How do I punch out these primers?

[Bang!]

Bought a bag of range brass at the range today. .308 of mixed headstamps.

LC 13
FC 308 Win
L2 A2 RG 69
CBC .308 Win
CBC 13
FNM 80 66
Nosler 308 Win
T Z 80
RG 89
LC 12
Norma 308

Got home and set up Lee Classic Cast single stage press with .308 Lee FL/decapping die. Grabbed a brass from pile, put it in shellholder, lowered handle and that didn't sound or feel right. Lifted handle and saw the decapper was broken off. Put in my Lee universal decapper die and broke that too. Didn't note which brass I grabbed but I think it was the CBC 13 on first try and T Z 80 on second try. That confirmed (for me anyway) these primer are different than what I've been dealing with. Been loading for a couple of months now but have only loaded my own once fired brass. I understand crimped primers and sealed primers but I didn't expect this. How do I punch these primers out?

On breaking the dies: I thought the first one was a fluke

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Much of the time a normal sizing/decapping die will remove crimped primers. There are also dedicated decapping dies which don't resize that can be used.

For those very hard to remove primers Lee has a very effective and inexpensive tool. It's a base and a hardened pin and it works.
They have 2, one for .22 caliber and the other for .30 caliber decapping.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/297408/lee-decapper-and-base-22-caliber
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/636747/lee-decapper-and-base-30-caliber

 

[SuperNaut]

Berdan decapper from RCBS:

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Berdan decapper from RCBS:

Some of those brands "may" be fitted with Bredan primers but not the Lake City, Federal, Norma/Nosler/Magtech .308 Win brass and most of the others.

Bang, look inside the empty cases and if you see one hole in the center of the base it's Boxer primers which you can use your dies on and if it has 2 small offset holes it's Bredan primed which is much more difficult to decap. (for the scrap bucket for the most part)

 

[rcmodel]

Look inside the cases before you break two decapping pins!!

Boxer primed brass you can deprime will have one centrally located flash hole.

Berdan primed brass you can't deprime without breaking pins will have two or more off-center flash holes.

Throw Berdan primed cases in the scrap brass heap and move on.

rc

 

[SuperNaut]

You can pop off the Berdan stuff, swage, drill, blah-blah-blah, or take rcmodel's excellent advice:

Throw Berdan primed cases in the scrap brass heap and move on.

rc

 

[KansasSasquatch]

Disclaimer: I've never reloaded .308/7.62x51 and have no experience with some of those headstamps...but:

LC 13
FC 308 Win
L2 A2 RG 69--Appears to be Radway Green of the UK, most likely Berdan primed.
CBC .308 Win
CBC 13
FNM 80 66---Fabrique Nacional, could be from Mexico or Portugal, either way it may be Berdan primed.
Nosler 308 Win
T Z 80---I believe this one is Israeli Military Industries, could be Berdan primed bust most IMI brass I've ran into in other calibers was Boxer primed.
RG 89---Most likely Radway Green as well and probably Berdan primed
LC 12
Norma 308

http://cartridgecollectors.org/?page=headstampcodes you can look up headstamps here. Just remember, this is the internet, so you KNOW it has to be true right?

Berdan primed brass isn't guaranteed to bust a decapping pin. Trust me, my Lee Universal De-capper die punched through a few x54R berdan primers that got mixed in with MY brass at the range, didn't hurt a thing, used that brass for dummy rounds. But Berdan primers sure increase your chances of breaking one.

 

[Bang!]

Just checked all 200 brass and 12 are Berdan. My good buddy Murphy (constant companion) says that I'm the guy that can twice reach into a bag of 200 brass and grab one of the 12 Berdan primed. I read about Berdan primers in the manuals. These are the first I came across. Wont make that mistake again. Thanks guys. And those 12 are now in the scrap bucket!

 

[nix4me]

Look out for these in 9mm too! I occasionally find them. Found 6 in the last 1000 i sized.

