joakim Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 (edited) Hi, I'm pretty new to reloading, only doing 9mm in an XL650. I mostly have Magtech 9mm and use Federal 100 primers with no problem. Yesterday I tried to load some old Sellier&Bellot brass and had real problems with seating the primers. I googled and realized it could be due to the primer pocket mouth not being beveled and/or brass actually being brass covered steel (will check that..). Most of the brass could be primed but required some more force than Magtech. But in some cases I had to pull fairly hard which resulted in the primers being deformed, flattened.. Questions: 1. Is it safe to force a primer into the primer pocket so hard that it is flattened or is there a risk that the primer detonates? 2. Are rounds with flattened primers safe to shoot? 3. What is the correct way of deposing shells that does not meet standards? i.e. failed gauge test, primer not being fully seated, primer flattened etc. Do you pull the bullet, reuse bullet/powder and throw primed case in the trash? Edited February 11, 2014 by joakim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joakim Posted February 11, 2014 Author Share Posted February 11, 2014 (edited) Bottom left primer not fully seated. The ones above with flattened primers. Edited February 11, 2014 by joakim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LikesToShoot Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Bottom left primer not fully seated. The ones above with flattened primers. Did you use a magnet on that S&B brass yet to make sure it's not steel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joakim Posted February 11, 2014 Author Share Posted February 11, 2014 Yes, not steel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubguy Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 I had problems with Federal primers also. I don't know if they are softer than the others. I switched to Winchester primers and those problems went away for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckaroo45 Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 I toss all S&B brass. Don't like the way seating primers feels to me. Brass is too cheap to try to salvage every case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LikesToShoot Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Hi, I'm pretty new to reloading, only doing 9mm in an XL650. I mostly have Magtech 9mm and use Federal 100 primers with no problem. Yesterday I tried to load some old Sellier&Bellot brass and had real problems with seating the primers. I googled and realized it could be due to the primer pocket mouth not being beveled and/or brass actually being brass covered steel (will check that..). Most of the brass could be primed but required some more force than Magtech. But in some cases I had to pull fairly hard which resulted in the primers being deformed, flattened.. Questions: 1. Is it safe to force a primer into the primer pocket so hard that it is flattened or is there a risk that the primer detonates? 2. Are rounds with flattened primers safe to shoot? 3. What is the correct way of deposing shells that does not meet standards? i.e. failed gauge test, primer not being fully seated, primer flattened etc. Do you pull the bullet, reuse bullet/powder and throw primed case in the trash? As mentioned Federal primers are soft and some have had issues you described. I don't use them unless I'm running a real weak hammer / striker spring. Yes, the rounds are safe to shoot, just use them with care. I'd rather shoot them than pull them apart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtp Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 S&B pockets can be somewhat tight, as well as they seal them, making them potentially a bit tighter. I haven't had any issues loading them to date on my LnL AP, but that doesn't mean no one will, and I use nearly any primer but Federal on my pistol loads...may just be the right combination of soft primer and slightly tight primer pockets on once fired giving you the issue. Do you have any other primers you could give a shot (harder ones)? If not, sort it out for a rainy day, bet a hand (or power, of course) pocket unformed, chamfer tool, swage or reamer would make quick work of them...if you want to bother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSH Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 RWS , head stamps are tight also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDA Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I have had similar results with S&B brass (on my 650XL) and CCI primers, it really isn't a primer issue, it is an S&B tight primer pocket issue. Sometimes I can get them seated OK, other times they end up flattened and I decide to toss them after stage #2 or continue if not too bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I toss all S&B brass. Don't like the way seating primers feels to me. Brass is too cheap to try to salvage every case. +1. I Toss all S & B, A-merica, and military brass - not worth wasting the primer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joakim Posted February 12, 2014 Author Share Posted February 12, 2014 Ok, thanks for you comments! I will focus on using my other brass (and get some more) and store the S&B for use as 'last resort'... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve RA Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Blamtech has a pretty good deal on 9mm presently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrVvrroomm Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I toss s&b, military, and any other crimped pocket stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EngineerEli Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Unless I missed it, no one ever clearly addressed the possibility that the brass may have been crimped, even if slightly, during its first loading. It would have to be reamed or swagged before reloading. I feel like some of the S&B that I have seen does have crimped primer pockets. There is a little symbol on the head stamp if it is crimped. If you could retake the above picture in sharper focus we should be able to help you determine if the brass is crimped or not. Military brass and many other head stamps that don't allow easy primer seating are crimped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBBB Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Like others I simply toss S&B or anything with a crimp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LikesToShoot Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I see many posts where people are "tossing" their brass. While recycling other items I found out that I could recycle spent primers. (not shotgun). When I took in a large coffee can with spent primers, rim fire cases and "tossed" brass I received around $30. Now all those items are again being collected for future recycling. Just a FYI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joakim Posted February 14, 2014 Author Share Posted February 14, 2014 Ok. If needed I might look into swaging, had not heard about that before.. I also run into Magtech with tight primer pockets, no one wants that brass. I think it's Magtech 'Clean Range' and the Swedish police use it for training. Depends on what I can get my hands on.. (Sorry about the crappy quality of the photo, looked ok on the phone but then I had to cut it down to match the 500k limit and it went bad.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelGj Posted February 14, 2014 Share Posted February 14, 2014 I swage all my brass with S&B and FNB head stamp, the only ones I toss is DAG stamped because the boxer igniter hole is smaller the others. So if you have a lot of S&B brass, then I would suggest that you get a Super Swage 600 from Dillon or an equal tool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiefire Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Any experience with reloading blazer brass? It's hard (for me at any rate - new reloader, BTW) for deprime my range found Blazer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtp Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Any experience with reloading blazer brass? It's hard (for me at any rate - new reloader, BTW) for deprime my range found Blazer. No problems reloading it here, goes in the bin for loading with everything else not crimped, sans AMERC.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Manley Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 I swage all my brass with S&B and FNB head stamp, the only ones I toss is DAG stamped because the boxer igniter hole is smaller the others. So if you have a lot of S&B brass, then I would suggest that you get a Super Swage 600 from Dillon or an equal tool. This. S&B is actually good, tough brass as is the military WCC. A little bump with the Dillon tool turns "junk" into excellent brass. Sent from my Droid RAZR MAXX using Tapatalk2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EngineerEli Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Are you referring to the Dillon Super Swage 600? I think I need to add one of those to my reloading bench soon... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandbagger123 Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 I've never had issues with S&B in my LM. they are a little tight, but they go in without swaging in my experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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