Reloading military brass

[Dixie Dude]

I have some .308 military brass that is boxer primed.  When I put the primer in, it seems to pop into the case, not too smooth.  It looks ok.  I ran a pencil around the seat area like I do on regular commercial brass, but it still seems to require a little more force, and seems to pop or snap into place.  Is this ok?  Haven't had time to go out and test it yet. 

[Larry Gibson]

You probably need to remove the crimp.  Most any reloading manual will explain how.

Larry Gibson

[1sourdough]

 I use a Hornaday hand tool to get the crimp out. It is cheap, works well & comes sized for small & large rifle sizes. 

[Old Syko]

If you're using military brass and haven't removed the crimp you're setting yourself up for disappointment.  As stated most manuals describe how to deal with the crimp.  IMO swageing is better than removing material and almost every manufacturer whether they are red, green, blue, or any other color offers a primer pocket swager kit.  As an example the RCBS is about $25 and with the use of this thing you can buy single fired military brass for a song compared to commercial and load to your hearts content.

[Dixie Dude]

I didn't know this.  Thanks for the info.  However, the 10 rounds or so I forced the primer in, will they fire?  Is the primer crimped internally? 

[stimpylu32]

DD

The crimp is done from the outside of the primer pocket , basically they just roll a bit of case head brass inward to hold the primer .

It can be removed with your neck chamfer tool just like you do to deburr the inside of the case neck , only takes about 1 turn to remove the crimp .

As for the ones you have forced in , they should work BUT there is a chance that you have crushed the primers some what , you may get inconsistent firing and poor grouping from those rounds .

stimpy

[Dixie Dude]

Thanks, I have neck chamfer tool, that shouldn't be too hard.  I know it was a little harder to press out the old primers.  I also know the brass is thicker because it was harder to resize.  I'm assuming the brass should last longer.  I also noticed my powder charge was up the neck a little whereas the regular brass it was slightly below the neck. 

[Old Syko]

I also know the brass is thicker because it was harder to resize.  I'm assuming the brass should last longer.  I also noticed my powder charge was up the neck a little whereas the regular brass it was slightly below the neck. 

You are aware that due to your decreased case capacity pressures may increase quite dramatically correct?  And you should decrease your charge to allow for this pressure difference?  If the charge you are throwing is anywhere close to hot in commercial cases, you could be setting yourself up for a bad day without reducing your load.

I take it this is some older brass.  What headstamp?  It can be used easily enough.  Just make sure you use it safely as described in the manuals.  If you don't you may not get a second chance.

[Larry Gibson]

I didn't know this.  Thanks for the info.  However, the 10 rounds or so I forced the primer in, will they fire?  Is the primer crimped internally? 

The 10 rounds may fire (probably) but unless you have a bullet puller then don't load them.  Fire them in your rifle (clean the bore after) with no loads and just consider the cost of the 10 primers as a lesson learned.  You can then deprime them (even the ones that didn't fire) and remove the crimps.

Larry Gibson