Primer pocket uniforming questions

So I measured the depth that my cutter comes factory adjusted at and it was .1218

The specs for small rifle primer brass call for the depth to be between .117 and .123

Should I leave the tool set up as it is and rock on with it or ease the cutter back a fuzz and aim for a different number? If so what number should I be aiming for???

https://i.imgur.com/6ZV1OGS.jpg


With this lot of brass I believe that I could possibly back up .002 to .003 and still get nice flat bottom holes on all of it. Not sure if that much extra meat there makes a shits worth of difference that would justify taking the time to back the cutter up or not.

I understand about how the height of the particular brand primers primers and how far 'sub flush' a guy wants them to be plays into this here but not so much concerned about that as I am wondering if cutting less will in any meaningful way make the brass somehow 'stronger or better' in any noticeable way for me. Not running any firearms that are set up so light (or short protrusion wise) that they can't light off a hard ass small rifle primer set really well in a deep pocket.

After 30 years of reloading, I've never understood the idea of pocket uniforming. I'd be willing to try something that got MORE life out of my primer pockets, but cutting them/removing material seems like it would have the opposite effect.

I'm not a good enough shot for primer pocket uniforming and deburring the flash hole to make a difference, but I've done it on some precision reloads just because it makes me feel good. Personally, I'd leave the tool set where it is because it's within the range and on the deeper side.

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Originally Posted by Bret

I'm not a good enough shot for primer pocket uniforming and deburring the flash hole to make a difference, but I've done it on some precision reloads just because it makes me feel good. Personally, I'd leave the tool set where it is because it's within the range and on the deeper side.

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There was a guy on Accurateshooter who posted a video of his tests where he opened up flash holes in brass. It was a fairly thorough test by a knowledgeable guy. The bottom line was that flash hole size didn't matter. I tend to believe the same would be true for deburring and uniforming... I mean.. short of some major defect in the brass.

The theoretical goal is to get everything exactly the same. Deburring flash holes to a uniform size and shape, will certainly aid in this goal. Will it ultimately make a difference? I think that you'd have to have a good rifle and be a great shot in order for it to make a statistically significant difference. On the flipside of that, if you have the time, it almost certainly doesn't hurt. When I'm making precision loads, I start with cases that are all from the same lot. I size them and trim them to length. I then uniform the primer pockets and deburr the primer pockets. I then group the cases by weight. Finally, I hand weigh each powder charge. Does it make a difference for me? I don't know because I'm pretty sure I'm not a good enough shot to find out. I enjoy the process though.

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Originally Posted by Bret

The theoretical goal is to get everything exactly the same. Deburring flash holes to a uniform size and shape, will certainly aid in this goal. Will it ultimately make a difference? I think that you'd have to have a good rifle and be a great shot in order for it to make a statistically significant difference. On the flipside of that, if you have the time, it almost certainly doesn't hurt. When I'm making precision loads, I start with cases that are all from the same lot. I size them and trim them to length. I then uniform the primer pockets and deburr the primer pockets. I then group the cases by weight. Finally, I hand weigh each powder charge. Does it make a difference for me? I don't know because I'm pretty sure I'm not a good enough shot to find out. I enjoy the process though.

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Pretty much spot on about the time. I personally find it relaxing to sit at the reloading bench with an audio book going and process brass / make ammo, etc.

And yes, this is all brass from the same big lot with one firing so far.

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Originally Posted by DG23

Pretty much spot on about the time. I personally find it relaxing to sit at the reloading bench with an audio book going and process brass / make ammo, etc.

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I get that. And I definitely so a lot of steps the slower/harder way to be more intimate with the finished product. But the amount of rounds we burn up limits me to some degree.

My understanding of uniforming flash holes and primer pockets comes from people I know that shoot benchrest competition, trying to get groups that approach world records. These groups are measured down to a thousandth of an inch. They tell me if your rifle and ammunition aren't built from the beginning (not a factory rifle) for shooting in the "ones" then you will never see a difference or shoot smaller groups because of these minute steps.

This means a rifle with a custom chamber using an exact twist rate and appropriate cartridge and other factors. All these small steps are meant to control every variable of the system to achieve the highest precision results. If all the variables that can be controlled aren't handled precisely then most of this small stuff becomes meaningless.

This is assuming your brass isn't horrible to begin with.

For sure. Those guys are nuts. I appreciate what they do, but it's not my thing.