308 primer seating issues

ras_oscar · Apr 11, 2020

Started reloading a batch of 308 this morning, had 3 that had high primers. I discarded those. A few more wouldn't accept primers at all. I set those aside. One had a primer that seated half way and could not be removed from the shell holder. Fortunately I had a spare shell holder for my turret press so I set it aside. Eventually I was able to seat it fully the primer by turning and pressing repeatedly and complete the cartridge.

After pressing pause on the session, I examined the headstamps on the batch, both those the primed easily and those i set aside. they are all LC 18. I believe that is Lake City armory 2018 production year?

Has anyone else had similar issues with LC brass? The only thought I had was military crimps that did not remove completely I saw no swage and did not do anything special to the pockets after de-priming them. There were no difficulties in depriming. No red sealant in the pockets.

mbtech · Apr 11, 2020

It sounds like you have crimped primer pockets.

JohnC · Apr 11, 2020

Sounds like you need a primer pocket tool. Military and even some commercial brass can have very tight pockets that need to be uniformed a little. I like the lyman hand held one, personally

Uncle Duke · Apr 11, 2020

Have you swaged those primer pockets, or otherwise removed the crimps? You will need to do so with non-commercial brass.

dist1646 · Apr 11, 2020

Some LC brass was available new uncrimped and some is crimped brass that has been fired. If it is crimped, you'll need to swage the crimp out. In either case, it is a good idea to uniform the primer pocket depth. Pic?

outrider58 · Apr 11, 2020

If the head stamp included an O with a cross inside it, it is NATO grade brass and definitely crimped.

John from MD · Apr 11, 2020

ras_oscar said:
Started reloading a batch of 308 this morning, had 3 that had high primers. I discarded those. A few more wouldn't accept primers at all. I set those aside. One had a primer that seated half way and could not be removed from the shell holder. Fortunately I had a spare shell holder for my turret press so I set it aside. Eventually I was able to seat it fully the primer by turning and pressing repeatedly and complete the cartridge.

After pressing pause on the session, I examined the headstamps on the batch, both those the primed easily and those i set aside. they are all LC 18. I believe that is Lake City armory 2018 production year?

Has anyone else had similar issues with LC brass? The only thought I had was military crimps that did not remove completely I saw no swage and did not do anything special to the pockets after de-priming them. There were no difficulties in depriming. No red sealant in the pockets.

If it is marked with LC and a date then you have brass that was slated for a military contract. Now, they may have sold it as a contract over run to the public but it will still be crimped.

Just compare it to a commercial case and you will see the difference right off.

bkuether · Apr 11, 2020

This is what I use for my crimped 5.56 brass.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1012920663

It's mounted on the press and is very economical. If you are running a Lee press, I can show you a trick to release the cases on the downstroke. Otherwise it doesn't come off efficiently and makes the whole thing not worth it......

Pinecone · Apr 11, 2020

Yeap, crimped primers.

This is the tool for the rest of your life - https://www.dillonprecision.com/super-swage-600_8_8_25263.html

Military specs require crimped in primers.

Todd S · Apr 11, 2020

Pinecone said:
Yeap, crimped primers.

This is the tool for the rest of your life - https://www.dillonprecision.com/super-swage-600_8_8_25263.html

Military specs require crimped in primers.

I have one. Great piece of reloading gear. There are mods out there to speed things up also.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

dist1646 · Apr 11, 2020

John from MD said:
If it is marked with LC and a date then you have brass that was slated for a military contract. Now, they may have sold it as a contract over run to the public but it will still be crimped.

Just compare it to a commercial case and you will see the difference right off.

Not necessarily. I have bought over run brass that was not crimped because it never had a primer in it.

ras_oscar · Apr 11, 2020

outrider58 said:
If the head stamp included an O with a cross inside it, it is NATO grade brass and definitely crimped.

Yup That's the headstmp. I was familiar with the tripoint crimp but this is the first time I have seen an annular crimp. Now that I know what to look for I can spot them and set them aside for further processing. All the youtube videos talk about using a universal decapper with a heavy pin and a hammer to decap. I decapped them All without complaint. Loaded about 90 rounds earlier today, Maybe a dozen that refused to prime.All are LC brass. I guess some military crimps re firmer than others (or else someone else already swaged them) Should I look to get the cutter style pocket uniformer or the ram operated swaging style? I have a Lee turret press if it makes a difference

John from MD · Apr 11, 2020

dist1646 said:
Not necessarily. I have bought over run brass that was not crimped because it never had a primer in it.

I should have been more clear. I meant loaded ammo.

outrider58 · Apr 11, 2020

ras_oscar said:
Yup That's the headstmp. I was familiar with the tripoint crimp but this is the first time I have seen an annular crimp. Now that I know what to look for I can spot them and set them aside for further processing. All the youtube videos talk about using a universal decapper with a heavy pin and a hammer to decap. I decapped them All without complaint. Loaded about 90 rounds earlier today, Maybe a dozen that refused to prime.All are LC brass. I guess some military crimps re firmer than others (or else someone else already swaged them) Should I look to get the cutter style pocket uniformer or the ram operated swaging style? I have a Lee turret press if it makes a difference

I have both types. I prefer the cutter type, such as the one on my RCBS prep station. I've had swaged pockets still be stubborn. Plus, on a prep station, you can put a primer pocket brush on there as well.

ras_oscar · Apr 11, 2020

For those of you that reloaded crimped primer brass, is it usual to have them deprime using the usual decapping/sizing die?

Uncle Duke · Apr 11, 2020

ras_oscar said:
For those of you that reloaded crimped primer brass, is it usual to have them deprime using the usual decapping/sizing die?

Yes.

outrider58 · Apr 11, 2020

ras_oscar said:
For those of you that reloaded crimped primer brass, is it usual to have them deprime using the usual decapping/sizing die?

My only experience is with small primer brsss, 5.56. They can be a little more stubborn but they always come out for me. Not too sure about. 308 and the like.

dist1646 · Apr 11, 2020

ras_oscar said:
For those of you that reloaded crimped primer brass, is it usual to have them deprime using the usual decapping/sizing die?

It usually requires a bit more force but normal dies work. It is a good idea to have a spare decapping pin. Don't ask how I know that. LOL!

Melnic · Apr 11, 2020

bkuether said:
This is what I use for my crimped 5.56 brass.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1012920663

It's mounted on the press and is very economical. If you are running a Lee press, I can show you a trick to release the cases on the downstroke. Otherwise it doesn't come off efficiently and makes the whole thing not worth it......

I also use this for 223/5.56 and 30-06 brass that has not already been reloaded. I'm still cleaning and reloading brass I picked up during the thin years of 2014/2015.

One advantage to reloading 300blk I'm finding is i can skip this step so far.

Pinecone · Apr 11, 2020

ras_oscar said:
For those of you that reloaded crimped primer brass, is it usual to have them deprime using the usual decapping/sizing die?

Yes, but have spare pins, you WILL break them.

Better is to order a Lee Universal Decapper.

You can still break a pin, but I have only broken one. Where I have probably broken 5 or 6 standard pins.

308 primer seating issues

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