primer pocket uniforming..how many times?

[lpreddick]

i shoot a lot of small primer cartridges, esp 22 BR and 6 MM BR. i do all the things we can to increase accuracy. i use a small primer pocket uniformer and have been doing so after each firing...really gets the burnt stuff out and takes a tiney bit of brass. the BRS stop reaming brass after 3-4 firings and the 223 likewise. am i doing it correctly or should i stop after the first, second, third, etc reaming? will hotrodding a case push more brass into the pocket and continue to ream thus thinning the thickness of the primer pocket's bottom. i have noted some cases ream to a shiney bottom and others just give up the primer residue. in these latter cases i can still see a shiney ring at the circumference of the pocket which is the end point for the primers insertion. i don't think i'm doing anything wrong but appreciate advice. thanks.

 

[82boy]

Nothing wrong at all, in fact I would encourage what your doing. I do it with all my cartridges, and some have 40+ firings on them. I know of a few Benchrest shooters who do the same, one of them never throws his cases away, we figure he has well over 100 firings on some of his cases. (He don't shoot them in big match's though.)

 

[jonbearman]

I ream them and after firing I use the reamer to remove the soot never realizing this dimension would change through several firings.I will have to try what you are doing in the future to see if the pocket keeps changing like you suggest.

 

[Shynloco]

I just finished prepping some Lapua 6mmbr brass yesterday for the 40th time and each time have run each piece through the Primer Pocket Reamer (mine are Sinclairs mounted in a Forster hand crank unit mounted on the face of my workbench) and if there still residue, I use a Lee Primer Pocket Cleaner (small on one end and large on the other) and finally an RCBS Primer Pocket Brush that has the short steel brush. I try to make sure that base of the primer pockets are free of any build up to make sure the new primes rest dead again the pocket wall and the flashholes are free of any build up so the ignitions are are uniform as humanly possible. Works for me.

Alex

 

[LCazador]

Primer pockets get shallower after each firing. Therefore using the primer pocket tool to clean also results in the same seating depth shot after shot. Eventually they will become thin to the point you will have to replace the case. In my 6BR and 22BR I discard cases after 10 firings, not because primer pockets are thin but because I notice accuracy drop off after 10 firings. It's simply easier for me to replace than try to fool with them to bring them back.

 

[mgx1138]

So a while back I decided to test uniforming primer pockets for effect on accuracy. Did that with my 6PPC Bench Rest gun. No effect. If I couldn't see the effect with my 6PPC gun, I figured it ain't going to matter for my highpower Service Rifle or Match Rifle. I load thousands of match rounds a year, and I don't want to do anything that doesn't help my scores. So no primer pocket reaming, or cleaning between reloads (unless there is so much accumulated junk in the case that the primers won't seat below the base). Meanwhile, when I did ream cases, I found the the primer pockets got loose sooner... meaning shorter case life. Another waste of good brass. These are (my) two reasons for NOT bothering with that operation. PS - I also looked at whether uniforming the flash holes made a difference in accuracy... not in my hands; so I don't bother to do that either. FWIW.

 

[CatShooter]

Primer pockets get shallower after each firing. Therefore using the primer pocket tool to clean also results in the same seating depth shot after shot. Eventually they will become thin to the point you will have to replace the case. In my 6BR and 22BR I discard cases after 10 firings, not because primer pockets are thin but because I notice accuracy drop off after 10 firings. It's simply easier for me to replace than try to fool with them to bring them back.

If that is true, then if one does not ream the pockets, then the accumulated "get shallower-ness" should cause primers to protrude and not be able to be seated after a few firings... but I have shot cases 40+ times, and many others have shot case more than twice that amount.

I don't ream pockets on high quality brass (like Lapua and Norma) and I only do it once on the normal Remchester/LC cases.

I have never had a problem with primer pockets getting "shallower" and "shallower"... nor has any of my loading friends.

 

[jimbo88mm]

I uniform the primer pockets after each firing for my AR and Garand to ensure the next primer is seated well below flush.

On my bolts, only when the primer pockets are really dirty, maybe once every 3 or 4 firings.

 

[bigedp51]

Primer pockets get shallower after each firing. Therefore using the primer pocket tool to clean also results in the same seating depth shot after shot. Eventually they will become thin to the point you will have to replace the case. In my 6BR and 22BR I discard cases after 10 firings, not because primer pockets are thin but because I notice accuracy drop off after 10 firings. It's simply easier for me to replace than try to fool with them to bring them back.

If that is true, then if one does not ream the pockets, then the accumulated "get shallower-ness" should cause primers to protrude and not be able to be seated after a few firings... but I have shot cases 40+ times, and many others have shot case more than twice that amount.

I don't ream pockets on high quality brass (like Lapua and Norma) and I only do it once on the normal Remchester/LC cases.

