Swaging

S

Sailsalot

Inactive
I plan to start reloading rifle brass. Am I correct that I do not need to swage the primer pocket unless I am using military brass (crimped primer pocket)?
 
That's been MY experience. SOME (foreign) military cases don't seem to require it, tho I do not remember which.

I had a similar problem eith Federal .223 cases when I used NON-Federal primers. At the time, I had lots of other .223 brass, so I didn't pursue the matter.
 
Am I correct that I do not need to swage the primer pocket unless I am using military brass (crimped primer pocket)?
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That is pretty much correct. Any non-crimped commercial boxer primed brass is good to go. Some folks will still give them a light touch with a chamfering tool just to ease the priming process. jd
 
Ah, a real easy one that I don't think will generate much controversy. Yes, that is almost absolutely correct, in general only military primer pockets--but not all by the way--need swaging; but again in general certainly not for most commercial rifle primer pockets. But there is at least one exception. Federal has recently brought out .30-06 ammunition for usage with the Garand. The rounds are similar to military ammunition. Headstamps duplicate what you would find on similar military ammunition and the primer pockets are crimped. These are boxed under the Federal American Eagle label. I'm not aware if there are any similar .308s with crimped primers. Since you asked about military primer pockets, I presume you may be considering '06s, .308s, or .223s. Try to avoid using brass that requires primer pocket swaging, the individual results from case to case will not be consistent and you will still shear some primers during seating.
 
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