Recently bought some GI brass in 308. About 20% of cases are too fat for the shellholder. Any ideas how to get them primed etc without a shellholder? I use a Lee Autoprime. I also primed one the wrong way round . Any safe way to deprime? or just chuck it?

I have primmed two cases in 15 years with an upside down primer. It might not have been "safe" but I just ran them through my sizer die and punched it out.

Try a #3 Lee shellholder (6.5 Swede). Rim dia. on the Swede is .476", the 308 is .473". The shell holders are different no matter what some sources say.

tgwh - Your problem is your shell holder is just a tad smaller than it ought to be. Lee shellholders aren't the best. I can't recall if your tool will accept the RCBS shellholder or not. If so, this should fix your problem. There is also a possibility, I think, that you may have gotten hold of .308 machinegun cases. They may just be bulged enough to give you problems. Only a mike would tell.

As for depriming live primers, three points:
1. Wear eye protection.
2. Be sure no powder or other flamables close by.
3. Deprime them SLOWLY!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't smack that priming pin down on it or you will detonate the primer for sure.

Remember, primers are IMPACT sensitive. You could crush 50 of them flat in a vise. But you can't hammer or bang on ANY of them.

Hope this helps.

I would put the round in your firearm and discharge it,without powder of coarse.

You're talking about G.I. brass....check it out!

Pecos, RCBS and Lee both show different shell holders for the 6.5 and the 308. They ARE different. Don't think the rim would bulge, MG ammo or not. Case wall maybe, but not the rim. Have used Lee priming tools and shellholders for going on 35 years and have never had a problem.

If you deprime in your press wear eye protection and hold a large book or something in the way so if it does go off you don't get hurt. Makesure your legs aren't underneath too!

I have one Lee shellholder that won't fit all Winchester Brass. It's an old one and I've been reloading .30-06 Rem brass for years with it. Now have a few Win .243 brass that won't fit, but they fit other lee holders and an RCBS holder.

Tolerances....

Soak the case in hot soapy water for an hour or so, the primer compound should dissolve. I'd still be careful punching it out.

Craig, yes sir. I know the 6.5 and .308 shell holders are different and I believe there is a slight difference in the rim of these two cases to justify same. Having one of both may solve the issue as you suggest.

I think the real bugbear here is just as Loren suggests. TOLERENCES. I've run into brass that I had to take a little block of wood and tap in and out of the shell holder each time. Eventually it would piss me off bad enough that I just thru the offending cases in the trash. The practice of messing around with military cases by me was dumb to start with as I've always had THOUSANDS of pieces of it. I had this miserly approach to cases beat into me at an early age.
Sometimes it just gets irrational.

To address your first problem.....
To the best of my knowledge all military 7.62/.308 ammo is fired in semi/full auto firearms. If the chambers are not perfectly clean(and they don't stay that way very long) the extractor damages the rim on the case...sometimes to the point of almost ripping it off. Thus it won't fit in the proper shell holder.

Like Dan, I am less inclined to believe that there is a problem with the shellholder than to suspect the brass. Take an accurate caliper or micrometer and measure those rims. Also look at them closely to determine if they are bulged, or warped by an extractor. In cases of very high pressure, the diameter of the rim can expand enough that it won't enter the shellholder. If that's the case, then your shellholder is an excellent gauge to determine whether a case should be kept or discarded.

I doubt that it is the case, but I have a batch of .222 Remington Magnums (not Remington brand) that have rims which vary in THICKNESS to the point that some enter the shellholder only with difficulty.

Pecos,

I agree with you 100% on the tolerance issue. I would think that as long as the milspec ammo fits the gun, goes bang and extracts...well what more can you ask for from all those govt contractors out there in the world. Don't think they're too worried about the brass not being reloadable. I'm with you, shitcan the cases that don't fit.

Craig

Thanks for the advice guys. With care, managed to deprime the case without a hitch.
I have tried about 5 different brands of brass, including some unfired, and some of each batch are difficult to get in the shell holder - GI or not. Tried # 3 shellholder which works great.
Problem with Lee autoprime shellholders is that other shellholders are not compatible, so you are stuck with the Lee product.
Interesting that Lee criticises firms making proprietory reloading gear in his book, yet comes up with one himself...

The most common problem I have found with surplus brass is the many weapons deform the rim. Don't take much to keep them from going into a tight shell holder. I don't regard this as dangerous though I would a case so swollen at the base as to not fit.

A lot of Lee shellholders have very sharp corners. A touch with a Dremel tool or a few strokes of a needle file will often make them a lot easier to use.

And when all else fails, there is always the Quinetics universal shellholder. I don't know a way to prime with this, but you can use it for everything else.