Berdan to Boxer

Is it possible to convert Berdan primed brass to Boxer primed?
I have about 50 old Berdan primed 303 cases in brass( don't know where they came from).
Wouldn't it be possible to drill a single small hole between the two in a Berdan primed case then fit a large rifle primer?

It's not worth doing for .303 brass since there is LOTS of reloadable boxer .303 available.

Converting brass is really only worthwhile for cases that are otherwise unobtainable such as:

8mm Lebel
7.5 Swiss
8x74R
14.5x114

etc.

I know it doesn't make economic sense, but nevertherless if someone knows how to do it properly I'd like to hear about it.

I have a Carcano and a couple of dozen original cases. All primers were dud. I extracted the primer and tried drilling a hole in the middle. Trouble is, a hole of the same size as the typical Boxer ignition hole breaks through into the two small Berdan holes. So I ended up with an oddly shaped long hole looking a bit like a figure 8 with an extra loop. The whole thing now looks a bit flaky, and I am not sure if the performance with a normal primer is going to be satisfactory. Has anyone done this with success?

Patrick

I have converted over 3,000 rounds of surplus Berdan primed 8x50Rmm "Lebel" to Boxer primed succesfully and these cartridges have lasted me a long, long time. Every onece in awhile I lose a cartridge case as the primer pocket gets to big anymore to seat a primer tightly but that is part of the game converting the brass.
Patrick

Thanks for the encouragement!

Patrick

The primer hole is usually different sized as well, but it can be done.

Eli

While it can be done, it's not worth the effort when unprimed boxer brass is everywhere. I would pick remington over winchester.

Check out this web site if your interested in converting berdan to boxer. It works, I've done it. http://parallaxscurioandrelicfirearm...on-Method.html

Skeet1

Skeet1,
I could not get the site to convert Berdan to Boxer, is there another site I could try?
Howard

Converting Berdan to Boxer Primers

http://users.ameritech.net/mchandler/primer.html

Aloha, Mark

Thank you,

Howard

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tor

Is it possible to convert Berdan primed brass to Boxer primed?
I have about 50 old Berdan primed 303 cases in brass( don't know where they came from).
Wouldn't it be possible to drill a single small hole between the two in a Berdan primed case then fit a large rifle primer?

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Here are few links to forums that discussed conversion to boxer. Some present the same info... But they were educational...

Hope this helps...

Berdan to Boxer Conversion Method - Handloading - Military Surplus Ammunition and Handloading - ParallaxBill's Curio & Relic and Military Surplus Firearms Forums - Message Board - Yuku

Berdan to Boxer Conversion Method - Handloading - Military Surplus Ammunition and Handloading - ParallaxBill's Curio & Relic and Military Surplus Firearms Forums - Message Board - Yuku

http://users.ameritech.net/mchandler/primer.html

Berdan primer experiment - Handloading - Military Surplus Ammunition and Handloading - ParallaxBill's Curio & Relic and Military Surplus Firearms Forums - Message Board - Yuku

Berdan to Boxer conversion for GP11 cases - Swiss Rifle Forum Archives - All - C+R Gun Collector Forums - Message Board - Yuku