I’m running into a few cases where primers are falling out of rounds.
Is there something I might be doing that could be causing this or something I could change with regards to my reloading methods. It’s not a lot compared to how many rounds I’ve reloaded but the simple fact that it’s happening is bugging me. It’s probably occurred in 0.25% of all the .223 I’ve reloaded.
Loose primer pockets. To many hot loads if a primer falls out recycle it. Do not try and salvage.
How hot are you loading and how many cycles have you used the brass for?
Spot on ditch the brass its just a fact of reloading. Only time I have seen this happen and it was not due to hot loads is with rem brass its just to soft.
Toss them asap before you end up with a REAL BAD DAY!!!
So it’s simply the brass that has a primer pocket that’s become to big. If I’m swaging RP or PMC, that couldn’t be a reason. Correct?
I’m reloading a majority of brass with WSR primers and Winchester 748 powder @ ~24.5 grains.
Are they falling out at the reloading bench or while firing?
While firing.
Wrong. Over swaging will ruin the pocket.
That’s why I got rid of my Super swager and went to the hornady tool.
You should be able to feel a loose primer seating. I cull those cases right there… If it’s a little loose, I’ll mark the brass and fire it one last time… then into the scrap bucket.
you only need to swedge crimped brass
What weapon is this from?
Same here…I found the SS loosened the pockets too much. The Hornady took is like $12 and work very well at only removing the crimp.
There’s guys who get that Super Swager to work good for them. They claim they go by feel. But I didn’t have the patience for messing up my brass.
A BCM 14.5" mid length upper with LMT lower.
Is there a width I ca check for in the primer pocket? What should be the max width?
The SS will cause problems with loose pockets if you don’t use the tool properly. If you sort by headstamp and adjust the swager rod accordingly making sure not to apply too much pressure, you’ll be fine.
If you’re applying excessive force it means you aren’t adjusted (which takes 30 seconds). Dillon warns about this in the product manual.
Yep. That was the deal breaker for me. I load too many different flavors of brass to be playing that game. And even when I thought I had it right for a kind of brass, I’d still get inconsistency.
But there’s guys who claim they don’t tune the stupid thing… just go by feel.
I couldn’t say adios amigos to that thing quick enough. The one upside to swaging (as pointed out by a guy from LaPua over on accurate shooter) is that you work harden the head a little by using this method.
I did away with swaging as well. After the second catastrophic failure in a match I went to the Hornady cutter tool and never looked back. Set up in a variable speed drill with a constant on button - and everything mounted horizontally in an inexpensive aluminum vise.
Another possible is you’ve picked up someone else’s worn out brass.
I reload only my own brass and leave it on the ground if mixed up with other’s (such as at a 3-G match). I only load IMI and new LC brass and discard after 4 reloads. [I’m getting five reloads out of my 7.62x51 Aussie brass, but I anneal after the 2nd reload.]
As mentioned above you only need to swage or cut primer pockets that have a crimp such as once fired LC. R-P brass that I have used has never had a crimp. So first be sure you are not enlarging a pocket that has already been swaged or never was crimped.
I uniform my .223 primer pockets so I adjust the swager to just open them up enough to let the uniformer get to the bottom of the pocket without binding. I also test seat primers in a couple of cases to ensure they are snug. Swaging and pocket uniformer are both one time operations so it works out well to do them together.
Loose pockets can be from to much pressure or too much swaging.
My $59 primer pocket reamer v1.0…
I can ream primer pockets at about the same speed I turn out rounds from my progressive press.
two issues-
sometimes after repeated reloading primer pockets stretch out and you will find some cases with loose pockets- toss them in the scrap bin.
you only need to swage or remove the crimp from military cases, there is no need to use a reaming tool on civilian cases, and you only need to do it once. opeing up the primer pocket on a civilian case will obviously cuase the primer pocket to be loose.