I have been reloading for about 25 years and have seen the term "loose primer pocket" many times, but have never seen a good definition. On some loads over the years I have found that after 4 or 5 loads the primers seat noticably easier, but I can't push them in with my thumb or anything. On the cases that feel the loosest(technical term), after firing I have tried to push the primer out with a Lee trim tool, but have not been able to without using considerable force. Does anyone have a good definition of when a primer pocket is considered too loose? In determining whether a load is too hot, how soon will the pocket get that loose-- in other words, will a hot load cause a pocket to get too loose after the first shot or second, etc...

I realize that a safe max load will eventually cause primer pockets to loosen; what I am looking for is how loose and how soon would a "too hot" load cause primer pocket problems? Thanks, Al.

If I start to feel a lack of resistance when I seat my caps I just mark that case with a permanent marker and toss it after that firing.

I prime all of my cases with a hand primer so I can generally feel when they're getting loose. I will typically reload them until they wont hold a primer anymore. The only cases that I ever get loose pockets on are my 338/378 cases, and they'll either hold a primer or they wont.

To answer your other question, how soon and how loose in regards to a "too hot" load, depends on just how hot it is. My 338/378 cases with stout loads used to get loose pockets after about 6 reloads. Recently I had a situation where I loaded up some rounds and tested them at the range on a mild day and they were fine, no excessive pressure signs, no stiff bolt lift etc. About a month later I took some of the rounds out to a friends place and we were shooting in the sun and the ambient temp. was higher and one of the rounds get real sticky. The round was over pressure enough that it blew the pocket out in one firing and the case had only been loaded once, maybe twice. Just for grins I tried to put a primer in the pocket and it was big enough that you could drop it in with your fingers... of course it fell back out immediately. So it really just depends on how hot things get. If you're running consistently stout loads it may take a couple of reloads, if you run really over pressure one time, that can do it too.

As far as how many reloads you will get b4 your primer pocket opens up too much is one of those "how long is a piece of string" questions.
Pop has a good idea. When I feel a primer seating too easily, I take that case and hold it on a 45 degree angle and tap it sharply (another technical term) on the bench top (wood), if it doesn't back out, I go ahead and load it but slate it for disposal after the next firing. After reading Pop's post, I'll mark it with a magic marker.

Currently I use two different presses and a hand primer. You can tell the difference in each when a primer is going in easy or hard.This,however is not always an indication of a loose or tight primer pocket.

In some of the recent threads we've discussed the WLR current primer production which feels very loose to falling out.This is wide spread and many on this forum are experiencing the problem.

During my years of reloading I have found the reverse to be true also. Primers whose OD is a little on the high side. These kind of krunch into place.

If you feel that the primer pockets are loose get some gage pins and check them out. roger

Think of where that loose primer can go. Cartridges are not that expensive toss the offender into the trash and save the aggervaiton. Nothing worse than to have a primer come loose in a gun and jamb up while trying to shoot that once in a life time buck. You know the one that looks like he has a tree on his head.

Swede44mag

Acy,
I had this problem loading 6.5x55SE IN MODERN RIFLE!!!
I used the same load that a friend of mine used without problem. But he was a Norma cases fan, I always preferred LAPUA. Norma cases have more volume than Lapua.
Well, the hottest load 47grs of N160 Vithavuory made me have, after 3 - 5 reloads, the primer pocket that loose the primer.
The first sign has been a black ring of smoke around the primer.
The last load it was possible to put the primer using only the fingers.
bye

I guess that since I've never had a primer loose enough that it would fall out, or even back out by tapping the case, I must be in pretty good shape as far as primer pockets go. I thank each of you for your replies. Reloading is such an exact science, isn't it!!

You can fix most of those Loose Primer Pockets quite easily. Tare off a small piece of 000 Steelwool, roll it up and knurl the inside of the Primer Pocket with a few twists of the Steelwool. But a warning here, don't get to aggressive with this are you will never get another primer to seat in the pocket again. And don't do this to a Primer Pocket that�s not loose.

[ 12-03-2003, 21:37: Message edited by: ChoPPeR ]

I consider primers too loose if they either fall out of the case or you see a burn mark around them indicating a bad gas seal. Until that point, they are not too loose.

BTW - I try to keep my pressures down a tad bit to keep caps from loosening. The 100 - 200 fps in speed loss is more than made up for in much longer case life.

There was also a tool on the market a little while ago for tightening up the pockets (kind of a mini-anvil and punch thing). Haven't seen any adds for awhile though. - Dan

You don't necessarily have a tool for what you're talking about, although it would make it easy. If you take a punch and put some dimples in the head around the pocket, you'll displace the brass and make it tight again. Another thing to do is if it's just a little loose is to put some fingernail polish on it. That'll hold it for one more round.

You are going to think that this answer is screwy and not true, but it is really true.

Many years ago when I was in the reloading business, a friend of mine was into shooting military clunkers. I mean like 11mm Egyptians, Dutch 6.5's, etc. Anything that was cheap and that would shoot cheap ammo and could be reloaded with cast bullets. It was fun.

It was back in the days of the GCA '68 when you had to buy everything through a local dealer and so I was elected to track down rare components and rare ammo. This got into various sizes of Berdan primers and old, old, ammo, berdan decapping tools, etc.

You can imagine that with ammo hard to get for some rifles, we stretched the case life as far as we could. That included gluing the primers in with Duco cement after the primers would no longer stay in by themselves.

From my experiences, I will tell you that as long as it is safe, it is OK. After you get to the Duco cement stage, you will get a little gas leakage around the primer. No harm done as long as it is a very small amount and you don't shoot enough to gas cut the bolt face. It is a little unhandy to have to chase your primer around the action after it has been fired, but that only happens with primers that are extremely loose.

I suppose that eventually there might be enough gas to get back through the action and get in your eyes (remembered to wear safety glasses lately?), but that takes a lot of shooting.

So have fun and don't worry too much about ammo that is meant for entertainment and not something critical. Fit your methods to your requirements.

Geo.

I use the primer pocket as an indicator of pressure rather than an issue by itself. If primers go in the pocket noticeably easier with a hand priming tool after fewer than 5 reloads, I consider that load to be overpressure for that case in that rifle. Five is about right, and more reloads without noticeably easier priming is under pressure -- thought that may be desireable in some situations.

Once a case has a slightly expanded primer pocket, it may be fine to shoot some more, but I use that case only for informal range shooting, and not much of that.