Swaging Question for 38spl mil crimp?

[delta-419]

A friend gave me a 50 cal ammo can full of once fired 38 special brass with a lot of military brass (LC) and others makes such as WW, Federal, etc. Some of it is ok without the military crimp, but a lot of it has the crimp. This stuff probably dates back to Nam and was really dirty, but after a lot of work it shines like new. NOW, where do I find a swage tool/die for the 38 special primer. I have them for my 5.56 but this is like looking for civil war artifacts. Help!

[rockquarry]

There are probably others on here who swaged the crimp off a .38 Special case and will know for sure how to do it, but if the you can run the case up into a .223 / 5.56 die, it should work. No shellholder is required; the swage punch takes the place of a shellholder.

[MichiganScott]

RCBS make a primer pocket swaging die that works with both large and small primers.

[rockquarry]

I should have referred to the RCBS unit in my post; that's what I use. Works very well, though I have used it only for .223 /5.56. I think they are inexpensive.

[9393 tu]

I found the RCBS swager to be rather slow with 5.56 cases and am now using the Hornady primer pocket reamer which goes for about $13. Although I use it as a hand-held device, it probably could be chucked in a drill and run at a slow speed.

Note that this is different than swaging in that you are removing some material.

[bigedp51]

For small batches I use the RCBS reamer for their case prep station. It only removes the crimp and bevels the primer pocket mouth and does not touch the sides of the primer pocket.

The Hornady crimp remover is also very good but must be held straight or the sides of the primer pocket can be scratched.

RCBS Trim Mate Case Prep Center Straight Cone Military Crimp Remover

Trim Mate™ Military Crimp Remover-2 - RCBS

Hornady Primer Pocket Reamer Cutter Head

[Ivan the Butcher]

All U.S. small primers are the same diameter, the same with large. (most foreign boxer primers are very, very close to the US sizes) So your 5.56 swage will work on 9mm and 38 special. I bought my first one in 1984. A year or two ago I couldn't find it so I bought one at Cabela's. They price is about 4 times what I paid in 1984. I found the first one 2 weeks after purchasing the second. I do all cases with the small stem and have set up in a Lock-N-Load bushing for quick set up.

Ivan

[delta-419]

Thanks guys, I will use the RCBS tool, I have about 1000 cases to work on. Thankfully, not all are military cases. This should keep me in 38 spl shooting for awhile. I'm going thru my stash of old backup ammo and laying in a supply of fresh loads. I'm anticipating that the supply of primers and cast lead bullets will remain stable in the near future.

[WR Moore]

If you've got 1K cases and anticipate doing more, do yourself a big favor. Decades ago, I bought the RCBS die setup for swaging primer pockets. More recently, I splurged and bought the Dillon Super Swage. Best money I even spent on a reloading widget.

[LostintheOzone]

I have an RCBS swagging tool. Just ran through a thousand 5.56 crimps.

It works just fine but for a lot of brass spend the extra bucks for the best tool. That would be a Dillion. The RCBS tool is a little light for all that work.