Primer pocket/flash hole prep.

FiremanBill said:
Thanks a bunch guys. I think I might need to get the Dillon primer pocket uniformer at some point for the 5.56 crimped brass. Boy you can just keep on spending on different tools can't you. Thanks again....
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I use the K&M primer pocket uniformer, and it works very well. I do wish they'd sell it a few tenths smaller in diameter. Works very well with a Black & Decker electric screw driver. Being as the subject seems to evolve around the AR platform (I think anyway) the seating depth of the primer becomes critical for safety issues along. For AR's, I prefer to seat primers off my press as the primers are exactly .005" under the face. A bolt gun is different.

K&M sells one of the best priming tools out there. Sinclair has another good one, but cost 50% more. Both are great tools.

When deburring flash holes, I've never been comfortable with any I've owned. I use an RCBS most of the time, but it also has issues at the same time. It makes the flash hole larger. I know a couple guys that made the tip smaller by two or three thousandths, and maybe should have tried this myself. Guess nothing's ever perfect
gary
 
Trickymissfit said:
gotta get me one of those things. How many tenths of press fit does it have?
gary
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21st Century has nice stuff. Wish their hand primer had a feed tray.

Brass Prep for me. Buy lapua brass. Check trim length and chamfer case mouth.
 
i used the trimmer from my Lyman tool and it seemed to do fine removing a crimp but I haven't seeted a primer yet. I will at some point get a uniformer but one question? It just presses the crimp out or does it trim the crimp?
 
Trickymissfit said:
I think your method is my next move. How long of a life do the stainless steel pins have Skip?
gary
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Forever Gary. There are a couple issues, none not cureable. One, you need to get a retrieval magnet, the pins are slightly magnetic and a on-off retrieval magnet makes handling them a breeze. Frankfort Arsenal has them on Graff's website, and Cabelas has them too.

Secondly, use a rotary cob separator to get the pins out of the cases and the magnet to pick them out of the separator.

A couple 5 gallon buckets and a slop sink and you are good to go. I use the bathtub myself....lol

It's a lot quicker than dry media and they get as clean inside as outside.

The only irritation for me, is once in a while the pins get lodged in 30 caliber necks sideways. I pop them with a small screwdriver.

The speed of the cleaning and the primer pocket / flash hole cleaning more than makes up for any inconvenience and it's not dusty like cob is.

I gave my vibrating tumble away to a reloader just starting out.
 
SidecarFlip said:
Forever Gary. There are a couple issues, none not cureable. One, you need to get a retrieval magnet, the pins are slightly magnetic and a on-off retrieval magnet makes handling them a breeze. Frankfort Arsenal has them on Graff's website, and Cabelas has them too.

Secondly, use a rotary cob separator to get the pins out of the cases and the magnet to pick them out of the separator.

A couple 5 gallon buckets and a slop sink and you are good to go. I use the bathtub myself....lol

It's a lot quicker than dry media and they get as clean inside as outside.

The only irritation for me, is once in a while the pins get lodged in 30 caliber necks sideways. I pop them with a small screwdriver.

The speed of the cleaning and the primer pocket / flash hole cleaning more than makes up for any inconvenience and it's not dusty like cob is.

I gave my vibrating tumble away to a reloader just starting out.
Click to expand...

haven't tried wet tumbling with pins. I use an ultrasonic and it cleans them inside and out good enough for me. I still use my dry tumbler thought. After sizing I tumble to remove the lube. Shines them up real nice too. I like loading clean brass.
 
Because of what and how I load (mainly Bergers at extended jumps sized with John Whidden bushing dies and seated with front load PT&G seaters), I can actually feel the difference between cases cleaned the normal (dry media) way and wet tumbled.

There is a distinctly different feel when inserting a pill in a wet tumbled case, versus a dry media tumbled case, but the true and observable difference is in the primer pockets and flash holes. The stainless pins clean every bit of residue from the pockets and the flash holes, leaving nothing but clean shiny brass.

Wet tumbling don't give the high polish luster than dry tumbling does but you don't have to fiddle with primer pockets either and no cob to get stuck in flash holes either. I quit fiddling with pockets and flash holes once I switched to wet media.

In as much as I don't buy or size once fired brass (unless it's 556 Nato), all my sizing,decapping is done prior to wet tumbling so the cases are free of sizing lube anyway.

Far as 556 cases go, If I buy a bulk load, I use a dedicated decap die, wet tumble lightly, trim to length, FL resize and tumble again, then load 'em, though I haven't done any for quite a while. I believe I have around 7000 cases primed and sized for future use (all Federal Lake City Match) and at least 5K loaded and in ammo boxes for use. That should be enough to last me until I pass or until the government decides to outlaw firearms entirely, I'm 66. Interestingly, I don't own a black gun. Just 2, 223's one bolt and one semi auto.

I get my brass from Camp Perry at the National meet in June of every year, most of my propellants and pills too.
 
A simple knurling tool will remove the primer crimp just fine.

A primer pocket swage set used on your press will remove the crimp and swage the primer pocket back to the needed size but must be set to all different headstamps of brass. It's a pain if you are swaging many different types of brass.

A primer pocket uniformer cuts the primer pocket to a uniform depth and helps prevent high primers.

There are many different tools for many different brass prep needs. You need to figure out what you need to do. I have all tools listed.
 
Never saw a need to prep primer pockets or flash holes. Never had accuracy problems with off center flash holes.

Nobody worries about off center powder charges in cases that's more common.
 
The flash hole uniformer has a interweb following that says they who do it can see an improvement in the accuracy of their handloaded ammunition.

The tool costs about 15 to45 dollars. I am willing to buy one just to see if my already accurate round become more accurate.

I have ****ed away 45 dollors on crap that didn't do a thing for me, I am willing to try this one also.
 
I'd have to agree with Bart.

What diff does an off center flash hole make? Unless the case is loaded to full capacity with the pill seated, when the cartridge is in the chamber, the powder that occupies the space between the end of the pill and the cartridge base can be laying at any angle, dependent on how it's settled., or how the rifle is shouldered.

Lets use a partially full saltshaker... Lay it on it's side and observe the salt. Unless you shake it around in that position, the salt isn't laying parallel to the plane the shaker is in..... Same scenario applies unless...

The cartridge is filled at 100% capacity and the pill insertion 'compresses' the charge, then the charge is stationary but only in that case.

Most cartridges are not loaded to 100% capacity. In my experience, most handloads shoot tighter groups at less than a compressed charge state.
 
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