Swage vs Chamfer

[rlandry6]

Too much time on my hands and was thinking. Wouldn't chamfering the military primer crim be prefered over swaging? t seems that when you swage, you are not removing any material from the case, only pushing it ti another area. It seems like that would/could create a raised area around the primer pocket that could potentially interfere with case measurements you might take. At any rate, I chamfer, but I was just wondering

[golfindia]

Staking the primers by the mfg only uses the original material to hold the primer in. When you swedge the pocket, you just push the amount of the original staked material back in place. It doesn't make a ridge around the primer. My view is that cutting marterial out of the primer pocket is sub optimal because it reduces the surface area holding the primer in. But what do I know.

[rlandry6]

Makes sense to me. I didn't think about the brass just being pushed back to it's original location. This is what happens when I get bored.

[plant.one]

just like reaming primer pockets - you have to make sure you're not over-swaging your brass either. you can totally blow a primer pocket out by getting the die setting wrong.

i recommend a swage gauge and checking your die adjustment when you switch headstamps. just like case sidewall and neck thicknesses vary, the case web thickness can vary from mfg to mfg.

[Dolomite_Supafly]

The bolt face is what holds the primer in place. Unless there is excessive pressures the primer will stay in place.

Crimped primers are there mostly for belt fed machine guns. They tend to unlock while pressures are still pretty high inside the case.

I have shot 10’s of thousands of rounds out of ARs and the only times I have had a primer pop out of the case was when pressures were too high or the brass had loose pockets. I use a chamfer bit to cut out crimps. It also makes it easier to seat the primer.

I have had cases that you could seat the primer with a finger. Out of an AR those primers stayed in place.

[r.tenorio671]

....FWIW, I've come across 2 types of methods used for primer retention in various brass, "crimping" and "staking", the staking appearing to be the "newer" method. The crimping method "appeared" to be extra material that appeared to be folded over the edge to retain the primer, the staking method had 2-4 "strikes" around the edge of the primer pocket to swage material against the primer (ala the strikes on a carrier key's retention bolts).

... I use either the Dillon 650 swager or a deburring tool in a hand drill to redo my primer pockets on 1st time used 1x fired brass, one is slow, one is fast...depending on my mood and the brass. I found the older style deburring tool like the Lee with less steeply angled (deep) cutter is preferable...the longer, deeper model of deburring tool can remove too much material when used in a drill.

...with the Dillon 650, proper adjustment of the rod is critical and like most things, each lot/brand of brass requires checking and some readjustment.

[DutchV]

So while we're talking about crimped primers, does anyone know if there's a way for the average reloader to add a crimp to a case?

[Omega]

So while we're talking about crimped primers, does anyone know if there's a way for the average reloader to add a crimp to a case?

Why would you want to? If just to seal it, from moisture and such, for like long term storage, or to keep in a vehicle (long term vibration) just use this:
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/10128 ... -oz-liquid

[r.tenorio671]

So while we're talking about crimped primers, does anyone know if there's a way for the average reloader to add a crimp to a case?

Why would you want to? If just to seal it, from moisture and such, for like long term storage, or to keep in a vehicle (long term vibration) just use this:
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/10128 ... -oz-liquid

...some folks have used nail polish for the same purpose..

[golfindia]

I've always just used nail polish on my 357 bang stick gator rounds.