Lil bob
Active Member
Question? I ordered some nosler 222 rem mag cases. I'm having trouble with the primers staying seated. I'm using federal primers which I purchased back in the 90s. Any thoughts or suggestions
Primer pocket
- Thread starter Lil bob
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Are you saying the primers are just falling out of the brass on their own? Or that you can't get them in far enough to sit 'below flush', like they need to go?
Lil bob
Active Member
They seat real easy and when fired they slide out aways. I'm just starting to work up a load so I'm starting with low powder charge and the bullet is seated way off the lands so it will fit the magazine, so it's on pred sure problem
Lil bob
Active Member
Great! Not alot of options on 222 rem mag cases
From Shooting Illustrated article (https://www.shootingillustrated.com/articles/2012/2/16/problems-with-primers/):
"Dave Emary, Hornady's chief ballistics scientist, says excessive headspace can cause primers to back out or even pop out completely. There can be other culprits, like a rifle chamber cut very tightly, a throat cut too short or a barrel with a tight bore. On rare occasions, the cartridge brass might not have been properly annealed."
Assuming your loads really are below max, then either the brass is crap, or it's time to get the rifle checked out by a GOOD gunsmith. (Used to be able to just say "gunsmith" but now you never know who is going to hang out a shingle and claim the title.)
"Dave Emary, Hornady's chief ballistics scientist, says excessive headspace can cause primers to back out or even pop out completely. There can be other culprits, like a rifle chamber cut very tightly, a throat cut too short or a barrel with a tight bore. On rare occasions, the cartridge brass might not have been properly annealed."
Assuming your loads really are below max, then either the brass is crap, or it's time to get the rifle checked out by a GOOD gunsmith. (Used to be able to just say "gunsmith" but now you never know who is going to hang out a shingle and claim the title.)
Assuming it is just the brass, it would seem that the best thing to do would be to contact Remington customer service and tell them what is going on. The fact that the primers seat very easily, then back out, would point to pockets that are too loose. They should be 0.002" smaller than the primers themselves. It doesn't sound like that is the situation.
Just as an exercise in curiosity, I googled how to 'tighten primer pocket' and got nothing (well, not true; I got a tool that would "condition" shotgun primer pockets, but that doesn't help you.)
It seems if you could "crimp" the primer pockets a little bit, it would salvage your brass. Thinking about ways to do that, I came up with this thought, but you'd have to experiment to see if it would work. You would take a spring loaded 'center-punch' to an unprimed case and punch near the edge of the primer pocket in a triangular pattern around the primer pocket. That should displace some of the brass inward, making the primer pocket 'tighter'...in theory...if you find the right distance from the end of the primer pocket that works 'just right'.
I'm sure someone has already created a gadget or tool for this. There is a gadget or tool for EVERYTHING! I just couldn't find it. Someone will chime in, I'm sure.
Just as an exercise in curiosity, I googled how to 'tighten primer pocket' and got nothing (well, not true; I got a tool that would "condition" shotgun primer pockets, but that doesn't help you.)
It seems if you could "crimp" the primer pockets a little bit, it would salvage your brass. Thinking about ways to do that, I came up with this thought, but you'd have to experiment to see if it would work. You would take a spring loaded 'center-punch' to an unprimed case and punch near the edge of the primer pocket in a triangular pattern around the primer pocket. That should displace some of the brass inward, making the primer pocket 'tighter'...in theory...if you find the right distance from the end of the primer pocket that works 'just right'.
I'm sure someone has already created a gadget or tool for this. There is a gadget or tool for EVERYTHING! I just couldn't find it. Someone will chime in, I'm sure.
Get this primer pocket tool...
https://ballistictools.com/store/swage-gage-small-primer-pocket
https://ballistictools.com/store/swage-gage-small-primer-pocket
ShtrRdy
Well-Known Member
What brand of primer are you using?
I had some old Winchester brass that had "loose" primer pockets. I was able to use a CCI ( I think ) primer that would seat firmly.
I had some old Winchester brass that had "loose" primer pockets. I was able to use a CCI ( I think ) primer that would seat firmly.
If you are using Federal 205m primers, might want to try CCI or others. 205m primers have a smaller diameter than others. See list...
jjmp
Well-Known Member
Get your self a match primer pocket cutter they come in small rifle and large rifle which will cut magnum primer pockets as well , their made of high speed carbon steel, some you can chuck up in a drill. Cheers , modern brass is run through machines at high speed,they can't do it all , but if they did, we couldn't afford it .
Lil bob
Active Member
I'll try some cci peimers, thanks
