best primer pocket & flash hole tools

[bigeasy]

hello folks i'm new at the coyote hunting game, and though i've reloaded for some time now,since early 80's) accuracy was the 1 inch game but 300 yrds and further on small targets has taught me to hone my reloading skills a bit.i have a .244 and it will shoot 1/2 inch groups at 100yrds and have read from you guys and gals that case prep is a big deal so i need to know what tools i need to buy for primer pocket and flash hole deburring? thank you.....

 

[Forum Boss]

What is the cartridge?

If it has a large flash-hole, I recommend the K&M flash-hole,inside) deburring tool. It is very inexpensive and auto-indexes off the case mouth so you don't have to fiddle around with set screws.

Product Review: http://www.6mmbr.com/catalog/item/1433308/900728.htm

For primer pocket uniforming,again assuming large flash-hole), Sinclair and Russ Haydon both sell good tools. I would borrow one first and try a few cases uniformed and un-uniformed. Quite a few very successful shooters find no benefit to uniforming the primer pockets.

With Lapua 6BR brass I wouldn't ream the FHs or uniform the primer pockets unless a close inspection shows some obvious flaws, such as an obstructed flash holes.

 

[bigeasy]

thanks for the quick reply! the cartridge is the 6mm rem.

 

[Forum Boss]

thanks for the quick reply! the cartridge is the 6mm rem.

Email SnakeEye. He shoots that cartridge a lot,in Ackley form) and does very thorough load testing. He can tell you whether primer pocket uniforming is likely to make a difference. Probably depends on brass brand.

I always say test first, at 200yds or farther. If you don't see benefits from uniforming, save the time and effort.

 

[chuckw2]

I second what our editor says about not uniforming the primer pockets on Laupa brass. I ruined 166 pcs of Laupa .243 brass a month ago cleaning the primer pockets on once fired cases with a Sinclair tool chucked into a cordless drill. The primer pockets were enlarged so much that I had to throw the cases away.

Chuck

 

[Caduceus]

Chuck,

Do you mean ruined by enlarging them in width so that the primers aren't retained properly?

I use the Sinclair uniforming tool on a cordless screwdriver to clean primer pockets after every reloading on Lapua 308 brass. At last count, my cases were on their 8th reload and the primers,Federal) are still a tight fit. The tool isn't doing any damage to my primer pockets.

I'm just interested in your experience with this.

 

[SnakeEye]

Primer pocket uniforming to me is a waste of time, especially for varminting. If the brass is that out of round or deformed you need to get a differ ant lot of brass or brand of brass. Now I do uniform or trim the tags left from punching the flash holes. As for cleaning the carbon from fired flash holes, I do it if I don't have anything else to do or if there is enough build up that the primer can't be seated uniformly. This may sound lazy but of all the reloading I done over the years if I can't tell a dimes worth or on paper then you won't see me doing it. As for brass go with a caliber that uses Norma or Lapua and forget all that work.

A lazy varminter......!

Varmints For Fun

 

[bigeasy]

could i expect a 1/4 inch improvement at 100yrds by cleaning up flash holes or try different powder combinations instead?

 

[SnakeEye]

could i expect a 1/4 inch improvement at 100yrds by cleaning up flash holes or try different powder combinations instead?

No, just pick a powder for the weight bullet you are shooting and work up until the groups shrink and then try differant seating depths .005 in or out of the lands until the group is a nice round hole. I usually start load developement with the bullet into the lands enough where when you close the bolt you feel the bullet seat slightly or about .010 thou. There should be a nice square mark on the bullet ojive from the rifleing.

Varmints For Fun

 

[chuckw2]

Caduceus,

The with of the primer pockets were enlarged. I use BR-2 primers in the .243. The primer pocket cleaning is the only thing that I can think of that could of enlarged the pockets. I shoot mild loads.

Chuck

 

[bigeasy]

i made it to the range today and changed my powder charge by 1/2 grain increments and found no change in my group size,so i will try the bullet seat depth next round out! thanks again gang!:thumb:

 

[bigeasy]

hi gang made it to the range today! and tried five different seating depths and found that seated closest to the lands gives the best group in my gun. all of my experimenting i've come to the conclusion that i'm not capable as a shooter to shoot better than 1/2 inch:, so until i hone my bench rest shooting skills i'll have to settle. any tips on better shooting techniques that i my be missing? thank you.....