Bought a whole bunch of .375 H&H Norma brass a couple of years ago. Got around to loading some today to start working up a new load for a bunch of North Fork bullets I bought as they closed down operation.

Using Fed 215s...I could not get them primed with my Lee Auto Prime hand primer...had to go to my press mounted priming system (Lee Auto Prime II) to get them flush. The primers then looked flattened. Just did a string of 6 with increasing powder to run through my chrono.

What gives with this? In all of my yeas of using various brands of new brass...never encountered this before—esp in supposedly premium brass.

I have some Norma 458 brass, same primers. Go in really hard

I got a couple of hundred .458 WM as well.

I have not had trouble with Norma brass but had the devil of a time getting Remington primers into RWS 6.5x54 MS cases. I think they may have flattened a bit in the process, too.

Since Norma brass seems to have a reputation for being a little soft, I would have thought it might be easier to prime.

Yep. Norma can and a lot of times does have tight primer pockets.

I've had the problem in 280ackley and 416 Rigby. Usually a after couple of firings the primer pockets loosen up. And I have used a Lyman primer pocket uniformer to open them up a bit for the first time. Especially if they sit high like they did with the Rigby brass.

Hornady brass tends toward tight pockets, especially .308 Win. Which is why I like it.

Am more worried about loose pockets. If tight enough to warrant, swage with a decrimper. So far just .308 Win, and not all of it.

I like to use Winchester unplated primers in new cases with tight primer pockets. The lack of nickel plating makes them just a tad smaller than those from other manufacturers. Conversely, I've found Federal to be the hardest to insert.

WW WLR primers have ample "fire" for magnum rounds and slow/ball powders.

Are the primer pockets tight, or shallow ? The slight flattening suggests to me shallow rather than smaller in diameter. If you have appropriate tools, some careful measuring should give you the answer.

I have had trouble with primers (R 9 1/2) being one or two thou thicker overall than some other brands and brass with pockets on the shallow side.

Personally, and it may be irrelevant to your problem, but I think Norma brass is over rated. I have some in 375 BTW, but the bags are still sealed.

I always clean up primer pockets of new brass with a hand held cutting tool to make sure they are all uniform. You would be surprised how many are really out of spec.

I am not a target shooter and have never messed with primer pockets—never saw the real need...until I messed with “premium” Norma brass.

But I have been wanting a case prepper for chamfering, deburring, and primer pocket cleaning (did always clean them after first firing)...so I bought the new Lyman Case Prep Xpress.

It works great! I uniformed the depth and reamed the Norma brass and it takes primers just like plain old Winchester and Remington brass always has.

Damn! Using this high-falutin premium stuff sure does create more work...but I did get a new toy!