Newb McNewberson Question

[towerofpower93 22]

I'm reloading pistol ammo now and going to to start rifle in a bit once I get confident with recording data, trial and error with loads, etc.

 

I keep getting confused as to which, berdan or boxer, can be reloaded.

 

May have a line on a ton of .223 brass and don't want to waste my time if it's the wrong primer type that can't be reloaded.

 

Also, military "crimped" primers? I know the primer has a few little pieces keeping it in the round, but what all is needed to take care of those little buggers?

 

Thanks

 

Eric

[cooger 19]

I'm new at reloading myself but I have read a lot about it. The boxer primed brass is the kind you want. From what i've read you can reload the berdan primers but it is a lot harder to do. One way to tell which kind you have is to look down the case. If there is one flash hole it is boxer primed, if there's 2 it's berdan. I have some .223 brass that has the military crimp that i've been fighting with. To take care of if you need some type of swage tool. This basically shaves the military crimp from the primer hole. There are high dollar swage tools you can buy but I just came up with a very cheap solution yesterday. I used a hand held chamfer/deburring tool for about 50 cases and, while that worked ok, it was very hard on my hands and was taking forever. I went to Lowes and bought a cutting bit for my dremel. Its metal and has a conical shaped head like the small grinding bits but has "fins" all the way around it (that may be as clear as mud). I ground the tip of the bit down so it wouldn't go too deep in the primer pocket and hit the flash hole. I threw that in my dremel and now a few seconds with each case and the problem is solved. You might also try one of the chamfer/deburring tools with the screw-driver type handle. I looked at trying one of those but I think I've found my solution.

Edited March 27, 2010 by cooger

[IndyArms 10,186]

Read my reloading sticky at the top of this section, I think it goes into some details you might be interested to learn.

 

I would be willing to bet that virtually *ALL* brass cased .223 you get will be boxer primed. much of the STEEL cased imported stuff is usually Berdan primed, and you dont want to reload steel cases anyway...

 

Berdan primers are LARGER in diameter than BOXER primers, so even if you remove the berdan primers from the casings that ARE berdan primed, you will be very hard pressed to find primers that will fit in the pocket. Personally, I have ZERO idea where one would buy Berdan primers to begin with.

 

With all that said... Reloading .223 is one of the easiest rounds to reload... as I have mentioned many times, with powder like Varget ( which is one of the best to use ) you CANNOT overload them to unsafe levels. If you fill the case so that powder is overflowing from it, you are still at a "safe" even though a "maximum load" level. The nice thing about Varget is that it works for almost every weight of bullet you can load in the .223.

 

As above... thats a very good idea to try with the dremel. Just be sure to not remove too much off the primer pocket rim... and make sure you dont damage the bottom of the pocket. Again... there is more info on this in the sticky.

 

Also... check out Hodgdon's website for the reloading data in their data center. It has a LOT of good load data for free for almost all calibers... especially the .223.

 

I think once you do it, you will find that its even EASIER to reload rifle brass than pistol brass, as you dont have the extra steps of case mouth flaring, and dont have to try to balance the crimp with the seat depth. you just polish, deprime, reprime, charge and seat... DONE.

 

[cooger 19]

I was worried about taking too much off so I keep my dremel on the lowest speed. I'm also gonna get a tap handle so I can turn the bit by hand and make sure I don't cut too much.

[IndyArms 10,186]

If you have the overhead to spend, and plan to get into reloading steadily... I SERIOUSLY recommend purchasing an RCBS Trim Mate case prep center, with the bits you will use regularly... It is a powered rotary tool with spots for 5 heads on the rotating spindles. I like to set it up with a case mouth brush for .223, a pocket reamer for small rifle primers, ( which will give you perfect pockets every time ) a military crimp swaging cutter for small rifle primed brass( like you are doing with the dremel, except its already the proper spec, so you cant take off too much ) and then the case mouth trimmers... one for outsides and one for insides.

 

I also have the 4 bits to swap up to large rifle, and 50 BMG primers for both swaging and pocket reaming.

 

It makes brass prep a breeze as everything is right there on one tool. they are pricey to start with and get the bits... but in the long run, if you reload a lot of brass or several different calibers... its an indispensable item!

 

 

[towerofpower93 22]

Cooger

 

Thanks for the "1 flashhole, 2 flashhole" info in regards to the primer. That's what I'll keep my eyes peeled for.

 

 

Indy

 

I've read that sticky a few times; whenever I have a question it seems to already be answered in there, good dope all around.

 

Think I'll start with the Dremel and if rifle reloading bites me I'll most likely invest in the case prep station.

 

Thanks all.

 

Eric

[IndyArms 10,186]

Well, just remember... reloading is not one of those things you want to go about "half assed"... It pays to do it RIGHT the FIRST TIME... cause if you dont... there MIGHT NOT BE a second time!

 

 

 

[towerofpower93 22]

Absolutely, that's why I'm taking it slow and breaking down the learning curve a bit at a time.

 

Thanks all

 

Eric

[cooger 19]

I really didn't like using the dremel to cut the military crimp away because as Indy said it's easy to cut off too much. So I took that dremel cutting attachment and put it into a tap handle so i could turn it by hand. It works amazingly well. That bit eats through the brass and you don't have to worry about taking too much off. It only takes a few more seconds on each case but it is still really fast going. I think its a fair trade off for being able to tell exactly how much your cutting off and not having to worry about going too far. I cut about 75 cases last night while watching tv. I thought i'd just throw this idea out there in case someone is in the same boat as I am. I can't afford the RCBS prep station but, since i've heard very few negative things about their stuff, i'm sure it works great. This is just a cheaper alternative.

