Military crimp removal methods

[Petey308]

Thanks... lol, been retired for 11 years lost track of holidays

I look forward to that problem lol. I'm a federal employee, so I have tomorrow off. It gives me the chance to finally get to the range to get closer to completing load development on the Apex Afterburners I'm trying to get ready for deer season next month.

 

[WildRose]

I haven't done this yet but i'm thinking the right diameter carbide piloted drill bit mounted on a drill press would definitely be the quick and dirty way to deal with the crimps.

Just make yourself a fixture to hold the brass centered on the bit and the problem should be solved in about two or three seconds.

 

[Petey308]

I haven't done this yet but i'm thinking the right diameter carbide piloted drill bit mounted on a drill press would definitely be the quick and dirty way to deal with the crimps.

Just make yourself a fixture to hold the brass centered on the bit and the problem should be solved in about two or three seconds.

I've tried something similar. The problem I've found is there really needs to be a bevel added to the mouth of the pocket. The crimps just build up that spot to the point it seems like if you don't add a bevel, you'll inevitably get a case here and there that just doesn't want to take a new primer properly and either gets slightly smashed, or completely smashed. Applying the bevel fixes that issue.

So ideally, any bit you use needs to also apply a slight bevel for the best end result and reliability with priming later.

 

[C-130 Dude]

I 100% agree. I've only been able to find a compromise, and nothing I'd call an actual solution.

I did contact a couple companies that custom make carbide cutting tools and the cheapest quote I got was in the thousands. I think that was mostly initial tooling and such, and not a price per unit. I'm not really interested in having them made to sell though. Someone else might be.

Yup! Until or unless there is a market demand, no one is going to get in on this. That said, I don't have the funds to undertake this and I'm too old to do it.

 

[WildRose]

I've tried something similar. The problem I've found is there really needs to be a bevel added to the mouth of the pocket. The crimps just build up that spot to the point it seems like if you don't add a bevel, you'll inevitably get a case here and there that just doesn't want to take a new primer properly and either gets slightly smashed, or completely smashed. Applying the bevel fixes that issue.

So ideally, any bit you use needs to also apply a slight bevel for the best end result and reliability with priming later.

Well for that the standard primer pocket cleaning tool would I think clean that up really quickly. I was just thinking of a quicker and easier way to remove the primer itself.

Someone in the industry I should think could come up with one "bit" to do both.

 

[Petey308]

Well for that the standard primer pocket cleaning tool would I think clean that up really quickly. I was just thinking of a quicker and easier way to remove the primer itself.

Someone in the industry I should think could come up with one "bit" to do both.

I just use a hardened one-piece steel decapping pin in my universal decapping die and they pop right out. The issue isn't getting out the old primer, it's getting the new one in without issue.

 

[VenatusDominus]

Here is the Dillion auto eject hack. I had some small bungee cord left over from a tent pole repair and found it works well. There is also an "auto load" hack, but I have not tried it.

 

[WildRose]

I just use a hardened one-piece steel decapping pin in my universal decapping die and they pop right out. The issue isn't getting out the old primer, it's getting the new one in without issue.

I would think that's an easy solve with a primer pocket cleaner and deburring tool especially if you can spin them on a drill.

 

[Petey308]

I would think that's an easy solve with a primer pocket cleaner and deburring tool especially if you can spin them on a drill.

Yes, it works great. But as I mentioned in an earlier comment, the issue is it's not completely consistent since you have to stop on your own. There's not a built in way for it to bottom out.

I currently clamp a corded drill pointing up in a vise, plugged into a foot pedal, with a non-VLD style chamfer tool chucked into it. Then I just put a basket of decapped brass on the left side of the drill, push a piece into the cutter, and top into another basket on the right. I check them every so often with a go/no-go gage to ensure I'm getting them cut enough.

If I had a method to allow the cutter to bottom out in the primer pocket, I could just go to town and not have to worry about checking them or any of them being too much or not enough.

 

[Teri Anne]

Been using a cut out style tool for cutting out the mil crimp on mil brass for a while now. Tried a RCBS swage removal die today. I'm a bit surprised at the effort required to push/pop the press handle to release the cases when done. (On the upstroke). My process is working, but its wearing out my arm and beating up my bench and press. I have 1500 new unfired LC 7.62x51 cases to do. My question is this, do you guys know of any other manufacturers of on press swage removal dies that I might try?

I use the RCBS tool a lot I have found that a dollop of case lube on the swage every once in awhile tames the pressures down a lot. My next question is if the cases are new and unfired then there should be no swage to have to remove. I fired a lot of LC Match and never had any that were swaged and used them for reloading all the time. Machine gun ball was an entirely different story. Used to pick them up off the bore sighting pad for UH-1C/M and AH1 helicopters all the time. Machine gun ammo was expendable while Match ammo had to be turned back in. It was all done by weight not head stamp.

 

[WildRose]

I use the RCBS tool a lot I have found that a dollop of case lube on the swage every once in awhile tames the pressures down a lot. My next question is if the cases are new and unfired then there should be no swage to have to remove. I fired a lot of LC Match and never had any that were swaged and used them for reloading all the time. Machine gun ball was an entirely different story. Used to pick them up off the bore sighting pad for UH-1C/M and AH1 helicopters all the time. Machine gun ammo was expendable while Match ammo had to be turned back in. It was all done by weight not head stamp.

Why would you be removing the primers and crimp on new, unfired brass?

 

[WildRose]

I use the RCBS tool a lot I have found that a dollop of case lube on the swage every once in awhile tames the pressures down a lot. My next question is if the cases are new and unfired then there should be no swage to have to remove. I fired a lot of LC Match and never had any that were swaged and used them for reloading all the time. Machine gun ball was an entirely different story. Used to pick them up off the bore sighting pad for UH-1C/M and AH1 helicopters all the time. Machine gun ammo was expendable while Match ammo had to be turned back in. It was all done by weight not head stamp.

That would be illegal, all that brass is contracted.

All military brass is head stamped, it has to be by regulation and contract.

 

[waspocrew]

Burstfire - Ultimate Primer Pocket Reamer / Military Crimp Remover Set

Burstfire - Ultimate Primer Pocket Reamer / Military Crimp Remover Set (Large & Small) First of all, if you've used these tools in the past, you know the struggle of dull cutters. We manufactured these with the highest quality material to ensure long term performance. You will appreciate the...

burstfireguns.com

This has worked the best for me, especially in my RCBS case prep center.

 

[Teri Anne]

That would be illegal, all that brass is contracted.

All military brass is head stamped, it has to be by regulation and contract.

Remember this was back in the 70's and 80's. and 7.62mm NATO rounds or any other for that matter fired by aircraft were and still are considered expendable.