Help decapping 5.56 military brass

[JustaShooter]

OK, I'm about ready to give up.  I have about a hundred pieces of military 5.56 brass, headstamp has an F, N, and 77 evenly spaced around the head.  Primer is crimped (actually, I think it is called "staked" in this case) with what look like 3 equally spaced rectangular punch marks, and is also sealed with a black sealer. 



I've broken 4 decapping rods (2 RCBS and 2 Lee) trying to get the primer out of this brass.  (Yes, I over-tightened the Lee trying to get the silly things out.) I've NEVER had this much trouble with military brass before - 9mm, .30-06, 7.62, none of it has been nearly this tough.

Anybody have any suggestions on how to get this done without any more aggravation than I've already been through?

Just a Shooter

[OR-E-Gun Bill]

I'd suspect since they are a Belgium made case that the primer used is a primer like the one in the picture on the right, Berdan.



Have you looked inside the case to check?

A better graphic showing the different flash hole configurations of the Boxer on the left and the Berdan on the right.


Bill

[Grumulkin]

Just look down in the case.  If there is one flash hole is a Boxer primed case; if there are two small flash holes is Berden primed.  If it's Berden primed, sell it to a recycler or toss it.

[Lloyd Smale]

223 brass is so cheap if i was breaking decapping pins id probably just toss it and find a differnt batch. I dont think ive ever run into berdan primed .223. Now i have ran into alot of berdan primed 308s

[JRiddle]

I agree with the other guys, first you have to make sure it's not Berdan,,,if so get rid of it.  But most likely it's not, as I've never run across any in 5.56 in several thousands pieces of brass.  Anyway, here's a neat little decapper by Lee that I use, only about 6 bucks, and guaranteed unbreakable.  It's a little more time consuming to prepare crimped brass, as you have to manually punch the old primer, and you will also need to get a small primer pocket reamer to 'uniform' the pocket back to accept a new primer. But it's not really that bad, and only has to be done once.
 http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=297408
Good luck
JR

[Siskiyou]

I broke one!

[stimpylu32]

My first guess is that its Berdan primed , you don't see much of it anymore BUT there is some out there , I ran across a batch of 5.56 about a year ago , it was Russian if I remember correctly , yet who knows who's making ammo these days .

stimpy

[JustaShooter]

Sorry, I didn't make it clear - it is boxer primed, and in the process of breaking those pins I've managed to decap 10 cases.

JRiddle, that is the exact Lee decapper I broke two pins - one on mine, and one on my buddy's.  I thought I broke mine by being too snappy & energetic on the press handle when I hit the first military case in a batch of mixed cases I was prepping.  I broke his after 3 or 4 of the military cases - I kept tightening the rod until I got one primer out without pushing the rod up in the collar, and was careful to use steady even pressure, but it still broke a couple of cases later.  Then he gave me his RCBS to try, same story.  

Now I owe him a few replacement decapping pins/rods, of course, but more than that I want to know how in the world to deal with these.  I don't give up easy, but I also don't throw good money after bad so unless someone has some ideas I'm either going to add it to the scrap bucket or sell/give it away.

Just a Shooter

[JRiddle]

You don't use that decapper in your press.  You set the base on the bench, set a piece of brass in the little hole, slide the rod into the brass, then hit it with a hammer.

[Smokin Joe]

Get on the phone to Lee. Get these:



223 decapper ($2.50) # RE1556



223 decap chamber ($2.00) # RE1583

Get a plastic mallet and you're done.

[Grumulkin]

Another thing that can break decapping rods is if the flash hole is way off center.  It would be a bad batch of brass indeed if that many were way off center.

[JustaShooter]

You don't use that decapper in your press.  You set the base on the bench, set a piece of brass in the little hole, slide the rod into the brass, then hit it with a hammer.

My bad, I misunderstood (I'm good at that sometimes).  I thought you were talking about the Lee universal decapping die.  That looks like it would do the job for sure.

