I just purchased some Woodleigh .470 bullets (500 gr. Weldcore SN) and Bertram brass to load for my double rifle. A couple questions: (1) Why is the primer hole in the brass too small for the decapper pin (RCBS dies) to fit through the priming hole in the brass ? Can I drill it out without causing priming problems ?; and (2)the Woodleigh bullets vary in weight 2 to 3 grains; is this a problem in developing regulated loads ? Thanks for your answers.

1. Return the Bertram brass for a refund immediately. Bertram has had severe quality problems.

2. Purchase some new brass from Mast/Bell.

3. Don't worry about the woodleigh weight variations because the 470 operates at very low pressure.

Bertram Brass isn't worth the trouble to throw it away. Get some other type. (any other type)

I havn't found Woodleigh bullets to diverge that much. They are the best available for the bigger rifles. I don't think they will make much difference.

Frank, you might want to try Huntingtons for your brass. I can't remember the address but it will come up if you do a search. And I'll back these guys up about the Bertram brass, terrible stuff.

Gentlemen in the 450 No2 Bertram brass is the only choice, so it is what I have to use. HDS may have some one of these days... However I have had excellent restlts with the Bertram, some cases have been shot 20+ times.
As to the small flash hole problem. The flash hole is pinched which leaves burrs on the inside of the case. Sometimes this causes the decaping pin to be pulled out of the stem in the die. I solved this problem by using the Sinclair flash hole deburr tool. I happened to have one from my 308 Palma loading gear. You only have to do this operation once. Many people are down on Bertram Brass but for some calibers it is the only choice.

I would think that Horneber would also make brass for your rifle. Bertram is ver soft and I ahve found mild loads is all that can be fired with it (extra mild).

Whilst I have no experience worth talking about reloading for double rifles I have had a reasonable amount of practice in throwing 500 to 590 gr bullets a 1000 yards or so.

A 2 or 3 grain difference is such a small percentage of the weight that it�s insignificant & probably not much worst than the percentage error of many far lighter small calibre soft point bullets. Although I try to keep the weigh of my swaged 570 grain bullets to less than one grain variation I�ve found (and more significantly � so did W.E. Metford years ago) that even at extended ranges there�s no noticeable effect on accuracy of a 0.6% weight variation. Having played about with bullet production I think 2 � 3 grain variation is quite good for a large jacketed bullet.

As regards your prime concern of pressure & regulation. I�ve found that a 3 grain difference in case weight did have an effect on pressure where a 3 grain variation in bullet weigh had none. This was with .308win target rifle loads (loaded as most British or Australian TR shooters load them � i.e. quite stiff loads), these are far more sensitive to slight variations than your 470 will be � as �500grains� said. I�d guess that your brass will vary in weight far more than your bullets.

I hear so many varied reports about Bertram brass but I�m glad it�s around as it�s all there is in some calibres but certainly Bell/Mast brass is better. However you should not expect to have to enlarge flash holes etc when buying new brass.

Personally I use a �Wilson� primer pocket uniformer (for diameter & depth) & a tool to de-burr the flash hole on the inside of the case (it also opens out the flash hole to the correct size at the same time. Getting rid of the burr will help improve ignition � an important consideration with the larger cases. Sinclair in the US can supply these tools. It�s a way round a problem that ideally should not exist.

I got both Norma and Bell brass for my 470 NE. Both are excellent but the Norma is pricy. I bought them from Midway who also has a small selection of 470 bullets.

The Bertram is very poor quality brass...Huntintons has Bell, Norma and now Horneber...

I got my 470 Brass and bullets at Midways. They didn't have the Woodleighs in stock, so I got some Barnes XLC's instead. It showed up in only a few days.