Crimped brass, but primed okay?

Mike38 · January 28, 2012, 02:53 AM

I tried the search, but no luck, so here goes.

I just primed 50 pieces of .223 picked up range brass. Once fired, I’m sure of it, I asked the guy if I could have his brass as he was leaving, he said it was all new. I didn’t notice anything unusual when depriming / sizing. But while priming I noticed a couple required a bit more force. I kept going and noticed a couple more. After this lot of 50 I checked the head stamps. Five are NATO Lake City brass, more then likely crimped? Since the primers went in okay, I’m safe to shoot them, right? They will be shot in an AK pattern rifle if that makes any difference. Thanks.

Scimmia · January 28, 2012, 03:00 AM

As long as the primer seated fine, go ahead and shoot them. Some rounds are crimped more than others, sounds like yours just had a lighter crimp, especially if you didn't notice signs of the crimp right away visually. I assume you can see it now that you're looking closer?

chris in va · January 28, 2012, 07:18 PM

I've reloaded thousands of the LC brass. The ring crimp may or may not let you prime without issues. I just buzz it off with a chamfer tool chucked in my drill.

ScottRiqui · January 28, 2012, 09:12 PM

I bought a Dillon "Super Swager" for removing the crimps on the LC brass I've collected, but I found that if I set the swager to remove all evidence of the factory crimp, then the new primers will sometimes be a little loose in the pocket and will back out when the round is fired.

With the CCI #41 primers, I've found that they'll seat just fine without removing the crimp at all. I usually compromise and lightly swage the pocket anyway, but I don't worry anymore about completely smoothing away the crimp.

January 28, 2012, 02:53 AM	#1
Mike38 Senior Member Join Date: December 28, 2009 Location: North Central Illinois Posts: 2,710	Crimped brass, but primed okay? I tried the search, but no luck, so here goes. I just primed 50 pieces of .223 picked up range brass. Once fired, I’m sure of it, I asked the guy if I could have his brass as he was leaving, he said it was all new. I didn’t notice anything unusual when depriming / sizing. But while priming I noticed a couple required a bit more force. I kept going and noticed a couple more. After this lot of 50 I checked the head stamps. Five are NATO Lake City brass, more then likely crimped? Since the primers went in okay, I’m safe to shoot them, right? They will be shot in an AK pattern rifle if that makes any difference. Thanks.

January 28, 2012, 03:00 AM	#2
Scimmia Senior Member Join Date: May 19, 2011 Location: Eastern IA Posts: 428	As long as the primer seated fine, go ahead and shoot them. Some rounds are crimped more than others, sounds like yours just had a lighter crimp, especially if you didn't notice signs of the crimp right away visually. I assume you can see it now that you're looking closer?

January 28, 2012, 07:18 PM	#3
chris in va Senior Member Join Date: December 26, 2004 Location: Louisville KY Posts: 13,806	I've reloaded thousands of the LC brass. The ring crimp may or may not let you prime without issues. I just buzz it off with a chamfer tool chucked in my drill.

January 28, 2012, 09:12 PM	#4
ScottRiqui Senior Member Join Date: January 27, 2010 Location: Norfolk, VA Posts: 2,905	I bought a Dillon "Super Swager" for removing the crimps on the LC brass I've collected, but I found that if I set the swager to remove all evidence of the factory crimp, then the new primers will sometimes be a little loose in the pocket and will back out when the round is fired. With the CCI #41 primers, I've found that they'll seat just fine without removing the crimp at all. I usually compromise and lightly swage the pocket anyway, but I don't worry anymore about completely smoothing away the crimp.