Primer Hole Decrimping GGG 7.62

[pigsy]

Having carefully prepped a few hundred GGG fire formed for priming I subsequently had the devils own job of getting the Lee Autoprime to fully seat the CCi primers (although the Lee ram prime seated them OK - with a little pressure). So without wanting to force anything a little more research directed the removal of the crimp.

A few initial attempts with my Lee case de-burrer (as quite widely advised) didn't really seem to make too much difference to the Autprime effort. Another search suggested either a) purchase a proper decrimping tool or b) use a countersink.

It being a Sunday afternoon and all, I opted for the countersink option (used carefully on a cordless drill). The result is that a bevel (<1mm depth) has been left on the top of the primer (obviously). However, is it safe to have a bevelled primer hole?

Cheers

PS - I also have some S&B .308 cases and the head seems to so thick they don't even fit the shell holder on the autoprime. Anyone else experienced this?

[Steve E]

I have a crimp removal tool that leaves a 1mm chamfer around the primer pocket. I have no concerns what so ever about using those cases.
As to S&B cases, I have found that they have rims of variable thickness and primer pockets that are undersize for most brands of primers. I had to open them out on a lathe to facilitate the use of my normal primers. With the variable rim thickness headspace is all over the place so I just gave up after one reload and threw them out into the scrap bin. The brass may look pretty but in my opinion is not worth the effort. Just buy some new PPU as that is almost as good as HXP.

[John MH]

Get a Dillon 600 Super Swage if you are going to be doing a lot of cases.

[ColinR]

These GGG cases are good and surprisingly weigh within +/- 2grains, not bad for something made in Serbia! The brass is good too. As you say being military they have crimped primer pockets and it was a devil of a job getting the primers out even on a heavy duty RCBS press (Ammomaster) - several broken primer removal pins as a result. I removed the crimp with the RCBS crimp removal tool, but it was not easy and required lubrication. The RCBS tool reforms the crimp fairly well and slightly rounds the edge, but the process needs a lot of effort to accomplish and a strong press. In fact I ran all the cases through a couple of times which allowed quite satisfactory primer seating although maybe a bit tighter than usual. All in all worth the effort as they shoot well when reloaded.

I have now reloaded these cases a couple of times without problem and they prime easily.