Lake city 5.56 brass primer seating issues

[Trigger Time 23]

I recently purchased some once fired lake city5.56 brass that was deprimed and swagged. I am trying to seat federal 205 primers and am getting tight as well as high primers on a bunch of these. I have deprimed and then re-reamed these pockets, and I am still getting high primers.
I am considering trying a different brand of primer, or purchasing dillons super swagger if it would resolve the issue, but I don't know if either would help. Does anyone have any ideas, or suggestions?

 

[gunsnjeeps]

The super swager will set the crimp back into the pocket but not make the pocket deeper. Reaming generally cuts the crimp out, there are uniforming reams that will cut depth also. I don't know if that is the problem though. A different primer may seat easier but I'm thinking there is something else going on. I don't recall which brand of ream I have but I know it'll cut the crimp out and chamfer the edge of the pocket but not cut depth. Is it posible that you need to cut a touch more?

How are you seating? Progressive press, hand priming etc.? I'll guess the pockets are clean enough. Once fired, or even two or three shouldn't have that much build up. I'll also guess that "high" is protruding.

 

[oldfudd]

Sinclair makes a relative inexpensive carbide primer pocket tool that can either be hand held or fitted to an electric screwdriver to cut the primer pocket to correct design depth. These cutters come in three sizes: large rifle, large pistol and small pistol/small rifle. Large rifle and large pistol cut to different design depths. Small pistol and small rifle cut to the same depth. What you need for 5.56 rifle brass is the small rifle/small pistol cutter. The cutter does not change the primer pocket diameter, only the primer pocket depth, and will not remove any crimp that exists. If necessary, any crimp can be used by a RCBS crimp remover or other tools available.

 

[Trigger Time 23]

The super swager will set the crimp back into the pocket but not make the pocket deeper. Reaming generally cuts the crimp out, there are uniforming reams that will cut depth also. I don't know if that is the problem though. A different primer may seat easier but I'm thinking there is something else going on. I don't recall which brand of ream I have but I know it'll cut the crimp out and chamfer the edge of the pocket but not cut depth. Is it posible that you need to cut a touch more?

How are you seating? Progressive press, hand priming etc.? I'll guess the pockets are clean enough. Once fired, or even two or three shouldn't have that much build up. I'll also guess that "high" is protruding.

I am seating on a progressive press and the pockets appear to be clean enough. Also, "high" is protruding.

 

[Trigger Time 23]

I will try one of these Sinclair tools and see how it goes. I have 1,00 primers and 1,000 pieces of brass, so hopefully I can make this work.

 

[Pinecone]

I have reamed a fairly large number of LC brass with a Lyman hand reamer. And done even more with a Dillon Super Swager.

Either way, I have never had a problem with high primers.

If a case gets through without being reamed enough or not swaged, I get a priemr with a cut cut (edge catches and folds back), or a cockeyed primer.

I assume you have primed other cases on the press and know how much force is needed to fully seat a primer?

 

[gunsnjeeps]

I am seating on a progressive press and the pockets appear to be clean enough. Also, "high" is protruding.

Just making sure on the high. My only thought would be to check the seating adjustment on the primer. I can't help much more as I haven't done much on progressive loaders. If you hand prime how do they seat?

 

[Trigger Time 23]

I have reamed a fairly large number of LC brass with a Lyman hand reamer. And done even more with a Dillon Super Swager.

Either way, I have never had a problem with high primers.

If a case gets through without being reamed enough or not swaged, I get a priemr with a cut cut (edge catches and folds back), or a cockeyed primer.

I assume you have primed other cases on the press and know how much force is needed to fully seat a primer?

I have primed lots on this press as well as a hand primer and a single stage. These primers are not seating correctly. Hopefully the Sinclair tool resolves the issue. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[Trigger Time 23]

Just making sure on the high. My only thought would be to check the seating adjustment on the primer. I can't help much more as I haven't done much on progressive loaders. If you hand prime how do they seat?

I am confident that hand priming would not help, but if the Sinclair tool does not work I will pick up the shell holder for this brass and give hand seating a go. Thanks for the help.

 

[oldfatguy]

Oldfud hit your problem. Get a primer pocket uniformer. I use one on all my new brass and it cuts the bottom of EVERY primer pocket it has been used in.

OFG

 

[Clark]

I got a Lyman pocket uniformer ~ 12 years ago for S&B 7.62x54r brass that did not have a small radius at the bottom of the primer pocket and made the primers stand up proud.
I then switched to Lapua brass.

But over the years, the pocket uniformer has been great to have around.

Lyman Products Your Primary Source for Reloading Equipment
Lyman Primer Pocket Uniformer Tool
Super Swage 600: Case Preparation Equipment


The Dillon super swage is for the orifice of the primer pocket, not the bottom.
That is a great tool.

 

[wrangler5]

+1 for the Dillon Swage. I've had one for years, and have used it pretty religiously on new (i.e., once fired) military brass, AFTER depriming with a Lee universal decapping die. It's a bit of a nuisance when you get 1000 fresh cases, but you only have to do it once, and after you get a rhythm it goes pretty quickly. The key is to have the unswaged cases where it's easy to pick one up with one hand, and have someplace to dump the just-swaged case after you pull it off the support shaft with the other hand, so you don't have to do any careful handling of it during the run. I don't recall having any high primer problems with the military cases I've swaged over the years, either 308 or 223. (Some of the Lake City Match 308 case got their primer pockets uniformed, but most 308s didn't, and none of the 223s did.)

 

[Melsy]

another one for the lyman pocket uniformer. i bought the kit a few years back and have never had a primer pocket that i couldn't ream out or make the pocket spec deep with the uniformers. comes with large and small primer pocket reamers and uniformers and camphor/deburr tools also and primer pocket cleaners that i never use.