Does anyone think there is a market for some sort of bench mounted device that could crimp the primers on reloaded .223/5.56 or .308 cases? As far as I know, no such device exists. I know some people will pull down milsurp ammo and use the cases with crimped primers for making high pressure clones like MK262 etc.
I am in the process of devising a design project for my university’s senior capstone program and this was one things that crossed my mind. Of course, re-crimping would mean more swaging/reaming if those cases were to be used again and a primer pocket could only be crimped so many times before there was no longer enough material around the primer pocket to crimp it again. I’m thinking this might be something some people may find valuable when loading new brass or once/twice fired commercial or military brass.
So let me know what you think. I’ve included a poll - Yes, I would buy one/ No, I wouldn’t buy one/ Maybe, more details are needed.
If yes, please give me a ballpark figure of how much you might be willing to spend for such a device. If no or maybe, please post a brief explanation.
Same reason the military does it. It cuts down on the number of stoppages because of ammo related problems. Basically to increase mean time between failure.
To OP: I have more then enough time tight up in brass prep as is. The only reason I’d want that kind of machine is if I was loading up a stash of SHTF ammo. Crimping would be as an added bonus to system’s reliability.
Yes, thanks, I understand the reason why the military does it…but I’m stretching to see a rationale for a civilian reloader to do it.
Given how often primers can be jarred out of the pocket (which is rare), compared to the urgency of the vast majority of civilian shooting (which is basically nil), compared to the added work of both crimping before shooting (an additional step in the process), and the additional case prep after shooting (another additional step in the process)…
Just seems like a solution looking for a problem IMHO.
^ Exactly. I’ve shot hundreds of thousands of rounds through full auto and never had a primer back out. None of the primers were crimped in place. If I were in combat in climates ranging from -50 to 125 degrees, then I might want it for insurance. There is no practical need for it in the civilian shooting world.
I wouldn’t use one. If I felt the need for more security in the primer pocket I’d likely use a primer sealant paint, or some sort of adhesive. I do know guys who paint the sides of primer pockets before seating primers to make sure their loads are waterproof. I think they’re nuts, but they think the same about me because I’ll use a Harts Case Saver on Federal 223 brass before reloading. I don’t trust once-fired FC cases at all anymore.
A great deal of brass has to be scrapped because the primer pockets eventually get loose after several reloads. Some people think the necks will split first but that’s usually not the case in my experience.
If you had brass where the pocket was getting loose I wonder if this could help you safely get one more reload? Then you could just trash the brass after shooting and not have to worry about removing the crimp again.
If brass is cheap and available I don’t care but if all I had was trashed brass and I couldn’t find any once fired or new I could see maybe keeping this tool as a backup.
When I want crimped primers, I pull down a Factory load and replace the bullet and powder with whatever I want to shoot. I’m all in for a desk top hammer forge that will rejuvinate loose primer pockets though. Probably a little cost prohibitive however.
I just bought the primer pocket gauge below and a 0.1745 pin gauge to check primer pockets “BEFORE” seating a primer and finding the primer pocket is over sized.
The gauge wasn’t much help, the GO end is .172 and the NO GO is .175. If the primer pocket is .175 you could seat a primer with your fingers. I turned the NO GO end down to .174 and using this I had good tight primer pockets but lost a lot of cases. I ordered the .1745 pin gauge and use it as the reject size and havent lost any primers.
The majority of oversized primer pockets are once fired factory loaded Federal .223/5.56 cases and its a shame the brass is so soft.
I can’t find the link but at the Brian Enos forum a person was using a device that swaged the outside base of pistol ammunition that made the primer pockets tighter. And he set it up to do .223/5.56 cases and tighten the primer pockets, “BUT” it is costly and I gave it no more thought. I think it was originally made to get rid of the “Glock Bulge” but they found it tightened the primer pockets also.
It’s partially that the friggin load is so HOT too. Now I’ve found that the less detailed “L C 1 0” head stamps, for example, are the worst pockets. The more extensively head stamped NATO cross head stamps with dimples hold up a lot better due to more work hardening of the case head.
