Primer Pocket Reamer Make any Difference

[Seeking_Coyotes]

Friend suggested I get the RCBS Primer Pocket Reamer tool that attached to a drill to use in the primer pockets. Is this worth doing to new (Laupa) .243 brass? Used brass? How often should I use it, etc.?

 

[TimP]

I uniform my primer pockets regardless of the brass manufacture. I then use the same tool to clean the primer pockets after each firing. Is it worth doing, will you see a difference in accuracy if you don't not sure. But one thing you will accomplish is a uniform seating depth for all your primers in all your cases. Its an accumulative of all the little things that in the long run will give you the best accuracy.

 

[Seeking_Coyotes]

Thank you, Tim.

I also ordered the tool to do the inside of the case primer pocket. Any tips on how I do this when the tool arrives? I think I heard this only is done once to each piece of brass. Is this correct? Also, again, it it worth doing? Can I hurt the brass if I am new to using this tool? Any tips, ect.?

Thank you everyone. Been loading about five years but want to get serious now that I am planning on longer range shooting.

Thank you for any advice...

Mike

 

[Shynloco]

I uniform my primer pockets regardless of the brass manufacture. I then use the same tool to clean the primer pockets after each firing. Is it worth doing, will you see a difference in accuracy if you don't not sure. But one thing you will accomplish is a uniform seating depth for all your primers in all your cases. Its an accumulative of all the little things that in the long run will give you the best accuracy.

+1. Excellent summation Tim. Couldn't have said it better myself. I do as Tim says after each and every firing. Just part of being consistent in reloading.

Alex

 

[TimP]

I also ordered the tool to do the inside of the case primer pocket. Any tips on how I do this when the tool arrives? I think I heard this only is done once to each piece of brass. Is this correct? Also, again, it it worth doing? Can I hurt the brass if I am new to using this tool? Any tips, ect.?

I am assuming the other tool you ordered is a flash hole deburring tool. Most of them have a preset cutting depth so damaging your cases would be very difficult. Using the tool will be self explanatory once you receive it. They are very simple to use and yes flash hole deburring only needs to be done once. There is that question again "is it worth doing" I think so just one more step to making everything consistent case to case.

 

[bozo699]

I also ordered the tool to do the inside of the case primer pocket. Any tips on how I do this when the tool arrives? I think I heard this only is done once to each piece of brass. Is this correct? Also, again, it it worth doing? Can I hurt the brass if I am new to using this tool? Any tips, ect.?

I am assuming the other tool you ordered is a flash hole deburring tool. Most of them have a preset cutting depth so damaging your cases would be very difficult. Using the tool will be self explanatory once you receive it. They are very simple to use and yes flash hole deburring only needs to be done once. There is that question again "is it worth doing" I think so just one more step to making everything consistent case to case.

This is true but as with most things with rcbs there cheap and not as precise as some of the better tools, unless they have changed rcbs flash hole tool indexes off the case mouth and not the bottom of the web like K&M and some of the better tools do so with that being said you have to trim all the cases the same length and properly adjust the tool or you won't take enough material or too much. I agree with others that even with the rcbs tool you will gain some benefit by making them uniform, the tool as I remember does a pretty good job once it is set properly. IMO you will want to set it to just remove the burr and a little counter sink look to it and no more then that needs removed, that should uniform the hole if it is not round and remove the burr left by the punch on cheap brass, Lapua and norma are really good from the factory but still can benefit some from the tool.
Wayne.

 

[FroggyOne2]

Wayne,

I use the ones offered by Sinclairr, there is one for Lapua brass and then there is one for all other brass. The one for the Lapua brass is not normally in the catalog, you have to specificaly request it. I use the 8000 carbide cutter and chuck it into a drill and use a Wilson case holder to hold the case in my hand when cutting with the drill. Been doing it that way for years.

 

[Shynloco]

I also ordered the tool to do the inside of the case primer pocket. Any tips on how I do this when the tool arrives? I think I heard this only is done once to each piece of brass. Is this correct? Also, again, it it worth doing? Can I hurt the brass if I am new to using this tool? Any tips, ect.?

I am assuming the other tool you ordered is a flash hole deburring tool. Most of them have a preset cutting depth so damaging your cases would be very difficult. Using the tool will be self explanatory once you receive it. They are very simple to use and yes flash hole deburring only needs to be done once. There is that question again "is it worth doing" I think so just one more step to making everything consistent case to case.

TimP,
Like Froggy says, Sinclair makes very nice PP reamers, both for small and large PP's. And Sinclair also sell a "Primer Pocket Uniforming with Forster DBT Base" (749-003-702SJ) that sells for $27.95. It's a hand crank that allows you to change to various sized SINCLAIR Primer Pocket reamers and works very nice. These reamers have limiters (by the pure design of the reamers) so you can't take too much out of the PP or damage it. I've three of them attached to my reloading bench and it's part of my "down the assembly" line approach to prepping brass. The other two have deburring and mouth champfering tools in them. I've never been a fan of using drills because I have a much better feel for "resistence" and smoothness once the job is doen. Doesn't take all that much, but I worry about taking too much off when using a drill which I've tried in the past. Guess it's a personal preference thing.

