I have mounted my press and want to test the seating depth of my RCBS ram prime unit. Do I need to use the brass I intend to reload, or will any 308 brass work? Might be a dumb question, but thought it was worth asking. Thx in advance
Brass for testing seating depth of ram priming unit
- Thread starter DeltaWhiskey64068
- Start date
Dusty Stevens
Shiner
just pull that long handle til they get where you want em
Prime some real cases, that you plan on reloading, sneak up on the adjustment, seat by feel. You will be fine. I have had one for years. Properly adjusted, they give great feel for when the primer bottoms. Adjusting is so easy that I don't bother saving the setting. Seat by feel, not by depth.
You are right,the Op was mentioning the RCBS,just wanted to show there are other ways . I think I saw somewhere there is a mod for the RCBS,not sure if it deals with depth or not though . I go by feel these days,tried a bunch of priming tools through the years.
Edit: Found it,right here on the bulletin. Looks very interesting .
http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2018/10/darrell-holland-upgrade-for-rcbs-bench-priming-tool/
Fellows, the most accurate shooters that I know of, short range benchrest group competitors, seat by feel. There seems to be a fraction of reloaders who go by what seems to be rather than by proven results. Since a lot of folks that do not post read, let me be clear. I think that seating by depth is a mistake. Unless you can prove conclusively, by match or test results that I am wrong, you are proceeding based on what you think should be true, and IMO actual results trump you would think, or it seems to me, every time.
I actually do seat by feel with a hand primer.
And I set all my pockets to a uniform depth with a Lyman tool, same tool I use to clean my pockets with after every firing.
I've also noticed in using this method alot of time I see the corners of pockets get cleaned up a touch .
All primers seated below case consistent
No I haven't used a depth gauge
Never had a problem with ignition
No mis fires
Boyd
If I am reading you right, you are saying seating depth is not all that important. My method is to uniform the pockets one time and then seat the primer till it is fully inserted. While I have never measured for depth, They all seem to be fully inserted. Of course I do clean the pockets each time I reload and only occasionally reform the pockets as needed.
Am I doing this right????
That's exactly what I mean.
D-4297
Gold $$ Contributor
Ya'll ask me again why I love my old Rock-chucker with the swing out primer arm / cup , that goes into the slot in the ram . Up / In / Down , DONE . Seat by feel , and it works every time . Use a pocket tool to clean every time . Doesn't get all the crud on every case , but the nice little shiny corner ring in the bottom tells me they are all the same depth from the case face . And the same depth below the face . I've checked a few with a depth mic that didn't "feel" like they were deep enough . They were .... And they all seat the same , by FEEL .
It ain't broke . Why keep trying to fix something that works that well ? The only thing missing was the primer feeder tube , and the swing-arm with the primer insertion cup .
It ain't broke . Why keep trying to fix something that works that well ? The only thing missing was the primer feeder tube , and the swing-arm with the primer insertion cup .
I have been using
LOCK-N-LOAD® IRON PRESS® KIT AUTO PRIME
I've found it to be very convenient. First I deprime the pockets and clean the cases. Then clean the pockets with my RCBS brass station. Pockets are unified when new and check once in a while to make sure the are good. Then I count the brass and load enough primer into the hopper so that there is none left over in the feed tube in case I want to change primer size for the next group of brass. I can feel the primers being inserted and have gotten use to the amount of force it takes to seat the primer. I also visually check ever piece of brass to make sure it is inserted properly.
I also have a Rock Chucker I have used extensively but found it is prone to screw up once in a while.
LOCK-N-LOAD® IRON PRESS® KIT AUTO PRIME
I've found it to be very convenient. First I deprime the pockets and clean the cases. Then clean the pockets with my RCBS brass station. Pockets are unified when new and check once in a while to make sure the are good. Then I count the brass and load enough primer into the hopper so that there is none left over in the feed tube in case I want to change primer size for the next group of brass. I can feel the primers being inserted and have gotten use to the amount of force it takes to seat the primer. I also visually check ever piece of brass to make sure it is inserted properly.
I also have a Rock Chucker I have used extensively but found it is prone to screw up once in a while.
Dusty Stevens
Shiner
Id like to try a primal rights priming tool. Other than that ill stick with the hand primers
Other than not seating to a particular depth, I have no particular prejudice against any method of priming. One thing that I will tell you, some decades back, curious about how well priming with the primer arm would work I tried it on a few cases...then just for comparison, I redid them with my RCBS hand priming tool and with the hand primer, although I am sure that they were bottomed, I seated them a bit deeper. What I concluded was that at the point of the ram stroke that the primer arm is seating a primer, that the leverage is not all that great, compared to what my hand too was giving me (of course I was a bit gorilla fisted back then). Obviously the priming arm works, but I felt like I had a better feel with the hand unit. In the case of the ram priming unit that I posted a link to, you can vary the leverage by how high the punch sticks out, which is adjusted by how high the body of the tool is in the press. Properly adjusted you have really great feel and control. If you get it too low, you have so much leverage that you feel like you could easily damage the case. I just assume that people have the common sense to proceed carefully and be observant. BTW, back then I actually ruined the main casting of that RCBS hand tool by repeatedly putting so much pressure on the handle while priming that I bent the lips that retain the shell holder. I was young, doing a lot of construction work, an approached reloading in a much more ham fisted manner. There is a useful lesson in this story. I never had a problem with any of those primers going off. They all worked just fine.
??? I already have the tool
Yes Boyd, that's what I am talking about
nmkid
Gold $$ Contributor
I've got one of the Holland add-ons and it works well. You can use the tool with the adjustment wheel or without. It takes some practice to use this by feel but, you most certainly can. Of course, the adjustment wheel works great if your primer pockets have been worked on.
Sounds like a winner, I like the idea of adjusting and the fact you can go by feel also . Thanks for the info.
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