I broke a pin trying to push these primers out with an RCBS press. (I have more primer pins) Is there a way to de-primer these cases and save the cartridges? I have a couple of boxes of these and don't really want to toss them. I have a deburring tool to clean up the crimps if I can get the primers out.
stubborn primers
- Thread starter Elton
- Start date
shootbrownelk
New member
I use an RCBS universal decapping die. Never fails.
First, are you certain the cases are NOT Berdan primed??
For military Boxer primed brass with crimped/staked primers, get a LEE Decapping punch & base set. They are inexpensive, virtually indestructible, and if you somehow DO manage to break it, Lee will replace it free.
There are two sizes, one with a punch sized for .22 case necks, and one for .30 cal. I have used them for decades, and they avoid the cost , and the hassle of a separate decapping die, and the hassle of replacing decapping pin(s) in standard sizer dies.
I'm not a fan of Lee dies, presses, or any of their other reloading tools, mostly because I don't like the features, but I cannot praise their hand tool decapping set highly enough.
Set the fired case on the base, slip the punch down the neck, wiggle it a little and feel it go into the flash hole, then a few raps with a hammer, and done.
the feel part is easy to learn, and also allows you to decap and reload cases with off center flash holes that can break the decap pin in standard dies.
Get a set, and use it, you won't be sorry.
as an added bonus, the punch is also a good tool for "rounding out" bent case mouths to go into the sizer die.
For military Boxer primed brass with crimped/staked primers, get a LEE Decapping punch & base set. They are inexpensive, virtually indestructible, and if you somehow DO manage to break it, Lee will replace it free.
There are two sizes, one with a punch sized for .22 case necks, and one for .30 cal. I have used them for decades, and they avoid the cost , and the hassle of a separate decapping die, and the hassle of replacing decapping pin(s) in standard sizer dies.
I'm not a fan of Lee dies, presses, or any of their other reloading tools, mostly because I don't like the features, but I cannot praise their hand tool decapping set highly enough.
Set the fired case on the base, slip the punch down the neck, wiggle it a little and feel it go into the flash hole, then a few raps with a hammer, and done.
the feel part is easy to learn, and also allows you to decap and reload cases with off center flash holes that can break the decap pin in standard dies.
Get a set, and use it, you won't be sorry.
as an added bonus, the punch is also a good tool for "rounding out" bent case mouths to go into the sizer die.
Expect ALL European military ammo to be Berdan primed. Expect European commercial sporting ammo (not made for US sale) to be Berdan primed, and be pleasantly surprised if it isn't. and in this case, European includes Great Britain.
The ironic thing is that the Berdan system, used in Europe, was designed by an American, and the Boxer system used in the US was designed by a European (an Englishman if I remember right).
The only time reloading Berdan primed brass is sensible (and never cheap or easy) is when the ONLY source of brass is Berdan primed cases.
In any common caliber today, fired Berdan primed cases are good for scrap metal, only.
One fellow I knew years ago, was a brass rat, (all reloaders tend to be) but he was a less than well liked fellow, mostly because of his personality, and he wouldn't go shooting with us, but would zoom out to the range/shooting spot after we left to grab whatever was left on the ground.
One time we fired a couple hundred rounds of European milsurp ammo (Berdan primes) and one box of LC match (boxer primed), which we left. He apparently picked up one of the LC cases, and then scooped up all the rest of the brass.
A couple days later, he was in the gunshop, bitterly complaining about how he had broken several decapping pins on a "bad batch" of LC brass....
We just kept quiet, and smiled.
If the brass isn't US commercial, check it. even if it is, check it, off center flash holes (not unknown) can bend or break decapping pins, too!
