Lake City brass - primer pocket issue?

[BudgetBucks1]

I have heard that in order to safely use military brass that I have to take something out of the primer pocket. When I used old military 30.06 brass all I did was clean the pocket and ream it out a slight amount. After reaming it out a few turns with the deburring tool I could use most of it even though it was a tight fit. I just ordered several hundred rounds of 308 brass that is made in Lake City. Is using a deburring tool OK or do I need to do more in order to get good life expectancy out of this brass? Thanks.

 

[ReloaderFred]

Just remove the crimp from the mouth of the primer pocket.

Also, some .308/7.62 brass has been fired in machine guns with long headspace, so you may have trouble sizing this brass. You won't know until you get it, but you do need to be aware of the issue.

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[howlnmad]

Removing the primer crimp from several hundred rounds with a case deburring tool is going to take awhile and can be brutal on your hands. I'm to frugal to buy a swaging kit so I use a countersink in my drillpress or hand drill. I also have one that has a hex shaft and fits in my cordless screw driver. I just went through 600 cases of 7.62 NATO and I'm sure glad thats overwith. Now to resize half of them for 243 Win.

 

[readyeddy]

New brass should have no crimp.

 

[Reloadron]

There are several ways to remove a crimp ranging from a #2 Phillips screwdriver chucked up in a vise with an electric drill to tools designed to swage or ream a crimp pocket. Most newer NATO ammunition I have seen has no crimp as readyeddy mentions. So you can use a simple phillips screwdriver right on up to a fancy case prep center to a swager in your press. In the below image the S. African 308 has a very distinct crimp.

Sometimes primers go right onto crimped brass, sometimes not so much. Just a pile of variables.



Ron

 

[dagger dog]

I have heard that in order to safely use military brass that I have to take something out of the primer pocket. When I used old military 30.06 brass all I did was clean the pocket and ream it out a slight amount. After reaming it out a few turns with the deburring tool I could use most of it even though it was a tight fit. I just ordered several hundred rounds of 308 brass that is made in Lake City. Is using a deburring tool OK or do I need to do more in order to get good life expectancy out of this brass? Thanks.

BudgetBucks1,

That works with any crimped brass ! A simple solution. All it takes is time !

 

[arizona98tj]

I just ordered several hundred rounds of 308 brass that is made in Lake City.

Is this new brass or has it been fired? If new, you have no extra steps involved for preparing the primer pocket. If used brass, then yes, remove the military crimp.

 

[Magnum Shooter]

I didn't know you could buy new unfired brass from Lake City Army Ammunitions Plant.

 

[KansasSasquatch]

I didn't know you could buy new unfired brass from Lake City Army Ammunitions Plant.

Midwayusa has it from time to time. It doesn't seem to be too common, must be over-runs that they don't want laying around for some reason. You can even find primed LC brass on occasion.

 

[Swampman]

Posted by: Reloadron

Most newer NATO ammunition I have seen has no crimp

I'm going from memory here, but as best I can recollect, STANAG 2310 REQUIRES a crimped primer in any ammunition bearing the NATO "cross in circle" and intended for use by any NATO forces.

Obviously this wouldn't apply to brass that was pulled for whatever reason and offered for civilian sale, even if it was used to load Federal or Winchester ammo for commercial sale.

But I'm fairly certain that actual NATO ammunition intended for use by NATO forces HAS to have a crimped primer to meet interoperability requirements.

 

[Reloadron]

Posted by: Reloadron

I'm going from memory here, but as best I can recollect, STANAG 2310 REQUIRES a crimped primer in any ammunition bearing the NATO "cross in circle" and intended for use by any NATO forces.

Obviously this wouldn't apply to brass that was pulled for whatever reason and offered for civilian sale, even if it was used to load Federal or Winchester ammo for commercial sale.

But I'm fairly certain that actual NATO ammunition intended for use by NATO forces HAS to have a crimped primer to meet interoperability requirements.

Well, I do believe....

Looking at some Lake City 223 and there is in fact a primer ring crimp. Brass is LC 89 with the NATO cross in circle, additionally I have some LC 10 without NATO cross in circle and both have a primer ring crimp. From what I can see anyway. I stand corrected as far as what I am looking at here.

Thanks
Ron

 

[Speedster00]

The fastest way I've found is to use a 1/2" counter sink bit in a drill. Takes literally 2 seconds on each piece. You can find YouTube videos on it.