Alex

 

[TimP]

Wayne,

I use the ones offered by Sinclairr, there is one for Lapua brass and then there is one for all other brass. The one for the Lapua brass is not normally in the catalog, you have to specificaly request it. I use the 8000 carbide cutter and chuck it into a drill and use a Wilson case holder to hold the case in my hand when cutting with the drill. Been doing it that way for years.

Not to confuse the original OP I thought he was asking about a deburring tool not a flash hole reamer. If that is the case I really like the bushing style deburring tool made by 21st Century Shooting it like most of them have a preset cutting depth. I am unfamiliar with RCBS tool so listen to Wayne on that one.

 

[amlevin]

I learned rather rapidly that not all primer pocket uniformers are equal. Had one that did a really nice job when I chucked it in my cordless drill. Cut the bottom of the primer pocket nice and square, smooth all around the flash hole. Used it to clean the primer pockets too, again with nice clean primer pockets.

THEN

I started having misfires like never before. Seems that the depth collar around the cutter was loosening after it warmed up from cutting a couple of pockets and they kept getting deeper and deeper.

I tossed the tool and now use a Redding primer pocket uniforming "Reamer" that is machined with a fixed stop for depth. No way it can change.

Ended up tossing a couple hundred pieces of brass, luckily for me only Winchester and not the Lapua.

 

[mgx1138]

I have tested reamed and cleaned primer pockets vs. not... 6ppc, and 6mmAR. No accuracy difference. Primers need to seat fully; just below the level of the pocket. Spending time uniforming and reaming would be better spent practicing.

 

[bozo699]

Wayne,

I use the ones offered by Sinclairr, there is one for Lapua brass and then there is one for all other brass. The one for the Lapua brass is not normally in the catalog, you have to specificaly request it. I use the 8000 carbide cutter and chuck it into a drill and use a Wilson case holder to hold the case in my hand when cutting with the drill. Been doing it that way for years.

Randy,
I as well do it the same way you do, and have for a long time, works well and the wilson case holder keeps your fingers from blistering if you have a bunch to do.
Wayne.

 

[BoydAllen]

I don't think that anyone has proven to my satisfaction that cutting the bottoms of primer pockets does anything to improve accuracy, particularly with Lapua brass. I shoot a pretty decent 6 PPC and I use a primer pocket tool that is set to clean but not cut. Looking at the pockets after they are cleaned, it seems to me that they must come from the factory pretty uniform. Some time back, someone told me of a test that I think that Tony Boyer did, that looked at reaming and/or chamfering flash holes in Lapua .220 Russian brass (what we make 6PPCs from) and it turned out that anything done to the flash holes no only did not improve accuracy, it made it slightly worse. The only time that I mess with primer pockets is to take the burr out of the inside of flash holes on American brass. If I were going to shoot long range, I would do some actual testing, and not just go to the internet. So far the only longish shooting that I have done has been varmint hunting, and I have been very pleased with my rifles' accuracy for that use. From what I have seen, if you put a product in a catalog of similar products, and claim that it makes brass better, there of lots of shooters that will buy it and use it, just to leave no stone unturned. The same can be said of case cleaning, even though the most accurate short range shooters pretty much never want the insides of their necks cleaned of all powder residue.

 

[FroggyOne2]

Boyd,

I got into the habit of it because of the AR15 Service Rifle I was competeting with. AR's don cotton well with high primers and if you load a round in slow fire and close the bolt and the round goes off from the firing pin striking the primer, you have just lost ten points. Slam fires can ruin a good score!

 

[BoydAllen]

Let me modify my previous post with one exception that your post made me think of. Over ten years ago, the first Lapua .220 Russian brass that I got a box of, had too large of a corner radius in its primer pockets, and because of that I had to flatten primers to seat them to an acceptable depth. When I tried to fix the problem with my regular primer pocket uniformer (Sinclair) it would wedge in the pockets because it had no provision to cut on the sides of the pocket. Asking around, I found that Russ Haydon sold a fixed depth carbide tool that was specifically designed to fix this problem. I still have the tool, although newer brass has not required its use. It only cut in the corners of the pockets, and solved the problem with minimal brass removal. Other than that example, I have never had a problem with a primer seating high because of pocket depth issues. I said that I have seen no accuracy benefit, but as long as they are not cut too deep, I see no harm.

 

[FroggyOne2]

I don't doubt it one bit, but because of my early experience with Service Rifle, I have never changed my regiment. Does it help with verticle dispersion at 1000 yards, not sure, but my personal confidence that I have made the best ammo I can for a match is worth the effort for the mental satisfaction.

 

[Seeking_Coyotes]

Yikes...I've reloaded over 1,000 rounds on my Rock Chucker Supreme for my son for service rifle and never used a primer pocket reamer.