Reloadable brass?

[ob'98]

Brass bullet cases that when viewed on the inside show two small holes for primer flash instead of one hole centered; and the primer will not punch out....do fellows mess with these to make them reloadable or are they trash? Thanks.

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[gunner]

ob`98 , that are berdan primered cases. You need a special tool for removing the primers. The tool is available at RCBS, Lee and others. Takes more time but what else can you do on rainy days?

Regards

Gunner

[ob'98]

Thanks, I guess I will bag them up. Regards.

[tmark]

ob'98,

I have purchased from House Depot punches with lifetime guarantees and have used them to remove such primers. Of course, when one punch did bend and break, the punch was replaced free of charge. I only had one punch break; it only cost me less than two bucks to buy it, originally. When one has to pinch pennies, one goes the most cost effective route. Just a suggestion.

[Tired Retired]

I wouldn't punch the berdan primers out with a standard punch. Let's see if I find a way to explain what I was told by old reloaders many years ago..... The berdan primers are designed with the double holes of a certain diameter to (just like boxer primer holes) provide an exact amount of "flow" of the prime flame into the powder of the cartridge. That "exact" hole size also factors into how much pressure from the burning powder "flows" back toward the primer area. Punching the berdan primer out will cause the hole at the bottom of the case to be much bigger. It makes for potentially dangerous pressures.

Guess one common sense indicator is this.... if you could readily and safely convert berdan primed brass to boxer primed brass, then (1) why don't the reloader companies sell the punches that do just that, and (2) why do they sell seperate de-priming tools to remove the old berdan primers without punching holes?

Right or wrong, just my two cents worth....

[Steve85569]

Berdan primed brass. Patience.

Reloading rule #1: ALWAYS use the right tool for the right job. No Bubba - ing.

As long as I remember that one I won't blow myself up (again).

Bottom line is spend the money and time to reload it right and safely. Or don't mess with it.

Safety first. Especially when dealing with explosives like promers and powder.

Steve

[richarda]

Even after you get the old Berdan primer out, ypu can't replace it with a U. S. Boxer primer; it requires foreign-made Berdan primers, which are always hard to find and frequently unobtainable, period.

[Jim in Salt Lake]

.22 rimfire, pick it up and throw it away. I wouldn't try to reload it unless you're shooting something for which you can't get boxer primed brass.

[Kirk]

Berdan primers are not interchangeable with US primers; their diameters are different than the .210" boxer primer used in the US. A common Berdan size is .25"; they also lack an anvil. Berdan primed cases need special decapping tools & special primers neither of which are easily or cheaply available.

[Mudcat]

RECYCLE that berdan primed junk for the reasons stated above. Why throw it away when brass does have some junk yard value...besides, why waste it? Reload it? NO, unless you have the right tools and the right primers. Otherwise you are risking harm to yourself and your rifle.

Penny wise, pound foolish otherwise.....

John