How loose primer pockets?

[22BRGUY]

Hi all...Just wondering from some of the experienced target shooters how "loose" do you let primer pockets get before pitching the case? Does consistant accuracy begin to drop off at a certain point? Any helpful articles you might know of? I've got some cases that have been reloaded 25 times. Pockets still hold the primers but starting to wonder about effect on accuracy. Thanks Much

 

[English]

I was just going to post the same question,so I will be interested in the answers,my own brass has got sloppy pockets now to the point virtually no pressure needed to seat them,

 

[NorCalMikie]

If you find a "very loose" primer pocket, you've already primed the case? Mark the case with a black marker, load it up and shoot it. Cull it from the batch when it comes time to reload.
Loose primer pocket? The next step is a blown primer. Pieces of the primer down in the trigger assembly. Broken extractor. Etc...
If I find one that's "real bad"' I'll push the primer out and dump the case. You usually don't find out till you are priming cases, then you're stuck wondering what to do? If you're running a "hot load", be on guard for trouble.
I'am doing 20 + - firings and have run into a few a little on the loose side. Just mark them for junk.
As far as loss of accuracy? Never had a problem.

 

[alf]

I don't worry about it until I can tap the primed brass on the counter top and the primer falls out.

 

[spclark]

I decap manually with a Wilson case base and small punch so it's easy to tell when primers almost fall out. I usually segregate those cases for processing separately, or if they're real bad just chuck 'em into the recycle pail.

A few years back I tried using super glue to secure primers in cases that were kind of questionable, but it only helps until they're fired....

Did some testing too of brass with a questionable grip against known tight primers & didn't see any differences on paper in Palma competition so I think if they'll stay in on their own, even if they're not as tight as in new brass, it's probably no big deal.

There's an outfit down in Florida that makes a system of anvils & punches that can be used to "swage" a small reduction into case heads at the primer pocket, something akin to a military crimp but without the primer being in place. The principal is to reduce the diameter just a little bit on pockets that might be borderline too large.

Here's a link to Midway's web page for the product:

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=911104

It works well enough but is kinda tedious to do on a case-by case basis. You also need to be careful about which anvil you buy if you want to do more than one kind of cartridge. Some may be too short or too fat to work with many other cases you use.

The tools provided when I bought a kit a year or more back weren't hardened so they tend to be a little short-lived for the $$ you spend. Maybe that's changed since then, so I'd still ask about that before buying.

 

[JohnO]

I have found that some primers are slightly larger than others so sometimes I will set aside brass with loose pockets and use the bigger primers, but mostly for practice.

 

[tenring]

Excessively loose primers, will leak and cause pitting on the bolt face. Doesn't ruin the rifle, but looks bad.

RW Hart sells a swage to tighten them. I have heard very few favorable comments on it. Personally, if they fall out, I trash the case. If they just seat easily, I pull them and re do the entire batch with Wolf primers, which are a tad wider.

 

[Samdweezel05]

I wonder if a primer pocket un-swaging tool could be made. I see the Hart tool and it looks to be a pain in the butt. I use an RCBS swaging tool for my primer crimped .223 brass. I wounder if the same idea could be used and built for a press that would essentially put a slight crimp around the primer pocket. Off to the lathe I go.

 

[338Lapua]

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