 

[warhwkbb]

This is the best tool I've ever used. A bit expensive, but worth every penny to me.

http://www.dillonprecision.com/content/p/9/pid/25263/catid/8/Super_Swage_600

 

[jaysouth]

I bought several hundred rounds of LC 13 brass from a local reloader supply. I assume that it had been fired in a machine gun because that is the internet lore. I decided that I would get a Redding small base full length resizing die to run all the brass through so it would fit in any of my .308s.

First I used a Lee universal decapper/deprimer die to punch out all the primers. Then I tumbled the brass in walnut shells. Then reamed out the primer crimp with a Lyman handheld primer pocket cleaner.

Then the fun part. I started with a spray on case lube. Not nearly slick enough. I then went to a resizing wax. Nope, my rock chucker bound up on some of the cases. Then, I pulled the last trick out of my sleeve. I used 2 cycle oil to lube the cases. I got down to the last hundred and stuck a case in my die. In trying to 'bubba' the case out, I ruined a very expensive die.

The rest of the cases went through a standard full length Lee resizing die with little effort

I had to soak the cases and wash them several times to get the 2 cycle oil off them.

It turns out that I did not need a small base die to properly resize the brass to fit my bolt and pump actions. Live and learn.

 

[USSR]

Unless once-fired LC brass has a headstamp with "Match", "NM", or "LR" on it, assume that it is machinegun fired.

Don

 

[Swampman]

jaysouth

With the recent exception of a buddy's custom built 6.5 A-Square, I've never run across a rifle that actually required small base dies to function properly.


The oddest thing is that his rifle is a bolt built on an old Ruger M-77 action.

I've probably loaded for at least a couple of hundred different levers, pumps and semi autos, not to mention a few machine guns. I've never run into any problems due to insufficiently sized cases and I don't own a single set of small base dies.

I've reloaded quite a bit of machine gun fired brass, both in the original caliber and reformed into others.

While I'll agree that the M-60 is pretty good at stretching brass when the headspace isn't properly set, sizing 8mm Lebel that's been fired in a perfectly set up French Chauchat (US troops in WWI called it the Sho-Sho, and a lot of other things I can't print here) is enough to make a strong man weep.

 

[jaysouth]

It took me a while to figure out that I did not need to use a small base sizing die. Live and learn, reloaders are constant fiddlers always trying to find that 'one more step' to making magic ammo.

The chances of finding any brass fired in an M-60 are remote these days. The M-240 has been around a long time by now.

 

[lightman]

Small Base dies are mostly made for rifles like the Browning BAR and the Savage 99. Some reloaders feel that they are needed on AR type rifles, but this has not been my experience. Automatic weapons are hard on brass, so if you buy once fired surplus brass you may occasionally have problems with sizing. Lightman

 

[edfardos]

Reaming pockets is ineffective in progressive pressives in my experience. One in twelve primers goes in sideways. I'd like to try a swagger some day.

 

[plodder]

There is nothing like the random infiltration of a primer pocket crimped .223 case to slow down a productive and efficient reloading session on the Dillon 650!:banghead:

I have learned the hard way run all my new "range find treasures" across the primer pocket tool that I added to my RCBS case prep center before I rotate them into the active roster.

 

[popper]

I do use a small base for 308 AR. If MG fired (most is) RCBS case lube works and run each case through the die twice ( the first time only). That stuff is tough and springy. Even the swager won't solve all problems. I found leaving the cases in the sun before priming helps, but I use a hand primer.

 

[Hemingways beard]

I must point out that Swampman is exercising his prejudice here by refusing to admit to the existence of the .260 Rem.
Not a big deal.
I'm the Bud with the ruger M77
In .260 rem.

 

[Swampman]

@Hemingways beard
I'm not the only person around that believes Remington and SAAMI essentially stole this chambering from A-Square.

The information below, taken from Wikipedia, is far less damning than what was written by McPherson in Cartridges of the World. (Sorry, but I can't remember the edition(s) and I'm currently unable to access my library).

From Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.260_Remington

"it was not Remington who first attempted to standardize the cartridge. LTC Arthur Alphin and his company A-Square LLC submitted the first proposal and drawings to SAAMI for the standardization of the cartridge. Remington was to file similar papers with SAAMI to do the same a few months later. When the dust settled it was found that the 6.5-08 would be called the .260 Remington instead of 6.5–08 A-Square."