Hi All! I once seen a friend convert berdan cases to boxer- (I wish I had payed more attention) and was wondering if any of you do this.

I think he decapped with a hook tool and then put some drill rod in a vise sticking straight up. He slide the case ....mouth down on the rod until the case web rode on the drill rod. He then took a punch and mashed the anvil ( made in the case) flat. Then just drilled the flash hole and reamed the case for the boxer primer to fit. Does this sound right?

He has passed on or I would ask him. I think I will deprime unfired cases. The brass will last longer.. Any thoughts?

A long time ago in a land far, far away, I read that you could deprime berdan cases hydraulically. Fill the case with water, insert a dowel into the neck, then whack it with a hammer.

Most 8x57 Mauser is likely to use a .217" primer. The .210" diameter large rifle primer will fall out on the floor.
The Russian .217 Berdan primers are just starting to show in the US. Decapping is not the hassle it is often said to be.
Cheers from Darkest California,
Ross

my question would be... why? Isn't there a ready supply of good boxer primed brass available? Why go to all that trouble? ......just curious... no flames intended at all...

On the 8x56R brass the source is supposed Graf's but they have been waiting over a year for their manufacturer to get it to them in a spec that they will accept. I made 10 cases by drilling out the berdan anvil and silver soldering a piece of .22 rim fire case into the hole it will hold a large rifle primer about as snug as a regular boxer case. I've fired them about 30 times and have lost 2 to neck splits. I use 13 gr. red dot and the Lee .329 mold. This keeps them pretty mild.