do you always have to swage/reem crimped primer pockets?

[SSN Vet]

Last year I loaded up some Fiacchi 223 brass I scrounged on the range.

I was under the impression than only the Nato stamped Mil. Surp. brass (Lake City, etc...) was crimped.

the Fiocchi brass had a very slight ring around the primer which looked much different than the heavilly crimped Lake City brass that I set aside.

So not knowing better, I loaded it up. In my notes I wrote that a few of the primers went in "crunchy".

I shot off the rounds earlier this summer without any noticeable problems. Certainly no slamfires. Accuracy seemed the same as reloads using RP brass.

Since that time I've learned exactly what a primer pocket crimp is and now know that these Fiocchi cases were indeed crimped.

So I'm going back to re-processing some of this brass. I was depriming and sizing last night. Brass that is under 1.76", I'm priming and loading. 1.76" and longer I'm trimming.

Just for kicks and giggles (learning by experimenting you know) I primed some of this Fiocchi brass.

(Note: I'm priming on the LCT press.)

If I make sure the case is as far as it can go into the shell plate, the primers slide in smoothly. They are nice and snug, but know binding or scraping.

One case wasn't all the way back into the shell plate and the primer scraped just a little going in, but seated flat with no noticeable damage.

So I loaded and fired this brass once without swaging or reeming.

Should I do it again?

 

[45ACPUSER]

Once it is done, that chore is done!

 

[evan price]

Some brass has a stronger crimp than others. If your primers are a little thick or have a little less bevel they may have more trouble going in. If you are OK with the way it is, leave it alone.

 

[rcmodel]

If it has any crimp, and offers any more resistance then normal, it needs to be removed.

Hard to seat primers often result in cracking or crushing the primer compound pellet.

That can lead to overly sensitive primers, which are not a good thing to have in an AR-15.

rcmodel

 

[ants]

I don't think you did anything wrong.

Since it was range brass, it might have already been swaged by the previous owner.

The drawback of swaging is that you can't tell by visual inspection that it has been swaged. The value of reaming is that you can tell at a glance. In the future you may look into reaming rather than swaging. Commercial reloaders here in the West ream rather than swage. Nothing wrong with it at all.

Each time a brass case is discharged, the head (and primer pocket) expands by 3 to 5 ten thousands (.0003 to .0005) inches. If the pocket was only lightly crimped, it may expand enough to take primers easily after 2 or 3 firings. You'll have to make the careful judgement on a case-by-case basis.

If the primers seat smoothly, load and shoot the dang things.

Occasionally a non-crimped commercial primer pocket will be very tight. The reasonable warnings regarding primers that do not seat smoothly also apply to non-crimped pockets. It's a safety thing.

 

[Bullet]