Berdan primers

[etisll40]

I have a fair amount of Berdan primed 7.62x51 and 6.50x55 brass. Can this be reloaded? Can it be converted to boxer? This military type brass is pretty durable isn't it? Any help please.

Ed

 

[Kevin Thomas]

Hi Ed,

There's a couple of answers here. Yes, Berdan cases can be reloaded. It's not worth it, is a HUGE pain in the arse, messy, hard to get components (primers) for and requires some specialized equipment. Something to consider only if you're dealing with very rare ammo that can't be formed from anything else, or purchased elsewhere. No, you can't convert them from Berdan to Boxer. To paraphrase here a bit, they be what they be. As for durability, again, yes and no. You'll find brass that will run the entire gamut of quality, from quite high to frighteningly bad when it comes military stuff, depending on where it comes from.

The two calibers you've cited here are readily available as commercial components, and aren't worth bothering with in Berdan format. Shoot 'em up, save the brass, and sell it for scrap when you have enough. Trust me, life's to short to reload Berdan cases!

Kevin Thomas
Lapua USA

 

[etisll40]

Thanks Kevin,

Do you make brass for 6.5x55 and where can I buy it cheapest?

How about 7mm wsm.

Thanks again,
Ed

 

[Gene]

The best and cheapest place for brass (also primers and powder) is

www.powdervalley.com.

 

[J E Custom]

Hi Ed,

There's a couple of answers here. Yes, Berdan cases can be reloaded. It's not worth it, is a HUGE pain in the arse, messy, hard to get components (primers) for and requires some specialized equipment. Something to consider only if you're dealing with very rare ammo that can't be formed from anything else, or purchased elsewhere. No, you can't convert them from Berdan to Boxer. To paraphrase here a bit, they be what they be. As for durability, again, yes and no. You'll find brass that will run the entire gamut of quality, from quite high to frighteningly bad when it comes military stuff, depending on where it comes from.

The two calibers you've cited here are readily available as commercial components, and aren't worth bothering with in Berdan format. Shoot 'em up, save the brass, and sell it for scrap when you have enough. Trust me, life's to short to reload Berdan cases!

Kevin Thomas
Lapua USA

+1

Also a lot of the Berdan primed ammo is corrosive and should not be used in some
modern rifles.

The brass/steel cases are tough but not very good quality because it was not intened
to be reloaded in the first place.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Kevin Thomas]

Hi Ed,

We (Lapua) do indeed make 6.5x55, and fine stuff it is! However, no one will tout us for having the cheapest stuff around; we're on the high end, both in terms of quality and (unfortunately) price. As I said, these two (6.5x55 and 7.63x51/308 Win) are very readily available from Winchester, Federal, Remington, etc., all the usual suspects. Gene gave you a link to Powder Valley, and they'd be worth a check. We don't yet produce a 7mm WSM, so you'll have to go to one of the domestic makers for these anyway. No problem, they're out there.

Hope this helps!

Kevin Thomas
Lapua USA