NFOA MEMBERS FORUM
Ammunition & Hand Loading => Cartridge and Shotshell reloading => Topic started by: fortunateComa on July 12, 2015, 11:21:07 AM
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I'm reloading my 5.56 LC brass to 223rem charge and specs. 55 gr bullet, (win. with cannluer), 23.5 gr of H 335 powder, CCI #400 primers. After doing all the prep work on the cases they were all under 1.760, in length. After putting primers in and measuring acrossed the middle ie across the primer some now measure between 1.7650 and 1.7680
Are these safe to continue reloading for use in my xm15 carbine. Or do I need to trim these. If I need to trim, do I need to deprime these, is it safe to deprime them? , or throw them away and chalk it up to rookie mistake. I used my cousin's hand crank trimmer don't know model or make set to 1.756 for length.
Any opinions would be greatly appreciated Thanks
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Primers need to be seated below flush with the base.
The only way that primer insertion would make the brass longer is if the primers are protruding from the base, and that can cause a dangerous condition that can lead to a slam fire when closing the bolt.
Check all your primers to make sure they are below flush
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Primers need to be seated below flush with the base.
Roger that one.
Number of ways to check:
>Set cartridges on flat, firm table top, base down. See if they rock back and forth just a little or a lot.
>Hold them up to the light, look across the flat of the cartridge base. See if you see any amount of primer a-tall, then the primer is seated too high.
>Hold a steel straightedge across the flat of the cartridge base, including the "seated" primer.
>Use a depth micrometer.
Whatever you do, please do not use your hand primer to re-set any high-seated primers to a newer, lower, proper depth.
Please don't.
You can do so, and it will work.
Just please don't.
sfg
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Just curious did you remove the crimp from the cases prior to priming?
Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk
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Yes they are not set properly. So deprime and start over or throw away?
I'm not out anything if I throw them away, they are range pick ups.
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Yes I decimped them. 20 out of 150 are to long.
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Is there a safe way to remove the live primers with out risk of setting them off?
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Is there a safe way to remove the live primers with out risk of setting them off?
NO... It can be done, but there is always a risk of setting the primer off.
What kind of depriming tool do you have access to?
Do you have a single stage press with a primer installation set up?
Do you have some really good eye protection? And hearing protection? Even a clear face shield?
Nobody is going to tell you it's OK to remove or reseat live primers (because they are liability averse), but it has been done many times, and if one takes proper precautions it can be done without injury to the press operator even if one does go off
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Here's the Deal:
Live primers can be removed from a cartridge case by using very, very slow and gentle pressure on the operating lever of a standard single-stage reloading press/depriming-case sizing die setup. (Pretty much like removing a spent primer, only much slower and more carefully.)
Notice I clearly didn't say "safely removed." Just "removed".
Having said the above, I'll further say that most of my unnecessary bodily injuries incurred during reloading were caused by injudicious messing around with primers. (But not all injuries: I've managed to run the depriming/ decapping pin through my fingers a coupla times, as well.)
Now, here's maybe a better alternative if all you want is to seat the primers deeper (properly). If the bullets have been pulled and the powder was dumped out of the case, then the primers can be seated deeper (flush or even below the case head) with about the same degree of safety as any other hand priming. Remember how the primers got into the case in the first place: Squeezed/seated in with a hand priming tool, most likely. If the primers in the cases are not so high that they won't go into the hand priming tool at all, then they can be reseated deeper, as just stated.
Just remember to always keep the open end of the cartridge case pointed in a safe direction away from your person in the event of a primer pop-off. Just like regular hand priming. FWIW, I point the cartridge cases into a bucket while hand-priming. Because primers have the energy of a medium-sized firecracker.
A primed .223 cartridge case is worth what.............25 cents?? (Primer + cartridge case).
Pitching out the mistakes is always an option worth considering.
FWIW,
sfg
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Pitching out the mistakes is always an option worth considering.
Yes, but that still leaves 20 live primers looking to "have a blast" unless rendered inert, which has dubious results as well.
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Yes, but that still leaves 20 live primers looking to "have a blast" unless rendered inert, which has dubious results as well.
Most reference books say that oil will cause primers to deteriorate. Especially penetrating oil.
So perhaps a small squirt of some kinda oil into each cartridge case will start the deterioration process.
To check out the above assertion, let's get unfy to run an X by Y experiment with different oils (WD40, RemOil, Kroil, BLU, etc.) and different oil amounts and soak times to see (a) if it works, (b) which is the best (worst) oil, and how long it takes.
BTW.........Where do reloaders dump their mistakes???.
sfg
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BTW.........Where do reloaders dump their mistakes???.
usually at a gun show,
If you use a oil to kill the primer, you will have a very hard time getting the inside of the case clean of it, just slowly decap it as you would any other case, ive done it many times, the Dillon has a habit sometimes of flipping a primer .
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...some cheap advice....
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Here's what I use for reloading a three hole Lee turret press with auto index are removed. Would the primer installer in the picture work to reseat the primers?
Can I use the full length resizing / decapper die, adjusted so that it gently pushes the primer out without resizing ?
I'm asking just for "future" reference .
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I blew up a small rifle primer while impatiently forcing it into a piece of Lake City brass. It scorched my finger. I certainly could see it taking an eye had it been pointed at my face.
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Would the primer installer in the picture work to reseat the primers?
I use a Lee 4 hole turret and it works good
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I got this one from my cousin. Traded him a 10 year old chainsaw for it. I figured it would do me good while I learn how to reload. Removed the auto indexer because I prefer to do things in batches rather than sequential.
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I prefer to do things in batches rather than sequential.
Me too when it comes to rifle...pistol and shotgun are all progressive presses