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Best Method For Eliminating Military Primer Crimp 0n 223/556 Brass?

sw282

Bought some 223/556 Military brass with mixed head stamps for Prairie Dog ammo... l cut the crimps out manually with My Lyman hand cutter... After doing a couple hundred cases BOTH hands feel like a long weekend with mary palm and her five sisters... l have ordered an RCBS primer pocket swage from Midway.. My main goal is consistency without maxing my Visa. What do Y'all use??

thanks

282
 
I used the RCBS primer pocket swage tool (the original, not the newer improved model) for many years. It does an excellent job. Most folks don't adjust it correctly and bend the rod. The rod MUST be screwed all the way into the body of the die. And you adjust the entire die downward, sloooowly so you don't bend the rod. At first mine wanted to stick on the stud. But I polished it, and that went away. It will not work on some presses.

I now use the Dillon swager. This is my second, I wasn't that impressed with the first and sold it. Later bought another, and it is my mainstay.

After you swage, deburring the flash hold is highly recommended. The burr left when the hole is punches will be pressed by the rod, and can close off almost half of the flash hole on some.

I tried cutting the crimps out. Lots of folks do it this way. But I was never satisfied with the results. And most of the range brass I pick up that has had the crimp cut out, folks have cut away too much of the primer pocket wall.
 
I use the RCBS swage die. It works for me. Yes pay attention to how to PROPERLY set up and use this die. Yes get you a inside the case primer flash hole de-burr tool, I like Lyman, it works on any case without extra expense of separate bushing guides. Size case, swage primer pocket, trim to length THEN use the de-burr tool. To get a proper de-burr your cases need to be the same length. One other benefit I have found from de-burring the flash hole on any case is I am seeing better accuracy out of cases de-burred than same cases not de-burred.
 
The swagers are good if all your brass is the same make. They make a much more uniform pocket. But if you have mixed head stamps, then all your case heads will be different thicknesses. You will end up either bending the swaging rod that goes inside the case if the case head is too thick, or not get your pocket completely swaged if the case head is too thin.

For mixed cases I use a cutter chucked into a high speed drill and hold the drill in a hobby vice. It takes about 3 seconds or less per case, and you get the rhythm and feel of the operation down fairly quickly.
 
sw282 said:
Bought some 223/556 Military brass with mixed head stamps for Prairie Dog ammo... l cut the crimps out manually with My Lyman hand cutter... After doing a couple hundred cases BOTH hands feel like a long weekend with mary palm and her five sisters... l have ordered an RCBS primer pocket swage from Midway.. My main goal is consistency without maxing my Visa. What do Y'all use??

thanks

282
Click to expand...
200 by hand! wow. respect.
 
My drill for prepping cases may be a bit different from most. First step after sizing case is to trim case length. Deburr case mouth and flash hole.. Do primer pocket crimps last... Wont be able to use the RCBS pocket swager til it arrives from Midway. ln the meantime l may just have to put Mister DeWalt to work
 
MGYSGT said:
Go to lowes and get a countersink. Deprime brass and chuck up the countersink in your drill. About the time the drill gets to highspeed it is done. Can do 100 in 15 min. Perhaps 1 or 2 seconds per cartridge.
Click to expand...
+1 for the countersink, simple and easy, works for me for many years
 
I used the forster trimmer base for a drill press and the cutter they make for removing the crimp can do 600 per hour. had the rcbs and did a lot with it but it's slower and doesnt always remove all of the crimp. Just bought 1000 processed LC .556 on gun broker- that is the easiest!
 
I once did 200 by hand myself... Right after that I bought the Lyman case prep station , love it.... If you watch you can easily pick one up for less than $100 , it comes with everything you need to get going , but will also use other brands of tools as long as they will screw in , most will... Makes brass work easy and fast... It does everything but trim them for you...
 
Take the handle off of the Lyman hand cutter, put the cutter in a battery drill and cut 500 in the time it takes to do 100 in the RCBS or the Dillon swage system. Yes I own an RCBS swager, but I may never use it again.
 
Meangreen said:
The swagers are good if all your brass is the same make. They make a much more uniform pocket. But if you have mixed head stamps, then all your case heads will be different thicknesses. You will end up either bending the swaging rod that goes inside the case if the case head is too thick, or not get your pocket completely swaged if the case head is too thin.

For mixed cases I use a cutter chucked into a high speed drill and hold the drill in a hobby vice. It takes about 3 seconds or less per case, and you get the rhythm and feel of the operation down fairly quickly.
Click to expand...
I do the same,once you get the rhythm you can make quick work of it.
 
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