I need some help with a problem I have reloading 223 Rem. I have loaded 22 Rem for years always loading in R-P brass which I purchased. Never had a problem priming that brass. As of late I was given many once fired 223 brass. The case stamps on brass are WIN, R-P and F-C. All have been cleaned and deprived and trimmed. I started to prime them with my RCBS Hand Priming Tool. So far only the R-P have primed easily and some of. The WIN cases did as well. Most of the F-C and WIN were either hard to prime or I was unable to prime them. Measuring the primer pocket holes showed that most of the R-P measures .173 to .174 while the WIN runs .172-.173 and the F-C runs .170-.171.
Why the difference ? Are they not supposed to be all alike ?
I ado not understand SWAGING but know that it is at times necessary, could this be the case. Please explain swaging and when it is necessary and how to determine if it is and what is the best tool if so.
All help appreciated.

You need to buy a primer pocket swaging die set and use it. Once you see it you will immediately understand it. It swages the primer pockets to all the same diameter. It might be necessary if your primers don't fit. It is also used on military brass to push (swage) the crimp away from the pocket and round the edge.
If you think all brass/ammo/chambers are supposed to be all alike, you should read the SAAMI spec book; it will scare you as exactly how much tolerance is allowed, and also remember, it is Voluntary; manufacturers are not held to any standards at all, in the US.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
You need to buy a primer pocket swaging die set and use it. Once you see it you will immediately understand it. It swages the primer pockets to all the same diameter. It might be necessary if your primers don't fit. It is also used on military brass to push (swage) the crimp away from the pocket and round the edge.
If you think all brass/ammo/chambers are supposed to be all alike, you should read the SAAMI spec book; it will scare you as exactly how much tolerance is allowed, and also remember, it is Voluntary; manufacturers are not held to any standards at all, in the US.

whose primers.. hopefully not S&B :-)

Yes, you need to remove the crimp - and sometimes they're hard to see.

A swaging die might be the correct way to remove the crimp, but I've found the dies needed to be adjusted slightly between brands and that got too tedious for me (maybe it was just my set of dies).

I've had good luck with the RCBS Crimp Removal Tool. It's just a little cutting tool designed for their Trim Mate station. It comes with a threaded shaft that will chuck fine in a drill so that's the only way I've used it. The face of the tool works to stop the cutting so it doesn't go too deep or need to be adjusted. It's made quick work of getting rid of the crimps for me with any brand of brass. I hold the cases by hand and it's much faster than trimming or other operations.

there is FC, and there is fc.
fc needs the pockets fixed.

Thanks everyone. I ordered a Dillon Swager that should do the job. Also found a good video on YouTube showing the case close up and what to look for to see if swaging is needed.
Should be good to go with lots of brass to load. Again - thank you all !

Your brass should not have crimps. Kyler is talking about military brass, which does.
Right, clay?

Some federal and Win have crimped primers especially when loaded to mil specs

I believe it has crimps. When looking at the base there is a slight ring around the rim of the flash hole. The R-P brass did NOT have it and there was zero problem with it.

Like others have posted, some commercial .223 cartridges have crimped primers, and that crimp must be removed before you can seat a new primer.

I have two .223 rifles that I have loaded several thousand rounds for with range pickup brass. After you deprime a case, look at the primer pocket. If the edge of the primer pocket has a smooth radius, it is OK to re-prime. If it is not smooth or you can see a ring stamped around the opening, you have to swage or cut a chamfer around that edge.

I've tried swaging but by far the quickest and easiest way to remove the crimp is with a countersink drill bit. I chuck a countersink drill bit in my drill press and simply hold the base of a case against the bit for a couple of seconds and the crimp is gone and the case is ready to be re-primed.

When I reload military brass, I use a neck deburring tool to get rid of the crimp. A couple of twists with the inside deburring tool and it's done. Only have to do it once.

All the FC I find get's tossed back on the ground. I used to use a small countersink drill in the drill press. Now it's all once fired .223 rem for me. I'm happy.