Lake City Primer Pockets - Need Measurement

[realbuffdriver]

I am having difficulty uniforming the primer pockets on some .308 Lake City Cases. I believe that I have successfully removed the crimp, having run them through the RCBS pocket swager and also lightly chamfered the edge of the pocket.

When I try to uniform the primer pocket, the tool is too tight to fit into the pocket without binding up. Here are some measurements (diameter) that I made:

Lake City pocket: .206
RCBS Uniformer Tool: .208
Greek (Pyrkal) pocket: .210

So, it's obvious why the tool is binding. I can prime these cases with CCI #34 primers, but they definitely seat hard. The primers seat smoothly and positively in the Greek 30-06 cases.

I was hoping some of you could provide measurements for your military large primer pockets for comparison.

Thanks,

RealBuffDriver

 

[jaholder1971]

Get the Dillon swager and don't worry.

 

[rg1]

I checked 2 different year LC 308 cases after swaging the primer pocket with the RCBS swager. Both cases had the pocket at .207" diameter. My swage die is also .208". 30-06 crimped cases were the same and uncrimped RP and Win 30-06 cases were .207". These measurements were with calipers and are not to the tenths of thousandths. You have to hit the pocket on some crimps pretty hard and requires banging the handle down. I sometimes double hit the swager on tough deep crimps. Somebody said they use a little case lube wax on the swager every few cases to ease swaging. Gonna try that myself next time.
Note that the radius at the bottom of the .208 dia shaft is actually doing the swaging and not the .208 dia shaft itself. RP primers are .210", Fed .212, CCI at 211.2-211.3, and Win are 211.4 according to this site:
http://www.jamescalhoon.com/primers_and_pressure.php
You have to be careful starting primers straight into swaged pockets. You kind of need to feel that it's aligned before applying seating force.

 

[Clark]

SAAMI specifications on primers and primer pockets per "Sinclair International's Precision Reloading & Shooting Handbook" 10th edition 1999

......................Depth min max diameter min max
small rifle primer pocket .117 .123 .1730 .1745
small pistol primer pocket .117 .123 .1730 .1745
Large rifle primer pocket .125 .132 .2085 .2100
Large pistol primer pocket .117 .123 .2085 .2100

.......................Height min max Diameter min max
Small rifle primers .115 .125 .1745 .1765
small pistol primers .115 .125 .1745 .1765
large rifle primers .123 .133 .2105 .2130
large pistol primers .115 .125 .2100 .2120"

 

[USSR]

Get the Dillon swager and don't worry.

+1.

Don

 

[realbuffdriver]

Thanks, all, for your responses. I am not certain why the RCBS tool is not working for me, but Dillon certainly seems to be the way to go. Like many problems that I've encountered in reloading, throwing money at the problem looks to be the answer.

Cheers,

RealBuffDriver