Fix Loose Primer Pockets

[Marty]

Hello all!
I've been shooting F Class using 284 Win.
Almost from the start I have been noticing that the primer pockets have been loosening. There are no pressure signs, primer shoulders still nicely rounded, no difficult extraction/bolt lift, in fact I'm only running 2850 FPS.
I've already culled about 15% of my brass because of this but because of the time taken for case prep and the fact that 284 Win brass is only made on occasion rather than full time I'm hoping to do something about this to extend the life of the brass a little.
Normally I would say that this is due to exposure to excessive pressure but in this case I don't believe so. I'm using Winchester brass which some have said may be a little more prone to this occurring??
In any case does anyone know of a tool which can tighten/swage primer pockets back to initial sizes or else is there anyone who has made a home machined tool from which I can get some ideas?
Thanks.

 

[Cochran]

There was one that had a rod mounted on a base. You put the case down over the rod, hold another piece on the case head and hit it with a hammer. The only guy I know that tried one was a well known F-class shooter. He said it was useless. He said you'd mangle the rod long before it swaged the primer pocket tighter.
I suspect your reamer may have been ground for use with necked up Lapua 6.5x284 brass. It is larger at the base than Win. brass. I tried some Win. brass in one of my 6.5s once. The pockets lasted 2-3 firings but accuracy was excellent. If Lapua prices go up any more, I may have my reamer ground down and use Win brass.

Jeff

 

[dkopriva]

I ran to the same problem of primer pockets loosening on a used rifle that I bought. I intended to replace the barrel soon any way so I chambered a new barrel with my reamer and just for fun put the old one in the lathe and checked the chamber runout. My new one ran out good way under .001 and the old one scared me it had something like .005. Now wonder the pockets loosed so fast. Needless to say the pockets last pretty good when the chamber is tight to the brass and not so good when things are a little loose.

Daryl

 

[Marty]

I also sometimes wonder whether there is something in the fact that this cartridge has a rebated rim ie the rim is unsupported by the chamber which would allow softer brass to expand the primer pockets easier during firing.
In either case it would be nice to have a tool which would enable a little more life out of these cases for now.

 

[chuckw2]

Best fix for loose primer pockets= trash can

 

[Marty]

I definately agree, only I have to get thru one comp before I can toss them, and no more 284 brass, so they will just have to do for now. Hence the original question, the intent of which was more along the lines of "how do I get two more reloads out of each case before tossing them".

 

[Allene]

Marty
I have never done it but I have heard of shooters painting the primers around the edges with finger nail polish, seating them, allowing them to dry and then loading them. The reason they did this was that they were hard to find cases and did not wish to loose them. Try it, you don't have much to loose.
Sponge baths SUCK,
Allen

 

[Forum Boss]

Are you using CCI primers yet? If not, you may find they fit tighter than other brands.

 

[Marty]

Unfortunately, yes.
As an aside, in the past I have found that the ultrasound cleaning method using "cheap and clean" has imparted microscopic roughness to the surface of the case and grips the primer a little better. I've cleaned using this method and I'm thinking that hopefully it should be enough to get thru two more reloads.

Just for interest sake I would like to hear more feedback on the "case saver primer pocket swages" and whether there have been any success stories.

 

[crouch41]

I am new to reloading. How loose is too loose for a primer pocket? I have reloaded some 30.06 brass about 7 or 8 times, and just noticed that one or two primers required noticably less pressure to seat them.

 

[Clarence]

marty Sir:
Not wanting to be snide! I would look closely at your chamber dimentions or the Reamer that put the chamber in the barrel too big at the base?

Clarence

 

[rhino]

http://www.midwayusa.com/esearch.exe/search?TabID=2&category_selector=all_products&search_keywords=case+saver

Try this. It tightens your primer pockets...seems to work nicely.

However, you'll probally need some anhealing work on the case necks when you reload the same case many times..

RHINOUT!

 

[Marty]

Thanks Rhino, info on that exact type of product is what I was looking for. Have you or anyone else had experience with them?
Also noted is the earlier post which mentioned that it was a bit of a "hit and miss" tool, so wondering if there are other users with same/different results.
Thanks.

 

[Marty]

Hi Clarence and thanks for the reply. Just to fill in the gaps, an earlier barrel which I was using had a 1 in 8 twist and simply would not shoot 175 grainers. In the pursuit of finding a load in that barrel I suspect that some of the cases have been subject to higher pressure at some stage. I then got a new barrel with a 1 in 9.5 twist which shoots the 175 grainers wonderfully. As both barrels were cut with the same reamer I was able to migrate the cases from one directly to the other. The new barrel is shooting nicely with only 2850 fps and no pressure signs, but the cases have loose pockets more than likely from the older barrel in which the loads were considerable hotter in search of a good load. Thus I am trying to utilize these cases for one more comp,I don't have any others fire formed yet) then they will be tossed for new cases which will be used in the new barrel only and thus only with milder loads. At that time I guess we shall see if the new cases primer pockets open up with just the current milder loads. I hope that they don't because as per your thoughts, if the chamber is a little over size I can't put any metal back

 

[Marty]

Lynn thanks for the info on the primer pocket tool, I guess I won't go down that road. Hopefully the slight roughness from the "cheap and clean" method will do the trick and then after this comp I can fireform and therefore change to new brass. Thanks all for your input regarding your experiences with the pocket resizing tools, it is much appreciated.

 

[rhino]

The Hart tool worked for me. Also you could try the wolf primers when they come in they are the old PMC/Russian primers and are slightly larger which means a few more reloads.

RHINOUT!

 

[300 RUM]

I know this is an old post but I figured I would post this anyway

As someone who stated sometimes you don't want to lose brass that's hard to find well I have that I 375 CheyTac

After three firings of some fairly decent loads I began to lose a few primer Pockets quite a bit at a time using Jameson brass I figured the brass was toast and I'll just save it as souvenirs until I came up with an idea and idea of s**** and giggles.

Took the brass and sandblasted the primer pockets Wala! Creating a rough texture in the primer pocket give enough surface area to significantly hold a primer this will most likely be the last firing but one more firing nevertheless

 

[Joe Salt]

Try a prick punch and go around the inside of the primer pocket wall about four times, hold the rim against your bench and turn it while you pop dents in the inside wall.

Joe Salt

 

[dcali]

Another thing to remember about loose pockets is that they let combustion gasses escape and etch your bolt face (this can happen pretty quickly - less than a hundred rounds will leave a visible groove). I wouldn't bet on some of these tricks to prevent that. I just chuck them when they get loose.

 

[fguffey]

If I wanted to 'fix the primer pocket' I would make a swage with a round hole that was smaller in diameter than the outside diameter of the case head. After placing the case in the hole I would drive the case through the hole and I believe it would be possible to use an arbor press with home made tools. I am not talking about a co-axial press. I made a few tools for a Dake press for identifying chambers, I was surprised at how one of those presses could wad a case up when the chamber was smaller than the case.

I purchased a barrel from a custom shop that looked like a trade dollar with chop marks; before that I believed practice made perfect, and now I believe if you practice it wrong you get it wrong.

F. Guffey