Removing Primer Pocket Crimp in Military Brass

[scattershot]

Imise a 45 degree countersink bit in an electric drill.

 

[jag22]

I'm all in for buying a new toy/tool. Love them. However, it doesn't really seem like you need one. Once you've learned to identify them toss them in a bucket and some where down the road if you decide you need them then buy one of the mentioned products. I bought the Lyman case prep many years ago. Its okay but I only pull it out of the closet every year or so.
Now if you tend to lean towards OCD (as many rifle reloaders seem to do) then you will be quite happy with it.

 

[mikld]

K.I.S.S. When I first encountered military crimped primer pockets I immediately thought of a countersink as just a few thousandths is needed to be removed from the pocket mouth (life long machinist/mechanic). I grabbed a 1/2x60 degree HSS countersink out of my tool box and quite successfully removed a few by hand. I later placed the countersink in my drill and it takes 1/2 second to remove just a few thousandths of an inch of metal at the case's primer pocket mouth. That was 27 years ago and I have done a few (several) thousand since. Rifle and handgun brass (both foreign and domestic), never a problem. In over 30 years of reloading I have never had to "resize", "swage", or "ream" a primer pocket. I now reload just 9 cartridges as I no longer shoot my .223, 303B, 30-30, 7.62x54r much anymore...

There are many processes done to brass that is just plain old "Metal Working 101" and normal tools work quite well, no
"special" tools needed...
McMaster-Carr

 

[LoboGunLeather]

I have used both over the years (reamers and swaging dies). Over time I settled on a light reaming with the Lyman hand tool followed by swaging in the RCBS swaging die. Very uniform results and never a problem.

It sounds more difficult and time consuming than it really is. I typically reload handgun ammo in lots of 500 or 1000 and rifle ammo in lots of 100. Doing the primer pockets only has to be done once. I can easily ream a couple hundred cases while watching the evening news, then run them through the swaging die in an hour or so.

Many thousands of GI surplus cases over the past 47 years of reloading, and most of them still in use today.

 

[Triggernosis]

I'm a competitive Service Rifle shooter. I decided a couple of years ago that my best use of time and money was to purchase pre-primed Wolf brass, load it and fire it, and then sell it as once-fired for someone to deal with. ;-)

 

[Patrick L]

I too use a combination of reaming and swaging. I ream them with a Lyman reaming cutter in my RCBS case prep center, then the Dillon super Swage "irons" out any cutter marks. Previously I used the RCBS swaging tool on my single stage press, and that worked fine too.

 

[jim lock]

Get a Dillon Super swagger-----Problem Solved
Jim

 

[gregintenn]

I have removed primer crimps from thousands of 556 brass with a simple twist of a case mouth chamfer tool. I've yet to find a reason to buy another tool for this process.


Lee Chamfer Deburring Tool


or if you're fancy...


RCBS Chamfer Deburring Tool 17 to 60 Cal

 

[bluetopper]

I use a countersink bit in my hand drill. I can take the crimps out in literally a second.

 

[boatbum101]

+ 1 on the Dillon swager . Virgin Lake City brass is available . If you're loading to 5.56 level , them & milspec primers . I do have some LC & IMI surplus with crimped primers & they'll have to be done when they get shot . In my youth I used to ream them . Had a primer let go in an '06 in a 1903 . Piece hit me in my right cheekbone about 1" below my shooting glasses . Still have the scar . So I swage them now days .

 

[AManWearingAHat]

For a cheaper option, RCBS makes a kit that screws in like a regular set of dies that will remove crimps. Its a little more involved than say a super swage, but it is a lot cheaper. Depends on the volume of brass you process.

I reuse my crimped military brass several times, so for my needs i've never been able to justify the super swage.

 

[rockquarry]

Swaging is a better procedure for dealing with the GI crimp than reaming. Reaming works fine if very carefully done; if not, too much brass can be removed. There is no chance of overdoing it with the swaging process.

 

[Turn4811]

Every few years I get a bucket of 5.56 to replace my 223/5.56 brass. I will reload it 4 to 5 times before I leave it at the range or give to my BIL to cut down for 300BLK. I don't like dealing with the loose pockets and split cases that seem to affect loads past 5 times. I get my 5.56 from a buddy of mine who will buy a bin at military auction, clean it, and sell it on the internet (what he does in retirement).

I machined a die to hold a reamer on a cordless screwdriver and a custom reverse shell holder for use on my RockChucker back when I had access to a machine shop. Part of my new to me brass process after cleaning and sizing/decap is to ream the primer pocket in my RockChucker. The next step is the the sizing die. After my first reload I will clean, size/decap, anneal, and run it through the sizing die again.

 

[jim lock]

The advantage of the Dillon swager is--- consistency on every shell and consistency is a must for accuracy and dependability'
Jim