primer pocket reamer?

[Frogman77]

can anyone reccomend a primer pocket reamer? I've got some .30-06 mil surplus ammo that I want to reload but I've heard I need to remove the crimp for the primer.

Anyone know where I can get one or has one that would like to sell??

[Jmurman]

You're going to need more than a primer pocket reamer to remove the crimp from mil surp 30.06.

I use Korean KA brass from my .06 Garand to reload with. You'll need a swager to get the crimp out of the primer pocket and THEN use the pocket reamer to uniform the primer pocket. Using a reamer alone will wear your bu## out trying to remove that much brass.

I use a RCBS swager from mine and it works well. Dillon and Lee also sell swagers for this too.

[ADfields]

The swage forces the crimp back and keeps more material in place around the pocket. Definitely swage then ream if you want your cases to last.

Also it may be berdan primed and you would need a special decapping tool for it with 2 pins. Then drill out or otherwise remove the anvil before priming with a boxer type primer. The only good thing about this is you only need to do it once with each case, next reload is like normal boxer brass.

You can get your tools here. http://www.midwayusa.com/


Andy

[Frogman77]

wow..I thought I just needed the reamer.... so I need both the reamer and the swagger?

thanks guys.

[Nitroman]

www.ch4d.com

[gunbugs]

Presuming you're using US military brass, then you can use just the RCBS swaging tool. This fits in the press and produces a nice rolled edge to the pocket when used correctly. Reaming the pockets is probably not required. Just keep an eye on your seating depth as you prime them and make sure they are O.K. I've loaded over 30,000 rounds of U.S. military brass over the years without any significant problems.

[Jmurman]

Once the brass is swaged, then you'll not need to do it again. I use the primer pocket reamer/uniformer as I use Mil brass in my bolt gun and look for consistency. With my Garand, it's not that important. Just make sure that the primer is set slightly below the rim of the case.

[pinehavensredrocket]

can anyone reccomend a primer pocket reamer? I've got some .30-06 mil surplus ammo that I want to reload but I've heard I need to remove the crimp for the primer.

Anyone know where I can get one or has one that would like to sell??

dillon makes a really useful swager, and it will work on large and small primer pockets. as mentioned earlier......no removal of material, so the cas will be potentially stronger. the "machine" supports the case, and leverage will make the primer pocket perfect.

rcbs makes a set of hand reamers for cheap. they are graduated for width and depth to only remove that necessary material to accept a new primer. slow process, but i have used it on small batches of military brass with success. good luck and...

[Frogman77]

I ordered some greek surplus ammo from CMP in .30-06 does this ammo need the crimp removed/ does it have a crimp??

[ADfields]

I ordered some greek surplus ammo from CMP in .30-06 does this ammo need the crimp removed/ does it have a crimp??

If it is military surplus I would guess 95% chance its crimped. Military crimps them to reduce the chance that a primer falls out and jams the gun, very important for use in automatic weapons that lives depend on. Since it's from Europe but a US chambering 50-50 chance on boxer or berdan primed. Often if boxer primed they will say that up front to help sell it, like saying its non corrosive primed.

Andy

[Frogman77]

it does say boxer primed....

does berdan primed indicate a crimp and boxer not crimped???

[Murphy]

it does say boxer primed....

does berdan primed indicate a crimp and boxer not crimped???

No. Berdan primed is generally considered non reloadable for two reasons. You can't get the old primer out and you can't find new Berdan primers. Well you can but not an easy for either task. Both Boxer and Berdan primed will be crimped.

I've loaded thousands of rounds of crimped militry brass, 30-06, 308, 223 and 45 ACP and when needed the RCBS primer pocket swaging tool works very well and is easy to use. Just another stage in the press. You only need to do it once then seat primer to the bottom of the pocket. Load as usual. Just consider that most military brass is thicker than commercial and reduce loads slightly to work up.

[ADfields]

No. Berdan primed is generally considered non reloadable for two reasons. You can't get the old primer out and you can't find new Berdan primers. Well you can but not an easy for either task.

Berdan primers are not at all hard to remove and berdan pockets are easy to convert to boxer pockets. . . just takes tools and some knowledge. I would not even guess at the number of brass I have converted over the years. It was one of the first "jobs" my Dad had me doing in the gun room when I was about 6 years old reworking 7.7 Jap brass.

Andy

[Jmurman]

I ordered some greek surplus ammo from CMP in .30-06 does this ammo need the crimp removed/ does it have a crimp??

The Greek CMP ammo is good stuff. Yeah it'll need to be swaged...no big deal. Like Adfields says, it's just another step in the process.