Military Crimp Primer Decapper

[jimmyj]

Hi:
I want to decap some U.S. Military .30/06 cases containing crimp primers.
What tool do I need ?
*** The dies are RCBS

 

[ronnie gore]

depriming

i have run many 30-06 and 308 through regular dies without any problems, just have to remove the crimp in the case afterwards.but i have also used the inexpensive lee decapper.

 

[k22fan]

Since you only have to do them once tapping them out with a hammer and the Lee tool makes the most sense. Depending on how your dies are designed that could save you the nuisance and expense of hunting down a replacement decapping rod. RCBS's crimp reamer that screws into the same handle as their pocket brush is my favorite for the next step.

 

[linde]

Hi:
I want to decap some U.S. Military .30/06 cases containing crimp primers. What tool do I need ?
*** The dies are RCBS

i have run many 30-06 and 308 through regular dies without any problems, just have to remove the crimp in the case afterwards . . .

I also use the standard RCBS sizing/de-priming die and then "remove" the crimp afterward. I use an RCBS tool called "Primer Pocket Swager Combo 2" that works very well. It swages the crimp rather than removing material from the primer pocket and potentially weakening it. I then use a hand de-burring tool to clean up and bevel the pocket opening before re-priming.

Russ

 

[old tanker]

Your RCBS dies will knock the crimped primer out easily. As noted, you will need to deal with the remains of the crimp before seating new primers. If you only have a small number of cases to deal with, a few twists with the small end of a deburring tool will work. If you will be dealing with lots of military brass, a swaging tool or powered primer pocket reamer may be handy.

 

[LostintheOzone]

The only die pin I have ever broke was on a berdan case. Those will break a pin. A regular mil crimp shouldn't cause your regular die any problems.

If it does just disregard this post.

 

[dave201]

I use the Dillon swager
Regular die primer punch
You will have more trouble with off center flash holes bending the pin and rod than the actual primer itself
Just keep a eye on the pin condition, or the decapper may get stuck in the case and that's a mess.
If the cases had fired mercury primers, throw them out
Mercury will ruin and weaken brass . Check head stamp
With a hand primer punch, you can search for flash hole
I turn the shell with my fingers in the shell holder to make sure the pin is in the hole.
There is a die made that only decaps and leaves the neck unsized
If it's resized and gets stuck, then you have a crowbar job

 

[k22fan]

I sure see a lot of used die sets for sale with not just broken decapping pins but bent decapping rods. I can not say any of them were from G.I. primers and I might have wasted a few dollars on the Lee tool and maybe one half a drop of sweat, but, IIRC, all my reloading manuals advised using a specialized decapper.

 

[Clovishound]

I use Lee dies, they have a collet to hold the decapping pin in place. If you put too much pressure on the pin, it will slide up in the collet, unless you have it way too tight, or corroded in place. This helps keep you from damaging your decapping pin. Most of the crimped primers I have tried will come out using the die normally. On the stubborn ones, I have taken my spare pistol decapping rod and used it with a mallet to remove the primers. I just put the case in the shell holder, place it on a firm hard surface, center up the decapping pin in the primer and tap it firmly with a mallet. They come right out with no damage to the decapping rod. I wouldn't want to have to do a whole bunch of them that way.

 

[gregintenn]

Decapping crimped in primers usually doesn't present much problem. Seating a new primer back in it's place is where the frustration comes into play.

The only decapping pin I ever broke was caused by a piece of tumbling media that failed to come out of the case.

 

[Neumann]

Decapping is not a problem. It takes a little extra force. I use Dillon dies, which have a spring loaded decaying pin, and a Dillon Super Swager to open up the pockets. Swaging is best because it doesn't remove any material, even if done a second time by mistake. It's also much faster than reaming, and less likely to do damage.

 

[ageingstudent]

Here's what I use to decap. 10's of thousands of crimped and non crimped primers and not a single broken or bent pin. It's fast and no die required. Don't forget to unplug the power first.

 

[franzas]

I'm new to rifle reloading, but my setup consists of 4 dies:

From the RCBS 2-die set:
1. FL sizer with neck expander, neck-expanding decapper replaced with "normal" decapper
3. Seater/Roll crimper- I only use this to seat

From the RCBS .30-30 cowboy set:
2. .309 Neck expander/flarer (neck ID after sizing comes out to .307)

4. Lee factory crimper

For crimped-in primers, I just chamfer the pocket with the Lyman reamer. I haven't broke or bent a decapping pin out of the 200 or so 7.62 I've prepped so far.

 

[Houlton]

Lyman has a die set to remove the crimp. Comes with a punch for small and large primers. Used mine hundreds of times with Mil 30-06 and 45 ACP. Slow but works well.

 

[revolver_ph]

For depriming I use the Lee universal depriming die. Then I use the Dillon primer pocket swagger to radius the primer pocket.

 

[patrickd]

Decapping and sizing is the same as for any cartridge. Re priming is different. The cheapest way to go about it is look for a tool like the Lyman where for 20 bucks you get a nice set of case mouth chamfering tools large and small primer pocket scrapers and large and small primer pocket reamers to remove the crimp. This is by far the best deal on the market. You need not invest a pile of cash into swaging tools.

 

[mikld]

I have been decapping military once fired brass for many years (5.56, 7.62x51, 30-06, 45 ACP and 9mm). I have never had to use a "special" die/method to remove any primers, I just use my normal sizing dies. Some of my 30-06 brass gets decapped in a Lee Universal decapper, but not because any difficulty in removing the old primers. Being a lifelong machinist/mechanic, my first thought when I encountered primer crimps was a countersink. I have "decrimped" several thousand military cases with a plain old 60 degree countersink, either high speed steel or carbide... McMaster-Carr