Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Tight primer crimps

I have a bucket full of 5.56/223 brass that have defied all attempts at decapping them. I have broken pins and even bent a spindle trying. A Lee decapping die gave its life in a valiant effort to tame these unruly beasts. I looked to see if the Berdan primers were used but there is just the one flash hole visible in the center of the head.

The best choice may be to recycle them but I am too vain to admit defeat. I am hoping there is a quicker option than using a punch and hammer. If the latter is the case I might have to cry, "Uncle."

Thanks for any suggestions.

Google Lee heavy-duty guided decapper and universal decapping die.

Check the diameter of the primer holes. I experienced small holes in some "Field and Stream" brass some years ago. Seems some Croatian or Slovenian brass was made with small primer holes.Broke pins like Berdan brass.

I used the Lee decapping die, the decapper kept pushing back up through the nut. Eventually, I tightened the stop nut tight enough that it broke. That was the final straw where I asked for help.



That is probably the case here. A couple of cases had very slight indications that the primer was being pushed out. All ended up with broken decapping pins before the primer was dislodged.

I wonder if a flash hole uniforming die would work. I have one but never used it. Is it designed or would it work for decapping?

There are aftermarket pins available for the Lee universal decapper that are a lot stronger than the Lee pins. I am not home at the moment and don’t remember the company name. They work great with the heavy crimped primers.

Did you mean a flash hole uniformer? They enter the case from the neck. I tried, but don't have any small flash holes. I do know that the cutter only goes into the flash hole a tiny bit when there is a primer installed.

Thanks for the info, I'll give it a search too. I'll have to buy a new die as I twisted the head of the friction nut off the nut. I'm not sure if I will be able to back the body of the nut out with an easy out. I'll have to see what happens once I get the spindle out.

Again, thanks everyone and Merry Christmases!

Yes, that was my thought. If the problem is a flash hole too small for the pin then opening the flash hole up might be a solution. Or, not as I kill some time and pins finding out.

I should just toss the brass but it isn't in my nature. And my other option is much more painful - rereading some book on the 303 British by a goofy Canadian. 😆

Try a "magnum" decapper;
https://www.mightyarmory.com/produc...ie-for-all-presses?variant=5247766167593

If you can't get the primers out with this, I don't know what can.

I posted a similar thread earlier in the year and was told I was full of it. Same thing happened with my Lee die and the pin being pushed out. I finally used my RCBS decapping die and got most of the primers out, but there were a few that got scrapped.

I wonder who that could be? All the best for the holidays.

woodsmaster,

You might try putting a 45-degree counter-sink tool (normally used to provide a seat for wood screws) in a drill, and zipping it into the primers. This usually centers on the firing-pin dimple, and tears out the remains of the primer. If used gently it also gets rid of the crimp. Have been using one for years.

I don't know if this previously mentioned but are they military style crimped in primers ? Those can be difficult to remove unless you use a Lee universal heavy duty decapper. And then you have to use one of several methods to remove the crimp.

I stupidly broke one of those trying to decapp a Berdan 308.

Happy Holidays to you too, Steve!

Thanks Mule Deer, I hadn't thought of that. That it can remove the crimp at the same time would save a little time.

1911a1- Belgian or German make? You should be able to guess how I know!:)

I quit fooling with crimped primers many years ago, but when I did fool with them I used a Lee punch-type decapper and hammer; never failed until the punch part broke when I bent it. SeveraI years ago I came across some imported 6.5x55 cases with flashholes so small a "normal" decapping pin wouldn't go through them. They were otherwise good quality cases so I put a decapping pin in my drill and ground it down with fine sandpaper until it would work.
After I got them decapped with the modified pin, I drilled the flashholes out to work with regular pins. It was labor intensive, but at the time I had very little 6.5x55 brass to work with.