - just because 47 decapped ... that doesn't mean doodley-squat ... 3 didn't... it may need to extend just a wee bit more ... always adjust dies based on the three that don't .

Gary

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Certified Cajun
NRA Member

I have been reloading small primer .45acp cases on my Dillon 550 and have had the deprimer pin hang onto the primer as it pushes it out of the case and the pull it back into the case just enough to stick there but when I attempt to reprime with a fresh primer the new primer reseats the dead primer. I look at the case the old primer is seated like it didn’t move at all and the new primer is still in the cup. On the second try it will usually fall free. Bet this is what your problem is. PAY attention though that you don’t put 2 powder dumps in the same case [on the 550] trying to get the other case deprimed. The hung primer deal happened to me yesterday a couple times. I just moved the sized but not deprimed case out of the way rotated the cases and put it back on the machine. Gotten into the habit of watching the dead primer fall into the catcher. If nothing falls I know to check things.

Here is a stuck (corroded?) WLP primer on a couple year old Starline 44mag case. The top of the primer cup actually tore off during decapping:

stuck_primer.jpg - Google Drive

I have, on rare occasion, had a boxer primer that just refused to come out. Eventually I would end up driving the pin THRU the primer, leaving much of the body still in the pocket. Must have been corroded in there good. It happens.

Sometimes the primer gets stuck on decapping pin and gets knocked out but is still clinging to decap pin and the force of the ram going back down pulls primer back into the primer hole on cartridge. Possibly a raised burr on pin causes this to happen. Normally I find it when removing case to place the next cartridge on Shell holder. Typically the offending case and primer get stuck on shell holder due to old primer is too proud in primer hole. That's on a single stage, I imagine on a progressive it really puts a hitch in your giddy up. As mentioned above water in expended brass call really stick a primer hole. Typically when this happens the decapping pin punches the strike surface of primer out leaving the walls of the expended primer in the case. That's annoying as you don't find out until you try seating a new primer and it won't go and locks up the case holder. One is an annoyance, two three will ensure brass doesn't get left wet or bought from brass sellers washed without being deprimed. I won't buy brass That's been washed for that reason.

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

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M629-4PP M686-4PP M617

Another tip : If you wash or wet tumble cases ...be sure the primer pockets are totally 100% dried out - no moisture ... priming the case with a damp pocket and especially after firing if damp ... the corrosion starts . Something about moisture and priming compounds that start the corrosion process ... then when you de-cap the trouble starts .

So if you use water to clean cases ... Make sure to dry them Totally .

The range I buy brass from tumbles them clean in dry treated walnut shell media ... you can see traces in the bag and I asked them .
Gary

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Certified Cajun
NRA Member

Exactly what happens here. Dillon told me to grind the decaying pin flat and not have it too rounded and too smooth. It helps reduce the so called primer pull back. It is something I tried to figure out until I called Dillon and that's what it is. On the downstroke it also helps to go a little slow just as the pin pushes the primer and listen for the primer to drop in the catcher. I also feel on the upstroke if I seat a new primer or just pushing the old one back in.