Author Topic: primer seating problem with Winchester Supreme nickel plates brass  (Read 703 times)

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Offline guzzijohn

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Just recently started reloading. For rifle I have loaded about 60 rounds so far in .219 Wasp and .243. My first two boxes of .243 using Hornady brass worked fine. When I loaded my first 20 .243 using Winchester Supreme nickel plated brass five primers would not seat all the way into the cases. Although protruding just slightly I could not close the bolt with them in my Savage. I am using a RCBS Rockchucker and priming the brass in the press. I did clean the primer pockets. Anyone with any suggestions on what the problem may be.
GuzziJohn

Offline OR-E-Gun Bill

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Re: primer seating problem with Winchester Supreme nickel plates brass
« Reply #1 on: March 26, 2008, 11:03:25 AM »
Are you using Winchester primers? Some primer size charts show the Winchester primers can be as much as .003" taller than CCI or Federal.

Using a pocket uniformer could be another solution to ensure proper pocket depth. Could be the nickel plating is a tad too thick in the pocket???

Good luck.

Bill

Offline LaOtto222

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Re: primer seating problem with Winchester Supreme nickel plates brass
« Reply #2 on: March 26, 2008, 12:23:36 PM »
When I got my Rock Chucker, I primed my cases with it, same as you are doing. I had to inspect each primer after seating, to ensure they were seated properly and to look to see if they were crushed. There is so much power there that you do not have a good "feel" to tell when a primer is properly seated. When I found a high primer, I would just stick it back in and give it a little more push on the handle to seat it all the way down. Some times I would crush a primer. You do learn to work with it after a while, I primed a lot of cases that way. I eventually got a priming tool. Lee makes a good one, but I got a RCBS tool and it has served me well. Later down the road (much later) I got a RCBS Trim Mate. When I did, I took all of my new brass and run them over a pocket uniformer. Stubborn primers to seat became thing of the past. The uniformer will cut the sides a little too if they are small and the square up the bottom of the primer pocket so it is the same diameter all the way down. I have used a hand tool to do this with, but it was a lot of work and I got sore hands trying to hold it. In every thing that is made, there are tolerances plus or minus so much for each component. If you get cases with tight primer pockets and primers that are on the high side(diameter wise) they can be pretty hard to seat. I had a batch of Winchester 223 cases that I had a real hard time seating in some Remington 7 1/2 primers. After I uniformed the pockets, they were much easier to seat. It was after that experience that I started to uniform all primer pockets; first with that dang nab hand tool, then with a Trim Mate (much easier). Just my 2 cents Good Luck and good shooting ;D
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Offline charles p

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Re: primer seating problem with Winchester Supreme nickel plates brass
« Reply #3 on: March 26, 2008, 03:12:00 PM »
I'd like to second the vote for the Lee hand priming tool.  I no longer use my RCBS presses to seat primers and I've never yet had a seating problem using the Lee hand primer.  I rotate my cases and seat them twice, just to make sure they are seated and centered.  Probably not necessary.

I don't like nickel cases however.  Never seen the advantage and they are hard and scratchy.

Offline dw06

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Re: primer seating problem with Winchester Supreme nickel plates brass
« Reply #4 on: March 27, 2008, 01:32:28 AM »
+3 on the lee hand priming tool,thats all I've used for last 25 years.To help your problem now,take a #2 pencil and run it around the sides of primer pocket a couple times and primer will seat much easier,I do that on all new brass or brass with tight pockets and really helps seating process.
If you find yourself in a hole,the first thing to do is stop digging-Will Rogers

Offline guzzijohn

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Re: primer seating problem with Winchester Supreme nickel plates brass
« Reply #5 on: March 27, 2008, 02:35:22 AM »
Thank you to everyone for the suggestions. I do have the hand primer tool that came with the kit but have not yet tried it. I may see if that works better. The nickel brass is what I have the most of from when I was buying factory due to the 55gr. bullet shooting best in a Handi Rifle which still was not very good. I have found a load however that shoots very well in the Handi with around one to one and a half inch groups as compared to three to eight inch groups before. When searching the net for ideas, one thing I read was that if your table is not stable enough that can effect primer seating if using the press so I may try to firm that up too. The old saying applies "you learn something new everyday".
GuzziJohn

Offline jhalcott

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Re: primer seating problem with Winchester Supreme nickel plates brass
« Reply #6 on: March 27, 2008, 06:53:46 PM »
  I had the same problem with some nickle plated .308 "brass". I don't use the nickle plated cases much any more,because I had some flaking of the plating after a few reloads. there were small bits of it coming off the necks. I worried about it scratching the bore or the dies.

Offline guzzijohn

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Re: primer seating problem with Winchester Supreme nickel plates brass
« Reply #7 on: March 31, 2008, 03:18:50 AM »
I think I found my problem. I had started to collect some general debris under the primer holder in the press that must have interfered. I cleaned it up and no more problems.
guzzijohn

Offline beemanbeme

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Re: primer seating problem with Winchester Supreme nickel plates brass
« Reply #8 on: March 31, 2008, 04:10:24 AM »
Guzzijohn, I hope I don't sound too much like a chicken little but there are a lot of mistakes you can make in reloading and get aways with but loading high primers in a rifle isn't one of them. At least not for long. 
Welcome aboard. ;)