Major03
Ultimate Member
I prefer to hand prime. RCBS has a nice tool. I used a Lee tool for years and it worked fine too. The RCBS is a bit more comfortable in the hand
If the primers will not seat flush with moderate pressure, something is wrong. I would mic the primer pocket depth to see if they were made too shallow. There are tools to fix this.
If you have a couple of rounds with high primers, I would pull the bullet, remove the powder (save), and try seating the primer again. You may have just not pushed enough for those rounds. If the primer fully seats, you can put the powder and bullet back in. Best would be to neck size the case to ensure proper next tension.
Did you take your initial brass measurements before or after you sized it?
Sounds to me like your primer is still not fully seated. A fully seated primer should be just below flush. The case is not going to change its length as part of receiving a primer, so any growth in your measurement is either a primer that is not below flush or your measurement is not accurate.
If you're absolutely certain you got it in there good, then you may have to check the primer pocket and clean/uniform it.
FIFY. The case is nowhere near the rifling, but IS near the end of the chamber that forms a ledge similar to that in a crimp die. Allowing the case to increase in length enough to hit that provides an unexpected crimp and causes potentially dangerous pressure excursions.The reason for case trimming is to prevent over pressure from a long case neck jamming intothe riflingthe end of the chamber....
Seat it flush.A few more questions
1) primers are supposed to be flush. I had one that's obviously too far out. What should I do with it?
Asking "How flush?" is like asking "How pregnant?"...2) just how flush do they need to be? I have one that's maybe just barely noticeably sticking out. I mean you can barely visually see it. Not sure how much this matters
First, let's consider the basic nature of reloading data books.3) If you can't find data for a specific bullet, internet says you can use something similar right? For example...no data to be found on 140gr, but there's data on a 142gr. Or for example...no data on ELD bullet but use AMAX data for same weight. Is all this ok?
There are several things that set seating depth/COAL.4) I noticed the factory ammo I have with the same bullet I'm reloading is well below what the guide says is minimum OAL. What's up with that?
Agreed.Not necessarily.
Bottle neck cases, especially with large headspace or over sized, fail near the base. Typically the base comes completely off.
You can check with thinning just above the web by using a paper clip, straighted, then the tip bent 90 degrees. You run up the inside and feel for a dip.
Also, from the outside, sometimes you can see a shiny ring just above the base.