Hi,
I came across a big bag of .38 cal brass from my father in law. I'm guessing a few thousand cases. Probably been bagged over twenty years ago, easily.
After shouting "Eureka!" I tried to size and deprime a few cases.
To my surprise, I ran into trouble.
It's almost like the primers were glued in, I am having trouble getting the primers to pop out cleanly. It seems like the outside "skin" of the primer is sticking in the primer pocket.
I tried priming some of the ones that looked pretty clean, with mixed results: some easily took a new primer and others had enough "stuff" in the pocket, that the new primer would not seat, and it is a pain in the neck to get a case out of the shell holder, when the primer is still protruding. Enough of a pain to send a guy to the internet for help.
Anybody experience this before? Is there a tool or device to aggressively clean out the pocket?
I want to do all I can to salvage this amount of brass.
Thank you,
Rich
Tried depriving on two different presses: same results.

On the cheap and easy try cleaning them in IOSSO brass cleaner for 5 minutes

Sounds like they have corroded with age. Once you get the primer out you can clean the pockets with a primer pocket uniforming tool sold by Hornady , Brownells and RCBS. Check out the different reloading supply house stores and they will carry various brand tools.

I use the RCBS Trim Mate Case Prep Center. It comes with primer pocket brushes for both large and small primer pockets. I add the RCBS primer pocket uniforming tool. I also add a flash hole debuting tool. Uniforming the priming pocket and debuting the flash hole need only be done once. The primer pocket brush is a metal brush that is installed into one of the rotating points and easily cleans gunk from the primer pockets.

Could some of them be military brass with primers crimps.

Good replies, thank you.
No, not military, I think just old and corroded. I am starting to think my father in law didn't know what to do with these either, and just left them in a big bag.
Eagle Dad, I just watched vids on that RCBS Case Prep Center: Looks great. I think I will make this a winter project.
Thanks for all the replies.

I love my case prep center. I run all my new brass across the stations. I uniform all my primer pockets then hit the primer pocket brush, then uniform and deburr my flash hole. After trimming I chamfer and deburr the case mouth. Fired brass gets the primer pockets cleaned. Then trim, chamfer, and deburr as needed. Makes for nice uniform loads.

Tumbling with SS pins!
2min. of manual work for hundreds of super clean cases.

quote:

Tumbling with SS pins!
2min. of manual work for hundreds of super clean cases.

+1

Can you clarify "SS pins"?

SS = stainless steel.

quote:

Originally posted by rlabom:
Can you clarify "SS pins"?

Wet roll tumbling in soapy/citric acid water and short proprietary pins made of stainless steel

quote:

IOSSO brass cleaner

SS media is why I deprime and then reprime off the press.
It's more work but I'm not doing thousands per month either.

a small rounded screwdriver works as well as anything. I say rounded shaft as it doesn't work on the sides of a case..I use a S&W screwdriver..keep the edge flat and sharp. I know, Im a curmudgeon!!

I use the carbide cutter on a drill from Sinclair. Still on the same cutter about 20 years later.

Pocket depth uniforming tool.

quote:

Originally posted by ted thorn:

quote:

Originally posted by rlabom:
Can you clarify "SS pins"?

Wet roll tumbling in soapy/citric acid water and short proprietary pins made of stainless steel

I've run probably 20,000 cases, rifle & pistol through this system & the pluses far outweigh the negatives.
Cases, both inside & out & including primer pockets come out looking like new.
I'll not go back to walnut media & vibratory tumblers.