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Originally posted by Hunter333:
I have some unfired military brass that I got a year ago. It has been sized, cleaned, deprimed, etc. The other day, I go to prime them with Winchester Standard Rifle Primers and the primers will not seat. As I am new to reloading, I was hoping for some help from the experts Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions appreciated.

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Hunter, with military ammo the primer is "swagged" into the case as it is seated. This creates an extra tight primer seal and also one of the biggest pains in the butt most reloaders face. Once you have deprimed this military brass, you next discover it is almost impossible to seat a commercial primer back into the primer pocket because it is now undersized...or more correctly has the opening caved-in due to the swagging.

To fix it, you have three choices.
1. As 358 suggests, you can ream it out. This is the slowest and least consistant method and may ultimately lead to ruined brass and carple tunnel surgery on you.
2. You can BUY military brass from such sources as Midway where they have already swagged OUT the primer pocket and restored it to normal specs. (This is the easiest cure and certainly the route you want to take in the future with all military brass. Make certain they specify "primer pockets swagged.")
3. Buy yourself a "Primer Pocket Swagging Kit" from RCBS. (Not expensive and I assume they still make it. I bought mine years ago.) This kit will work in almost any reloading press and is simple to use. Also it will work with small and large primer pockets. It's pretty fast and easy; however, it does add an extra step to the reloading process. The good news is you never have to do it but ONCE to the brass.

Also you should know that military brass is normally THICKER than commercial and thus your absolute maximum loads may need to be lowered slightly.

Finally, military brass is probably NOT the best choice for drastic case modifications due to being extra thick. Example: Converting military .308 down to .243. This can be done, but the neck will be mucho thick. Sizing military brass up or down one caliber, or perhaps even two is normally OK. Example, converting military 30/06 to 270. And I've converted a lot of it down to 7X57 and even 257 Roberts without a hitch. But going more drastic than this gets tedious. (Not saying it can't be done!)

Military brass is good, strong stuff, but it can take a little extra work. I've used a ton of it. Never turn it down next time you see it or someone offers you some. But if you buy any, time try to get brass with the primer pocket already swagged back to normal. You'll thank yourself later.

Hope this helps.

[ 06-12-2002, 04:42: Message edited by: Pecos45 ]