jwilson007 Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Could someone explain a bit more about the swaging process and/or when it is needed? How do I know what brass needs to be swaged or not? reading up on 223 reloading I know I will probably run into this. Is this a concern for some or any pistol calibers or more of a rifle issue? I have heard you do it on "military brass" but not completely sure how to know which ones fall in that category! Any info is much appreciated, I've learned a ton on this forum but this distinction has eluded me so far. Trying to fill in one more piece of the puzzle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan550 Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Military brass has the primer crimped into it, leaving a distinct ring around the primer. To reload this stuff, the crimp needs to be removed. It's seen primarily on 9mm in handgun ammo with the WCC headstamp. Can't help you with the .223 stuff, but some of that has crimped primers too. I'm just not sure which since I don't shoot that caliber. Hope this helps some. Alan~^~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fowlh339 Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 any .223 or 5.56 brass with crimped primer will need to be swaged. You can usually tell by a small ring around the primer or a couple dents around it. Lots of pics if you google crimped primers. If you are using range brass there will most certainly be some in there as lots of bulk federal stuff has crimped primers. I just run all my stuff through the dillon super swag. Not all of it needs it but it is quicker to run it all than try and sort. good luck. you will also need to trim the brass before reloading. Have a look at the little crow case trimmer. just started using it and works great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankl03 Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 One you start going through the brass you will want to separate the military from the commercial. If you are not sure look up the headstamp. It will tell you if its crimped or not. It doesnt take long to get a handle on which are which. I hate processing 223 brass because of all the steps. I use a dillion 600 super swager to take out crimps. Actually I bought the swager while I was still using a Lee press. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chills1994 Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 i haven't done it myself, but I hear the chamfering tool that you normally use for case mouths of .223 or .308, or whatever, can be used to remove the crimp . Possum hollow makes a cutter/trimmer and then a separate tool holder that you can chuck into a drill. The tool holder is sized just right that one of those handheld chamfering/deburring tools fits right inside it. There is an allen headed set screw that you can screw in to lock it all together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Do a google image search for "crimped primer" to get an idea of what you are looking for. Depriming these takes a little more effort. Repriming without swaging or reaming will result in frustration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwilson007 Posted January 31, 2013 Author Share Posted January 31, 2013 Thanks for all the info! I've looked up some pics so hopefully I'll be able to tell the difference. I'm already processing brass and sorting it for when I'm able to start reloading. I might start looking for this and separating military brass while I'm at it, may save me some time down the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Histate Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Sorting your brass is a good idea. military/NATO rounds will have a headstamp marking, it looks like a circle with a cross in it but not only military brass is crimped more and more .223 are coming crimped as well. Dillon swager is a nice tool for the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t1nm4n Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 Other than the super swager, is there a more economical way of de-crimping the brass? I do imagine if you buy alot of surplus ammo then that tool is much better using the hand tool, probably alot more acurate also. I got about 2k rounds to swage so any help woudl be nice, but I'm just getting into this so I'm sorta strapped for the scratch. Thanks for any ideas, if I do go with the super swager, is that trick on the internet using the spring violate teh warranty, or is this something that woudl break in the first place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARKAVELI Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 When i started reloading for my AR i picked up the Dillon Swager with my quick conversion kit. Good thing I did, i came across that issue, I was smashing and crushing primers , even non military. I just swage all my 223/5.56 to avoid the problem. What a PITA! I purchased a few K's of compleated factory ammo and got my Dillon Dies set to or close to the C.O.L and crimp to where i dont have to do any trimming of my brass. A friend of mine has givin me a few hundred pices of brass im waiting to stock up on cause that im sure will and might need to be trimed since he shot it out of a different rifle and does not pass the "Go, No Go" test. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfwobbly Posted February 5, 2013 Share Posted February 5, 2013 If you own a drill press, then you can cut the swaged brass away from the primer pocket using a common $4 countersink bit. This leaves a conical entrance to the primer pocket rather than the nicely radiused entrance, but it works well enough to get the first 1000 done. Then you can decide if you want to buy the more expensive slagging tool. A drill press helps because using 2 hands to cycle the brass really speeds things up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amerflyer48 Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 wow, I still use the RCBS swager set, time to upgrade perhaps... mostly mil calibers will be crimped have seen .30-06 .308 .223 .45 and 9mm even saw some old .38SPL once John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reichebrown Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 I bent the center rod in my rcbs swage die set in about 4 rounds. I borrowed a dillon super swage and will be buying one soon. It is amazing and worth every penny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redfield Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 I am glad I saw that video. I like the idea of making the Super Swage a little more easier. Thanks for the post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunsen Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 The Dillon super swager is nice. Another optioon is to find someone with a Dillion 1050 and run all of the miltary brass through that once to deprime and swage and trim in that. I save a few thousand .223 up then do that and it works like a charm compared to using the seperate tools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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