I have never had a problem with primer pockets getting "shallower" and "shallower"... nor has any of my loading friends.

CatShooter

If you uniform a primer pocket and stop when the cutter stops removing brass and after the next firing the uniformer removes more brass please pick the correct answers below.

A. The uniformer is getting longer and may be contaminated with Viagra.
B. The distance from the base of the case to the bottom of the primer pocket has decreased because 50,000 to 60,000 psi is flattening out the stampings on the bottom of the case.
C. You need to put less powder in the case.

D. Was intentionally deleted because its Freudian and the uniformer is an extension of your manhood and being misused and overworked.

 

[1shot]

BIGED, That's funny, ;D I don't care who you are! But I'll try and stay on track here. Regardless if I'm fire-forming a wildcat cartridge, or shooting virgin brass for the 1st time. I don't do anything to the primer pockets until after the 1st firing. I do ream/radius the flash holes during the initial prep, but nothing to the pockets. My theory is, and seems to be supported by others on this thread that the brass seems to "settle". So I wait until after the 1st firing to square up the primer pockets. After that I don't mess with them as I de-prime then clean w/SS pins so the pockets get cleaned at the same time.
I hope this helps,
Lloyd

 

[ShootDots]

Sometimes I wonder just how far we actually NEED to go to get accurate reloads... One of the guys I shoot with, Matt Davis, tells me he doesn't even bother to clean the primer pockets prior to replacing a primer. And he puts the whoop to me quite often and he won the TSRA State Mid-Range Championship late last year with a phenomenal score over all. I believe he also set the club record at 600 yards that same event with a score of (I believe) 200-17 OR 18 "X"s"!! So it makes me wonder just how much actual "prep" work R-E-A-L-L-Y makes a difference!

 

[jcampbellsmith]

Sometimes I wonder just how far we actually NEED to go to get accurate reloads... One of the guys I shoot with, Matt Davis, tells me he doesn't even bother to clean the primer pockets prior to replacing a primer. And he puts the whoop to me quite often and he won the TSRA State Mid-Range Championship late last year with a phenomenal score over all. I believe he also set the club record at 600 yards that same event with a score of (I believe) 200-17 OR 18 "X"s"!! So it makes me wonder just how much actual "prep" work R-E-A-L-L-Y makes a difference!

+1. Practice helps, but some guys can just shoot, some can't. Regards JCS

 

[CatShooter]

I think Dots is right-on... a lot of this stuff is just anal compulsive gone out of control.... looking for something to fix, when it ain't broken.

 

[CatShooter]

BigEd... all of the above

 

[Joe Maisto]

I think Dots is right-on... a lot of this stuff is just anal compulsive gone out of control.... looking for something to fix, when it ain't broken.

My take on this is simply...if you feel better doing it and you have tried your best to get rid of all of the variables you can think of, then it's not for naught. I don't know of anyone I shoot with in short range BR that does NOT clean their primer pockets before priming for the next match. And no...you cannot go too deep if you use the tool designed for that task. In this way, they are all primed to exactly the same level.

 

[amlevin]

For some, all the extra steps in "prep work" give them something to fill their time when they aren't shooting. 8)

If it weren't for prepping cases some people would probably be out in their yards, mowing the lawn everyday .

As for uniforming the primer pockets more than once? I just found that my PP uniformer did a good job of removing the crud. With some cases metal is removed each time and others only the crud. Using this method at least I know that all primers will be below the case head surface.

 

[savageshooter86]

I uniform mine first thing. Then after each firing I use the uniformer to clean the residue out. No brass is removed after the first firing, just the residue. This is in my 308win

 

[Barlow]

I clean primer pockets with an old small screwdriver, twist it around to get the gunk out. I agree some of this case prep stuff is a make work project. Barlow

 

[Turbulent Turtle]

Sometimes I wonder just how far we actually NEED to go to get accurate reloads... One of the guys I shoot with, Matt Davis, tells me he doesn't even bother to clean the primer pockets prior to replacing a primer. And he puts the whoop to me quite often and he won the TSRA State Mid-Range Championship late last year with a phenomenal score over all. I believe he also set the club record at 600 yards that same event with a score of (I believe) 200-17 OR 18 "X"s"!! So it makes me wonder just how much actual "prep" work R-E-A-L-L-Y makes a difference!

Listen to Matt, he knows what he's talking about.

Put me down as another one who never cleans or uniform primer pockets on Lapua brass. I never stick anything in the primer pocket except another primer.

 

[Shynloco]

My take on this is simply...if you feel better doing it and you have tried your best to get rid of all of the variables you can think of, then it's not for naught. I don't know of anyone I shoot with in short range BR that does NOT clean their primer pockets before priming for the next match. And no...you cannot go too deep if you use the tool designed for that task. In this way, they are all primed to exactly the same level.

AMEN!