 

[FROGO207]

Another reason to look inside the brass for "stuff" would the chance of a smaller casing rattling around in there. Have found a .22 or something such in some of my casings before. A 40 S&W inside a 45 ACP will really ball things up if you miss it. Believe me Murphy will help all of us if he can.:banghead:

 

[jim243]

When I purchased my Universal Decaping Die I also purchased 4 additional rods for it. So far have not had to use them. Sort your brass by head stamp, if you find one case with Berdan primers in it all the same head stamp will also have Berdan primers in it. (toss into the brass recycle bin).

Next, when decaping cases bring your ram up slow, even crimped primers need no extra force in a good press to pop out. If you find resistance in decaping you need to stop and find out why.

Jim

 

[beatledog7]

Get a universal decapping die--you will use it a lot. Recycle Berdan brass as scrap--life is too short!

 

[Lj1941]

Lee Dies

I was resizing/ decapping some 762x25 fired cases. I THOUGHT it was all boxer primed. I had one that was extra hard to run through the die.I finally was able to get it done. Later, I was priming said brass in preparation for loading.One case had a very loose primer pocket. Upon examining the case with a flashlight,I found much to my surprise that the case had not one but 3 flash holes. I had mixed in a surplus berdan case and punched out the primer with my Lee sizing/ decapping die.Don't ever think that because Lee dies are low cost-they are inferior.

 

[KansasSasquatch]

Get a universal decapping die--you will use it a lot. Recycle Berdan brass as scrap--life is too short!

He has one. He broke it too.

 

[280shooter]

I pick brass up all the time. I found some very nice looking 223 brass,,i took it home, Looked down inside,, berden . Before I run any brass I look inside to see what type of primmer they are,,I broke a few decaping pins,

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I'm just wondering how the OP managed to break not one, but two decapping pins which were designed to slip through the collet instead of breaking when excessive resistance is met??? How did you do that?

 

[bfoosh006]

Throw out the TZ 80 brass..... known problems... it might not be the problem is with the brass... but IMHO it is not worth it to find out.

http://m14forum.com/ammunition/76940-tz-80-a.html

https://www.google.com/search?q=TZ+80&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-Address&ie=&oe=#q=tz+80+.308+ammo&rls=com.microsoft:en-US%3AIE-Address

 

[Bang!]

ArchAngel I'm not sure what your asking. The "Guaranteed unbreakable pins" (quoted from instructions that came with die) did not slide up, they broke. The pin in the .308 die curled and then broke. The universal decapper pin just snapped. I didn't strong arm the press handle either time and this was with two different brass. The instructions that come with the die sets state "considerable torque" may be needed to tighten decappers. That is only part of the story. With a little research I have the "rest of the story". There is a procedure to set the torque to only what is needed. Basically, torque it lightly and try to decap. The decapper should push up. Repeat this procedure increasing torque each time until the decapper remains in place and you push the primer out. This will save your decapping pin if you push against something stronger than a primer. I'm sure most already knew this, now I do. Additionally, both of my decappers were still set at factory torque. I hadn't adjusted them. Did I answer your question?


Thanks for the heads up on the TZ 80 brass.

 

[jr_roosa]

My RCBS .30-06 die did a great job of turning a berdan primed piece of brass into boxer primed. Felt a little stiff, but punched right through the bottom.

Now I check stuff first if it's found brass, and I shoot very little of that unless the crimp is still in place and it's only once fired and looks good.

-J.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Bang, it was just a question, not a criticism. I have and use Lee dies and was just wondering how all those pins broke, that's all...

 

[Elkins45]

Bang, it was just a question, not a criticism. I have and use Lee dies and was just wondering how all those pins broke, that's all...

I was wondering the same thing. Now I'm wondering if any of my Lee dies came over torqued from the factory like his did. Or if some of the decapper pins maybe leave the factory with a slightly rougher than normal finish and therefore don't slide as easily as they should.

This is something that's probably worth investigating with 308, 223 and 9mm dies because there's a reasonable chance of encountering a Brendan case in those calibers.