Thread: 223 Cases with crimped primers

gday. i bought a couple of hundred "223" cases off trademe a few months ago and they all have a type of crimp holding the primer in. It is impossible to replace the primer as it is. I have used a deburring tool to remove the crimp on a number of cases but it is not a very reliable method of getting a uniform primer pocket.
Does anyone have any experience with opening up these primer pockets? Any tips? Cheers.

what brand is the brass. Ive used a deburing tool before and it seemed to work you could try a primer pocket uniformer

Use a RCBS primer pocket unifier. The unifier comes with the bits for large rifle and small rifle. Easy to use with a press.
Second hand price seems to range from about $75 to $100 for the set. There is a MkI, and MkII version with slightly
harder spindles. Both versions do the trick.

I've used milserp brass for twenty five years in my .223. I use case deburring tool to put SLIGHT champher on lip of primer pocket,removing crimp bit in the process. A couple of seconds by hand or if hold your mouth right can get the wee spindle end to just engage in drill chuck.half a second then lol. Primers slide in like a well greased member up aslack fanny after doing this.

Thanks for that Micky. Priming may never be the same again.

Dillon primer pocket swaging tool, bench top. Does small and large. If you were closer I'd lend you one. Maybe someone in Auckland would...

Thanks for the help guys. Cases are Federal, I have a couple of hundred of them. The deburring tool opens up the pocket OK but just doesn't seem to leave a uniform hole, round on one side but not the other lol. I will try and keep a look out for a primer pocket unifier as suggested but in the meantime might upgrade my deburring tool for a start. I've had an old lee one for donkeys, a new unit might help...

The Lee deburring tool that is about 50 mm long and sort of looks like a rocket.works fine. If your deburring is leaving pockets uneven...it's technique not the tool.

roger that Micky Duck. ill persevere...

Originally Posted by ar269

roger that Micky Duck. ill persevere...

You are probably not keeping things square enough and held on center closely enough so the tool is cutting off to one side. Likely if you have three crimps the tool is finding the biggest gap between two of the crimp spots and heading in that direction which is knocking everything out of square from then on. You might have to either go for the press mounted swage that doesn't cut the crimps out, or work out a way to clamp the case into a machine and rotate it onto a tool or mount the case under a drill press or something and remove the crimps that way. They are a pest on cases where they've swaged the primer permanently into place!!!

I find you can punch primers out of federal .223 cases with a normal fls die. New primers will feed back in just fine also.


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Greetings,
There are tools that just cut away the crimp. I was just sitting here wondering how I had decrimped all the milsurp cases I have. Then I remembered, or thought I did, that I had a simple tool for it. A trip out to the shed confirmed this. Must be going nutty with old age.
GPM.

What is this tool you speak of Grandpamac? Sounds just what I need...

I've used this tool for at least 30 years, takes the stab crimps out of Geco just fine (just did 50). I also use in for the inside and out of case mouths. It's a bit slow but I've been too lazy (and tight) to find anything else. Sorry don't know what make it is.

Lmfao...that's a case deburring tool. Pretty much the same as they all are.