Primer pockets primers hard to get in.

Scottkuy

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Tennesse
I am reloading form fired Brass and having to clean every primer pocket to get the new primer to seat. Is this a normal condition.
I just started to reload rifle rounds have been loading shot shells for years.
 
Any pics of pockets? Can't imagine they're crimped but, heck ya never know.
 
I've run into this problem a couple of times with commercial (never crimped-in primer) brass. If you have different brands of primers suitable for your brass, I'd give them a try. Sometimes less than one-thousand of an inch difference can make a primer easy or hard to seat. And, by the way, it's always a good idea to start new or once-fired brass with a primer pocket "uniforming" using a simple hand-held tool. I use the same tool to remove the thin layer of residue left when the round is fired. -Ed
 
The Brass is Hornday once fired .
I've had the same problem with Hornady 308 brass once fired and for some reason I had to hit them just a tad with pocket reamer....Why? don't know maybe mine were crimped. It seemed odd to me as the headstamp read "308" not 7.62 or MiL headstamp.
 
If you stand the primed case on something flat like window glass does it wobble until you clean the primer pocket?
 
If you ever get tight pockets like this, changing brands can often fix the issue...but a definite fix is to use Winchester primers, the brass coloured ones, they are smaller than every other brand and will fit almost any case, even tight Lapua brass.

Cheers.
 
I've swabbed a light coat of Hornady case lube on a Qtip in the past and lubed the walls of the primer pocket in the case head. A light coat, unseen by the eye.... before folks freak out. Never noticed any difference in MV due to the light lubing. Will allow the primer to slide in and bottom quite nicely.

I generally only to do this with brand new cases, should I find the intial priming going difficultly. The primers usually go in easier with each successive priming of the cases.
 
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