Dangerous primer seating?

[Bruce in WV]

Last year I bought several thousand 'processed' 5.56 Lake City cases here. It turns out that they that did not have the primer pockets reamed properly to allow consistently normal seating of the CCI 41 primers when I finally got to them and started loading them last week. Some of the primers appear flattened from the force required to seat the primer. If I use a modest H322 charge for training under a 77gr SMK bullet, can these cartridges be fired safely?

[markm]

There is no danger. I hand prime all of my .223 on a sinclair so I get a damned near perfect feel of how a primer seats.

You can get the Hornady pocket reaming tool cutter, chuck it in a hand drill, and kiss those crimps for a better seat in the future. It's a cheap tool worth having... and you can't over cut a crimp.

[Ryno12]

There is no danger. I hand prime all of my .223 on a sinclair so I get a damned near perfect feel of how a primer seats.

Mark, is this the tool you use? I've been the market for a new hand primer & was wondering what others use.
http://www.sinclairintl.com/reloading-equipment/priming-tools/hand-tools/sinclair-priming-tool-prod37732.aspx


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[TomMcC]

I think one with a feed tray would be better. Single handling primers would be a bit tedious IMHO. Less chance of contamination also. I've used the same RCBS one for over 20yrs.

[Ryno12]

I think one with a feed tray would be better. Single handling primers would be a bit tedious IMHO. Less chance of contamination also. I've used the same RCBS one for over 20yrs.

Good point, actually didn't notice it lacked a tray. Just thought they weren't showing it.

Sorry OP, didn't mean to derail your thread. :)

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[markm]

The sinclair is the cats ass. There's no more chance of primer contamination than anything else. I mean... I use my single stage the same way... pick, place, and prime.

I've primed 10s of thousands with the sinclair. Just plop in front of the TV and do it.

Sinclair is not for everyone, I'm sure. It's got a long stroke and is ideal for people who really want a fine feel for the anvil bottoming in the primer pocket. You also get a very good idea of which cases have loose primer pockets and need to be culled.

If you're strictly volume oriented, (and there's nothing wrong with that) then another model might be more ideal. The sinclair is also the one to buy if you really like your tools.... like buying something without cast parts, etc. It's a nice hunk of machined SS.

[Bimmer]

Huh. Since seating primers is an extra "up" stroke on my RL550B, I think I have a pretty good notion of how tight they are...

I'll stick with my progressive.

[Ryno12]

I'll stick with my progressive.
A lot of people hand prime, in fact, I prefer it for rifle loading. Besides, my 300 WBY & 308 gets hand loaded, nor do they fit in my progressive anyway.

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[GI_Jared]

If the crimp was not all the way properly removed from the brass then I recommend taping the trigger down on your favorite electric drill and finishing the job off with a 7/32" drill bit.

[markm]

Huh. Since seating primers is an extra "up" stroke on my RL550B, I think I have a pretty good notion of how tight they are...

I'll stick with my progressive.

I hand prime everything that goes into my 550b. That piece of shit priming system is deactivated. No more crushed primers or flipped primer for me EVER again.

That's just how I prefer to do it. I like focusing on POWEDER and BULLET with out stopping to refill the primer tube, clear jams, and decap sideways smashed primers. I take the hit of hand priming early, and the flow like a mofo on the progressive. Even 45 acp gets sized and primed on my single stage.... then fed into an empty station 1 on my 550b.

That may seem nuts... but I'm much happier doing it this way.

[jon308]

I have a RCBS swage that I use to remove all military crimps, Then I started reloading with the Pardner Press and this is what I do all my primers with because you can feel them so much better than with the Rock Chucker. The RC doesn't give much feeling it just crushes everything into place. The swage tool paid for its self military brass is good to go now. In fact just finished all that I have, Used to get 5 gallon buckets of it at gun shows haven't seen that in awhile.

[Eric D.]

Mark, your 550b priming system must have been a lemon. I've never had a jammed tube, sideways or crushed primer in all of the measly 3k or so rounds I've loaded. I enjoy the way seating primers on the 550b feels. The Sinclair looks like it would feel fantastic. If I didn't currently want to spend money on other things I'd pick one up just to try it.

[markm]

My 550b is maybe 15 plus years old with God knows how many hundred thousand rounds on it. It worked good at one time many years ago... but those cheap die cast parts aren't really going to hold up to the wear and tear that I put on them.

Even if that sucker worked like new, I still like loading from primed brass. I love the press... just hate the priming system.

[FloridaWoodsman]

It wouldn't bother me if the primers were flattened, but make sure they don't stick out above the rim.

I learned fast not to trust the quality of pre-processed brass. I hit each one with a pocket uniformer. It's extra effort, but loading the primers goes beautifully after that.