.308 primer pocket differences?

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vanfunk

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Hi Everyone:

I am not new to reloading but I am relatively new to reloading for rifles. About six months ago I started reloading for .308 and a friend gifted me some Starline and Remington brass, which has been easy to reload. A few days ago I came into possession of about a thousand cases of .308 commercial brass, cleaned but still with spent primers in place. To my consternation, I have found that Federal, Hornady and Aguila cases seem to have primer pockets that are smaller than Starline and Remington and will not accept a standard large rifle primer (CCI and Fiocchi in my case). My feeble Lyman primer pocket hand uniformer tool is no match for these cases, so I have a few hundred cases I can’t use ‘til I figure out a fix. So please enlighten me if you can - these are commercial .308 cases and not crimped military 7.62 brass so I don’t get what’s going on here. Help!

Thanks!
 
That’s good, because I didn’t upload a picture :)

I can if that would be helpful - I just imagined it’s something obvious that my ignorant mind has missed.
 
Are they not for small rifle primers?
Starline has both (308 Win for large rifle primers and 308 Match for small rifle primers).

I do not know definitively that Federal, Hornady and Aguila make SRP cases - but it sounds like they do.

Get some SRP.
 
They’re definitely LRP pockets, too small for LRPs but too big for SRPs. There’s a sort-of “band” around the inside of the pocket, almost like the bottom of the spent primer came out but the side ring got left in place. That’s not what happened, just how it looks.
 
Yes, I’m using a primer pocket uniformer (Lyman) but it’s nowhere near up to the task. I need a lathe for these babies, lol. Funny, I went down to find a suitable case to photograph and… picked one Federal case, popped the primer… and it was fine. Picked another one… popped the primer… it’s fine. WTH? Picked another… fine. Sheesh. Now I need to find the “bad” ones. Where’d I put them again? Might have to wait ‘til tomorrow for pics.
 
vanfunk said:
They’re definitely LRP pockets, too small for LRPs but too big for SRPs. There’s a sort-of “band” around the inside of the pocket, almost like the bottom of the spent primer came out but the side ring got left in place. That’s not what happened, just how it looks.
Click to expand...
Crimped?

This sounds a bit off. Not Large, not Small, not crimped, 3 Brands
 
Sounds like they are crimped. I just went through this myself as I didn't expect commercial 308 brass to be crimped. However, some was/wasn't from the same maker.

So, get a reamer (my preference for crimp removal) to get the crimp gone and then you should be in business.

308 is a great round to reload.
 
Cheesemaker said:
Are they not for small rifle primers?
Starline has both (308 Win for large rifle primers and 308 Match for small rifle primers).

I do not know definitively that Federal, Hornady and Aguila make SRP cases - but it sounds like they do.

Get some SRP.
Click to expand...

WTH. H instead of foxtrot. Why would anyone for the love of all that is normal, put small primer pockets in 308 brass? Golly gee willikers. I can see issues with crimps. Normal stuff, but small primers, that just isn’t right.
 
dh1633pm said:
WTH. H instead of foxtrot. Why would anyone for the love of all that is normal, put small primer pockets in 308 brass? Golly gee willikers. I can see issues with crimps. Normal stuff, but small primers, that just isn’t right.
Click to expand...
Palma…. And since I’m find srp everywhere and very few LRP, I might be abnormal and try some… lol

I had some federal that was crimped. And I ruined a primer or two figuring it out. It’s all separate for now. Swage or “saw”, that is the question…
 
vanfunk said:
Hi Everyone:

I am not new to reloading but I am relatively new to reloading for rifles. About six months ago I started reloading for .308 and a friend gifted me some Starline and Remington brass, which has been easy to reload. A few days ago I came into possession of about a thousand cases of .308 commercial brass, cleaned but still with spent primers in place. To my consternation, I have found that Federal, Hornady and Aguila cases seem to have primer pockets that are smaller than Starline and Remington and will not accept a standard large rifle primer (CCI and Fiocchi in my case). My feeble Lyman primer pocket hand uniformer tool is no match for these cases, so I have a few hundred cases I can’t use ‘til I figure out a fix. So please enlighten me if you can - these are commercial .308 cases and not crimped military 7.62 brass so I don’t get what’s going on here. Help!

Thanks!
Click to expand...
You were gifted the best of the civ brass. I much prefer rem of the domestic producers. Hornaday is in fact crimped and needs the crimp removed. I like the rcbs military crimp remover. The Aguila is trash imo. The federal is servisable but last choice of the domestic producers.
 
vanfunk said:
There’s a sort-of “band” around the inside of the pocket, almost like the bottom of the spent primer came out but the side ring got left in place. That’s not what happened, just how it looks.
Click to expand...
It's been known to happen, but doubtful with that many cases, still possible though.

Pics would be a huge help.
 
dh1633pm said:
WTH. H instead of foxtrot. Why would anyone for the love of all that is normal, put small primer pockets in 308 brass? Golly gee willikers. I can see issues with crimps. Normal stuff, but small primers, that just isn’t right.
Click to expand...
I'd like some srp brass just to keep shooting when the lrp are gone. They have been much harder to find than srpm. I bought cci 41s last week.
 
Yes some of the commercial brass is crimped & they are not regular at it some you get are crimped some are not you just have to feel your way through. I have found it in .223, 5.56, .300 blackout, 6.5 Creedmoor small & large primer, 350 legend, .308, & .45 auto small & large primer, 9mm, 40 S&W & .380 in pistol.
 
You know there is a primer shortage when the factory ammo has crimped in primers... to keep people from stealing them.

jpVrXCml.jpg
 
I hate separating brass as you may have already noticed. I have a good collection of Large Rifle, so its not an issue for me. Trying to fit a large primer in a small hole is always a pain. Crimps not so much.
 
Tapping in and waiting for the picture. It could be you’ve got some ringers - the outer band of the primer is welded in the pocket.
 
Thanks for the great input and suggestions, guys! It is sounding as though some of this brass is crimped. Funny, I had imagined that crimped primers would show “divots” or signs of staking in place on the bottom of the case; apparently not. I’m not heartbroken as the Federal and Aguila cases are the least “attractive” of all the brass I have and show the most variation in OAL. Maybe I’ll set those aside as a special project for cheap blasting ammo with clearance blemished or pulled bullets. The Winchester and Norma cases seem to be the best. Anyway, it was nice to get all the cases and the price couldn’t be beat. We got 18” of snow yesterday so I’ll be spending much of the day behind the snow blower, but I’ll still see if ai can get a pic or two up today. THANKS AGAIN!
 
vanfunk said:
Thanks for the great input and suggestions, guys! It is sounding as though some of this brass is crimped. Funny, I had imagined that crimped primers would show “divots” or signs of staking in place on the bottom of the case; apparently not. I’m not heartbroken as the Federal and Aguila cases are the least “attractive” of all the brass I have and show the most variation in OAL. Maybe I’ll set those aside as a special project for cheap blasting ammo with clearance blemished or pulled bullets. The Winchester and Norma cases seem to be the best. Anyway, it was nice to get all the cases and the price couldn’t be beat. We got 18” of snow yesterday so I’ll be spending much of the day behind the snow blower, but I’ll still see if ai can get a pic or two up today. THANKS AGAIN!
Click to expand...
The Hornaday cases use a circle crimp. It's just a ring seen outside the primer.....
When did Norma get added to the mix. I'm now using it because it's the best brass I can find overall. There is a military and civilian version. The military brass weighs 175 ish grains and the civ about 10 grains less. I segregate and load them differently. PPU and several other brands are like this.

If it has a nato symbol, it's likely crimped and 175 class.
 
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