[IndyArms 10,186]

Another thought for "on the CHEAP" reamer... Get a "counter sink" drill bit... with the 5 blades, and the tap handle, like Cooger mentioned... You can go to town by hand all ya want for a few bucks, and it will also work well to ream the case mouth, just like a case mouth reamer will...

 

Case mouth prep tool:

 

 

Countersink bit:

 

 

you would need another tool to do the OUTSIDES of the case mouth... but thats a good start, for both insides and primer pocket crimp reaming!

 

 

[towerofpower93 22]

Thanks for the updates guys.

 

Eric

[cooger 19]

I like the idea of either the dremel bit or the countersink bit a little better than the chamfer too. The dremel bit doesn't cut at such a steep angle as the chamfer tool does so there is not as much as an angle to the cut. With the chamfer tool it seems like you're cutting at about a 45 degree and with the dremel it seems more like a 20-25. The countersink bit looks like it would cut at less of an angle too, like the dremel bit. I don't know if this makes a difference or not but to me it seems like the primer pocket would be a little stronger and it would hold the primer in better.

[IndyArms 10,186]

Well, just FYI... For some weird reason the image of the chamfer tool I posted is scrunched sideways... it really has pretty much the SAME dims as the countersink bit...

 

[towerofpower93 22]

Indy

 

Have you used Varget in 9, 40 and 45 before? I'm using blue dot now, but if I can get one powder to cover all bases it keeps things easier:)

 

 

Thanks

 

Eric

[IndyArms 10,186]

Varget is a rifle powder, and I would not use it in place of pistol powders due to differing burn rates. With some things you just cant have the one happy medium.

 

I use Bullseye in my 9MM reloads...

 

BUT you can use some of the shotgun powders in pistol rounds and vice versa as well. So THAT is a bonus!

 

[towerofpower93 22]

Another newb question for you guys.

 

This is in regards to 40, 9 and 45 ammo,

 

What's a good range for oal? I'm reloading 40 now and completed oal is supposed to be 1.120. All the rounds coming off my lee 4 hole turret are between 1.15 and 1.125, this a safe range or should every round be EXACTLY the oal listed in Lymans?

 

Thanks guys

 

Eric

 

Edit to add: The OAL is within the min/max of the caliber with different size bullets. I'm thinking the tolerance of .05 +/- the recommended OAL would be safe, just wanting some input from guys who have been doing this longer than I have.

 

Thanks

 

Eric

Edited April 7, 2010 by towerofpower93

[IndyArms 10,186]

As long as they fit in your magazines, and feed you should be ok... you dont want them TOO short, though as then you can get odd pressure spikes... so... figure accordingly... Like you figured, some types of bullets will give you a slightly different OAL than the ONE listed.

 

 

 

[towerofpower93 22]

As long as they fit in your magazines, and feed you should be ok... you dont want them TOO short, though as then you can get odd pressure spikes... so... figure accordingly... Like you figured, some types of bullets will give you a slightly different OAL than the ONE listed.

 

 

 

 

Thanks Indy. Again, your wealth of knowledge never ceases to amaze me. If you don't mind me asking, how long have you been reloading? I ask because you lead me to believe it's been longer than Ive been alive:)

 

Thanks again

 

Eric

[IndyArms 10,186]

Thanks, and you are welcome!

 

I have been reloading for many years... off and on... 30 or so... Been doing it since I was old enough to shoot! although I have been forced, up until recently, to have and use my equipment at a buddy's place, who also has been reloading forever, as well as his dad, who taught us both.

 

When I got my other house, all of my reloading equipment got moved in, and I can work at MY convenience now! Which is AWESOME! Got an entire room set up and dedicated to reloading!

 

The bench on the north wall is the shotgun bench. ( although I have an RCBS rockchucker press on it also... ) I have two MEC mark 5 juniors set up. One dedicated to 12 gauge trap loads, the other for reloading all other 12 gauge loads I may want or need...

 

The bench on the east wall is set up to reload rifle/pistol and the 50 BMG.

 

 

 

 

[towerofpower93 22]

Thanks, and you are welcome!

 

I have been reloading for many years... off and on... 30 or so... Been doing it since I was old enough to shoot! although I have been forced, up until recently, to have and use my equipment at a buddy's place, who also has been reloading forever, as well as his dad, who taught us both.

 

When I got my other house, all of my reloading equipment got moved in, and I can work at MY convenience now! Which is AWESOME! Got an entire room set up and dedicated to reloading!

 

The bench on the north wall is the shotgun bench. ( although I have an RCBS rockchucker press on it also... ) I have two MEC mark 5 juniors set up. One dedicated to 12 gauge trap loads, the other for reloading all other 12 gauge loads I may want or need...

 

The bench on the east wall is set up to reload rifle/pistol and the 50 BMG.

 

 

 

 

 

Yep.....longer than I've been alive. Just got back from the range with my first ever bunch of handloads and got a sign from above. First ever squib I've EVER had in all the years I've been shooting since my dad had me on a single shot 22, and it was the very first round. I'm taking it as a sign to focus and remember this can be quite dangerous if focus isn't applied at all stages of reloading and shooting. The rest ran great and grouped well. Thanks to Indy and everybody else who answered questions and gave help.

 

To a new addiction!

 

Eric

[IndyArms 10,186]

Indeed!!

 

ALWAYS check the bore on a CLEARED, UNLOADED AND OPEN FIREARM if it *EVER* makes a noise that has you thinking even just for an instant "did that sound right?!?! "

 

your next shot after an UNCHECKED squib is USUALLY the rifles ( and possibly YOUR ) last!!!