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Priming rifle cases…..how do you gauge when a primer pocket is getting too large?

want2learn

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Minuteman
Sep 7, 2013
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I currently prime cases on a Forster Co-Ax reloading press. It seems to work very nicely.

Every once in a while i can feel when seating a primer that the force required is less than many of the other cases. The case still holds the primer and it looks well seated.

I understand that at some point the primer pocket can expand and that case should be discarded but i’m not sure how best to identify this threshold. Is there a commonly employed method to measure the dimensions of the primer pocket prior to seating a new primer?

Do you discard every primed case that is starting to feel less tight?

thank you
 
If the primer feels real loose going in, I remove the primer and uniform the pocket. Then I reseat the primer. If it’s tighter (ie more normal) after uniforming, I’ll run with it. If not, the pocket is simply worn out beyond repair.

At that point, I remove the primer again and toss the case.
 
there are pin gauges you use if your REALLY concerned....personally i shoot them until the pocket will not hold the primer but i start getting head seperation most time before the pockets give out.
 
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For me I will know how many reloads I have on a batch of brass and when the reload number gets up there.
When reloading a batch that I know has been done more than a few times and when I prime them with a hand priming tool, old RCBS, not the new ones, I can feel how they are going in and when I start feeling less resistance but still OK I mark that on that box and the next time I reload it I use a little gauge from Ballistics Tools, that I learned of on this Site.
It is a little tool that you can feel around on the primer pocket with and if that gauge slips right in on deprimed brass that piece goes in the brass re-cycle bucket, but if it doesn't I will reload that one again.
It is a bit of tedious but also gives you time to look your brass over for any other faults.

I do not re-load on a high volume basis, 20-50 at a time is all I do and I have all the time I need to make good rounds.

I never hurry as I know, "Hurrying is the Daddy of All Fuckups." FM
 
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I currently prime cases on a Forster Co-Ax reloading press. It seems to work very nicely.

Every once in a while i can feel when seating a primer that the force required is less than many of the other cases. The case still holds the primer and it looks well seated.

I understand that at some point the primer pocket can expand and that case should be discarded but i’m not sure how best to identify this threshold. Is there a commonly employed method to measure the dimensions of the primer pocket prior to seating a new primer?

Do you discard every primed case that is starting to feel less tight?

thank you

When I first started reloading, that was the question I had as no one seemed to be able to explicitly define just what "loose" meant. Just saying they're loose when the primer falls out when they felt loose when priming wasn't good enough for me. Then I found just the right tool . . . a Swage Gage. It's essentially a go - no go gage and I use it after every firing to find any cases with a primer pocket that's too large (loose). I have found just a few, but as someone else above mentioned, case head separation signs usually show up before a loose pockets issue for the batch where I'll then throw them all out. So, I feel the gage is the best way to go:

 
I use a hand primer (21st Century), so I can tell when a primer goes in too easy. For those cases, I lightly tap the rim at an angle on the bench. If the primer moves out at all, it's done.
 
I have a spare decapping rod. If I can move the primer using hand pressure only then the case is junk. If it stays put then it’s gtg.
 
If the primer feels real loose going in, I remove the primer and uniform the pocket. Then I reseat the primer. If it’s tighter (ie more normal) after uniforming, I’ll run with it. If not, the pocket is simply worn out beyond repair.

At that point, I remove the primer again and toss the case.

How would uniforming the primer pocket make it tighter?
 
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How would uniforming the primer pocket make it tighter?

I guess it makes the pocket a tad deeper than previously. I began noticing when uniforming 300 win mag mil brass that initially had excessively loose primer pockets, the primer would seat a bit tighter in those pockets after I ran the Sinclair uniformer through them. It doesn’t work all the time, perhaps ~30% of my cases can get another firing out of them with that tool.
 
It makes the pocket less than .005” deeper. It has no effect on primer retention. Maybe you were seating the primer against a brass shaving.
 
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I've got one of these gauges in my reloading tool box, can't say I use it often. But it lets you know if the pocket is out of spec.

 
I use a lot of range brass and some don't have a primer in them.

The swage guage lets me check and wierd that some are still tight and no deformity in the case can be seen.
 
I use a lot of range brass and some don't have a primer in them.

The swage guage lets me check and wierd that some are still tight and no deformity in the case can be seen.

If a primer pocket drops a primer but your gauge tells you it’s still tight, then it’s measuring the primer crimp and once that’s removed what’s going to hold the primer?
 
I have a spare decapping rod. If I can move the primer using hand pressure only then the case is junk. If it stays put then it’s gtg.


I do this also with and old Lee hand depriming tool. If it's the last loading, I take a red marker while the case is in the loading block and spin the case, putting a red band just above the case web. Marks the case for scrap after firing.
 
Not all primers are crimped in place to start with.
How a primer comes out of a pocket that is conformal is a mystery to me.

I will keep an eye out for the headstamp.

Maybe possible some nonconforming primers?

I used to just toss all those but decided to check some.

I welcome any explanations of how in hell that works.
 
I prime with a hand tool that gives me a pretty good feel for seating the primer. If I have a case where the primer seats too easy I'll tap the case on the table top. If the primer moves I''ll junk that case. If the primer does not move I'll mark that case and go ahead and load it one last time. I'll junk any marked cases after they are fired that time.
 
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Another trick, when the primer pockets get “loose” switch over to Wolf or Tula primers. Their a lil lil bit larger than CCI’s. You can get a couple more firings. When they get “loose” with them, I seperate them when priming. Their my Trk gun ammo. Brass never gets pikkd up again
 
Just based on feel. Bolt action I'll mark a loose case with a sharpie and use one last time. Autoloader I'll throw it away then. A loose primer can lockup a mag or rifle.
 
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I had a couple hundred rounds to work the pockets on yesterday.

I had purchased a hornady swaging die for ss press, was unhappy on first use.

I remembered that I had it and with use of the swage guage got it properly set in a couple of minutes.

Note: Found that with a small ammount of wax on every third case it ran just fine.
 
I recently got a primer pocket gauge recommended on some other thread here. If the gauge bottoms out in the pocket it's done. Came in handy on my 22-250 and 25-06. I shoot the 22-250 hot and the '06 has a 7 twist for the 131 Blackjack.
 
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