Primer Seating Depth

[JFrank]

I’m still waiting for some one to post their primer seating depth test targets.

 

[calgarycanada]

Then there are those who speak of "crushed" primers. I would like to know what actual research they have done to determine that this happens in cases where the primer is seated deeper than they approve of, that have no visible deformation.

I won’t comment about the first part but with all due respect, do we really need “research” to say that solids don’t compress? At least not with any pressure we can create with priming tools we use.
Priming compound is compacted powdery substance. Cup has priming compound and anvil is sitting right against that without any air gap between compound and anvil. Compound will compress some (1-3 thou maybe) but anything beyond that means something else has to give. Once that small compaction is done, either compound has to displace(break out of the way), or anvil has to bend or cup has to deform. Pretty simple logic to my two brain cells.

 

[BoydAllen]

I won’t comment about the first part but with all due respect, do we really need “research” to say that solids don’t compress? At least not with any pressure we can create with priming tools we use.
Priming compound is compacted powdery substance. Cup has priming compound and anvil is sitting right against that without any air gap between compound and anvil. Compound will compress some (1-3 thou maybe) but anything beyond that means something else has to give. Once that small compaction is done, either compound has to displace(break out of the way), or anvil has to bend or cup has to deform. Pretty simple logic to my two brain cells.

Some things that we do not have numbers for: How thick is the pellet of priming compound? How tall is the anvil? How much does the anvil have to be pushed into the cup for the bottoms of its feet to be flush with the bottom of the cup? I stand by my original statement. If the pellet is sufficiently thick, it will probably get mashed instead of broken. I have never experienced any detrimental effect from primers being seated quite hard and deep. We have enough real problems to deal with without making them up from imaginings. It sort of reminds me of people who have written that they handle their primers with tweezers so that they will not contaminate them with the natural oil from their skin.

 

[calgarycanada]

Some things that we do not have numbers for: How thick is the pellet of priming compound? How tall is the anvil? How much does the anvil have to be pushed into the cup for the bottoms of its feet to be flush with the bottom of the cup? I stand by my original statement. If the pellet is sufficiently thick, it will probably get mashed instead of broken. I have never experienced any detrimental effect from primers being seated quite hard and deep. We have enough real problems to deal with without making them up from imaginings. It sort of reminds me of people who have written that they handle their primers with tweezers so that they will not contaminate them with the natural oil from their skin.

I think we agree for the most part. Primer seating depth is not as detrimental as most people think as long as legs of anvil are touching the bottom of the pocket.
I don’t handle my primers with tweezers and seat them by feel. I don’t think that part of the process is holding me back from winning every time.

If you really wanna see if primer pellet gets damaged or not, seat one in a brass that has loose pocket, seat it as deep you wish, unseat and look.
Before you ask, I have and that’s where my claims are coming from.

 

[BoydAllen]

I think we agree for the most part. Primer seating depth is not as detrimental as most people think as long as legs of anvil are touching the bottom of the pocket.
I don’t handle my primers with tweezers and seat them by feel. I don’t think that part of the process is holding me back from winning every time.

If you really wanna see if primer pellet gets damaged or not, seat one in a brass that has loose pocket, seat it as deep you wish, unseat and look.
Before you ask, I have and that’s where my claims are coming from.

I have removed primers that were seated pretty strongly and examined them and the only thing that I saw that was different was that the anvil was moved farther into the cup, with no obvious damage to the pellet.

 

[Bryan Z.]

I recently watched

and

The conclusion seamed to be that seating primers 9 thousandths below flush was close to optimal

Which tools does the group here think are capable of seating primers consistently to 9 thousandths below flush consistently with a reasonable margin of error?

What's an acceptable way of measuring how far below flush the primer is seated? Could this be accomplished with the depth gauge on quality calipers or would different equipment be needed for this measurement?

PMA or 21st Century (newest gen version) will do the trick. You can have error of +\-.001” and it won’t make a difference. Thanks for checking the vids.