How tight should primer pockets be?

[Maplicito]

I was busy doing some reloading for probably the first time in a year - and the primer pockets are looser than I remember them being.  No primers are falling out of the brass, but I could push a primer maybe 3/4 of the way in with my thumb before having to use a priming tool to get them the rest of the way in.  Some of the brass has had hot loads run through them, but I have since backed off to more moderate loads.

So, my question is - have I worn out the brass?  I'm thinking of once again loading them with a moderate charge, but then discarding the brass.  They're .338 win mag's, so not the cheapest stuff around.  I'd like to get as much use as I can out of them, but I want to be safe too.

Am I being overly concerned, so long as I keep running cooler loads through them?  Am I just fine running that one more loading through them?  Or am I putting myself in peril by using them again.  I'm not seeing anything else that I can identify as a sign of excess wear, but I'm not the most experienced reloader out there either.

What are peoples' thoughts?

[LaOtto222]

This is a relative type question, so there is no clear answer. There are a lot of factors that figure into this. How tight your chamber is just one factor that is going to influence case stretching and pocket growth. Neck sizing or full length sizing influences case stretch. And of course how much pressure the case sees is another. Primer pocket opening up is an indication that the case has been stretched in the web area from excessive pressure. You also need to be concerned with thinning of the case right above the web. These can go hand in hand. If you have a thinning in this area, you could get a case head separation on the next firing, even with moderate loads. So check this before reloading. If this area is OK you could proceed with cation.  Did you have any problems the last time they were loaded? Like backed out primers, flattened. If you have then I would not use them again. If every thing looked OK the last time you shot them, it was truly a moderate load and there is no thinning of the case above the web, I would give them another go - but that is me. Keep in mind that you still could get a blown primer, severely flattened primers or a primer that just falls out after firing. If you really want to be 100% safe - discard any case that shows pocket stretching and or any case thinning above the web.

[TheSilverSlayer]

Personally, I would not use any brass that I could push the primer in 3/4's of the way with my thumb. Especially not a .338 win mag. I have noticed significant variations in the force required to seat primers in .38 and .357 cases. It seems all manu's are slightly different. But not one of my casing can I seat a primer with my thumb.

My 2 cents

[84Jim]

Wow, that is extreme .  I agree with the other posters that you shold proceed carefully if you decide to keep loading that brass.

I have a similar issue with some loose primer pockets in some Federal .223 brass, but not nearly that loose.  I have seen loose primers fall out of gas guns and jam the trigger mechanism, but have never seen or heard what the possible issues could be with a bolt gun.  Accordingly, i've decided to give that brass another loading but only use them in my bolt gun.  I'm thinking that the primer will expand with pressure and not do anything real bad, unless there is some gas leakage (which I plan to keep an eye out for, no pun intended).

My question is:  has anybody actually experienced a primer backing out or similar issues in a bolt gun with moderate loads?

Jim

[chutesnreloads]

Have had primers back out but it was more a whimpy load than a moderate load.Also sooted up the brass.Upping the charge made it work just fine.

[Maplicito]

After some thinking, I realized that some of the brass (same manufacturer) had only ever had a factory charge in it, and I didn't notice any significant difference in the primer pockets in any of the brass, either the once used brass, or the more frequently used brass.  I have some brass with tighter pockets, but it's nickel plated stuff from a different manufacturer.

I'm going to use this brass for a load - I'll decide what I want to do with the brass after that.  Thanks for your opinions guys!

[woodyed]

There's a good article in the July issue of Shooting Times on page 10 regarding the loading of belted cases. It also addresses the thinning around the belt and neck thickening fom stretching. It also suggests the buying of a tapered neck expander to solve the neck problem. Good article and some good points that might prove useful to any reloader of belted ammo.

[84Jim]

Well I've shot most of that batch of brass and can answer my own question.

I have a similar issue with some loose primer pockets in some Federal .223 brass, but not nearly that loose.  I have seen loose primers fall out of gas guns and jam the trigger mechanism, but have never seen or heard what the possible issues could be with a bolt gun.  Accordingly, i've decided to give that brass another loading but only use them in my bolt gun.  I'm thinking that the primer will expand with pressure and not do anything real bad, unless there is some gas leakage (which I plan to keep an eye out for, no pun intended).

My question is:  has anybody actually experienced a primer backing out or similar issues in a bolt gun with moderate loads?

I was cruising along with that batch of brass, very accurate, no primers backing out or any other ill effects (or so I thought).  Until I had a click, and saw that the primer had fallen out between my loading bench and a F-class match.  On the way home I relayed that story to my buddy, and he told me to be careful.  Leaking gas around a loose primer will etch the bolt face and could ruin the bolt if it happens enough.  Sure enough, when I got home and was cleaning my gun I noticed a ring on the bolt face around the primer pocket. So its in the scrap bucket with the rest of that brass.

Jim