Thanks everyone!

Just a Shooter

[securitysix]

Another thing that can break decapping rods is if the flash hole is way off center.  It would be a bad batch of brass indeed if that many were way off center.

That, or if the flash holes are way undersized.

[84Jim]

I don't think that berdan primers come in small rifle size...

[OR-E-Gun Bill]

Never mind...   


Bill

[securitysix]

I don't think that berdan primers come in small rifle size...

Barnaul uses Berdan primers for their .223 Remington ammunition.  In fact, there is a wider range of sizes for Berdan primers than there are for Boxer, though Berdan primers are uncommon in the US anyway, and of what's here, there are only a couple of sizes that could be called "common" here.

[84Jim]

SS,

I stand corrected!  Just because I've never seen a small rifle version doesn't mean they don't exist...

Jim

[securitysix]

Well, now you know.  And knowing, as they say, is half the battle. 

[necchi]

I've broken 4 decapping rods,,,,,,,,, .

Anybody have any suggestions on how to get this done without any more aggravation than I've already been through?

 Ya I have a suggestion. Do like I do,, when your at the range and find Berdan primed cases,,, leave'm lay. Or, pick'm up just to toss in the scrap bucket, an ice cream pail full of brass cases is worth about $20 at the scrap yard.

 Trying to get Berdan Primed cases to work with Boxer primer equipment quit simply isn't worth the hassel 
 

[JustaShooter]

I've broken 4 decapping rods,,,,,,,,, .

Anybody have any suggestions on how to get this done without any more aggravation than I've already been through?

Ya I have a suggestion. Do like I do,, when your at the range and find Berdan primed cases,,, leave'm lay. Or, pick'm up just to toss in the scrap bucket, an ice cream pail full of brass cases is worth about $20 at the scrap yard.

Trying to get Berdan Primed cases to work with Boxer primer equipment quit simply isn't worth the hassel 
 

As I noted in a reply, they aren't Berdan, they are Boxer, just the toughest batch of crimped primers I'd ever encountered.

Just a Shooter

[trotterlg]

I guess the next question should be.........................Have you tried to put a primer back in them?  Larry

[JustaShooter]

I guess the next question should be.........................Have you tried to put a primer back in them?  Larry

No I haven't, but that's a good point - I ought to take a couple of the ones I got the primer out of, remove the crimp and see how it goes.  Might not be worth processing the rest...

Just a Shooter

[moorepower]

RCBS has a neat swage tool that goes in your press if you are just going to do a few or a few hundred.

[Richard P]

It's interesting to note that Berdan was an American and Boxer was British.  Each country adopted the priming method of the other.  It isnt so much that Berdan cases cant be reprimed and used; its that the method is awkward and tedious.

[stimpylu32]

Mis-tree solved  , I got some of the case's from shooter today , their Berdan primed , and talk about a thick base metal , no wonder he broke so many pins , these things are running an ave, of 10g heavier than any of the other 223 case's that I have , all in the base of the case . 

However I have another hair-brained idea I want to try on these before calling them junk though . 

stimpy

[JustaShooter]

I dunno about the mystery being solved, cause unless I'm blind those cases have a single flash hole in the center of the case head, which makes them Boxer, right?.  I managed to get about 10 of the stubborn things deprimed, and I don't think it is possible for me to push a nice, clean hole through the base of a Berdan primed case with a decapping rod...   I wish I'd have taken some pictures of the ones I did deprime so you could see, but they are mixed in there with the others somewhere.

Just a Shooter

[eye shot]

How to Berdan to Boxer,  users.ameritech.net/mchandler/primer.html

[DANNY-L]

I just p/u some 30-06 that looked like them,there were 6 like those, I p/u on it quick because of seeing them on here. They were boxer primed and took a little extra force to deprime but they all did,I then swagged them but I dont think it was needed. The 3 indents didnt go inward towards the primer pocket I didnt prime them yet but it looks like it will be ok.