New underwear please!

[gixer1]

I have been reloading 303 for a while, and was using S&B brass which was a ball ache due to how tight the primer pockets are (it’s a two handed grip to get them in with the Lee hand primer which is never nice) this is a known phenomenon with S&B 303 brass apparently.

I bought a few boxes of PPU just for the brass, I was loading a heap with the Lee handloader and primed them all with Federal LMRP’s (I’ve used these as I have a few thousand of them)

I primed 30 cases and it was far nicer to do than the S&B brass, like butter….

I dispensed my powder and started charging the brass, and when I went to seat the first few bullets I noticed there was very little resistance (I usually just seat the bullet by hand with a Lee loader - no need for a mallet)

So after 3 I inspected and sure enough, no real neck tension….bugga…..

So, now I have 30 primed cases, I tried a few in the Lee neck sizer end of the loader and they dropped just about all the way signifying I had resized them correctly…but it seems they just weren’t snug enough.

So, no I need to de-prime the 30 cases, I k Ickes out 2 with the depriming tool gingerly…no issues…..

…and then moved onto the third….i really didn’t tap it hard with the mallet….


BANG…..well, I can confirm a LMRP is significantly louder feeling than a LRP….

Thankfully I always wear safety glasses for this as the below shows the energy…not something to be trifled with!

Heads up people, wear your safety glasses!

Still no closer to knowing why the PPU brass isn’t neck sizing properly but it’s just maybe on the light end of the tolerance and maybe so is the Lee loader…will need to get a 303 die.

A laugh for everyone I guess…shame about the desk…blew a fair hole in it! .And ears are ringing a bit!

 

[gixer1]

On closer inspection it blew the veneer into the chipboard…

 

[Stevie/P]

Glad you had no injuries just goes to show how dangerous de capping can be

 

[Bavarianbrit]

Much less so if you used an old Lee press set up only for that purpose and a universal decapper die.

 

[gixer1]

Glad you had no injuries just goes to show how dangerous de capping can be

Thank you, and yes, absolutely…

 

[gixer1]

Much less so if you used an old Lee press set up only for that purpose and a universal decapper die.

Yes, it’s not ideal for decapping - will need to buy a 303 dies set…

 

[Laurie]

Much less so if you used an old Lee press set up only for that purpose and a universal decapper die.

Yes, decapping live primers on a press is pretty safe. Not 100% so, but just about with a slow gentle press movement. Large Rifle primers are reusable too, at least for practice rounds, Small Rifle usually see the anvils detach and fall out of the cup.

The problem with the decapper on the Lee Loader is that it is a small diameter punch and needs a sharp blow to knock the primer out. As the tip of the punch hits the centre of the primer anvil and hammers it straight into the explosive primer pellet, it's pretty well guaranteed to provoke detonation. It takes less effort for this to happen from the anvil side than needed by the firing pin in the rifle which has to indent the brass primer cup sufficiently to sharply compress the pellet against the anvil.

If only a few cases, the answer to the problem is to fire the primers in the rifle, then decap on the Lee Loader. Still noisy - don't do it near the cat/dog/wife, and point the muzzle in a safe direction.

The reason for the hole in the woodwork is that the primer pocket in the case comes nowhere near holding the primer in tightly enough (without a retaining crimp or stakes as in military ammo) to keep it there on firing without a bolt-face held against it. As the pics show so well, there is enough explosive force in a primer to eject at a helluva speed, certainly enough to destroy an unprotected eye. I learned this lesson many years ago thinking I'd make up an alfresco primer-firer to 'kill' the primer in an old Eley Berdan primed case which I wanted for a cartridge collection. I don't know where the spent primer ended up, just fortunately not into me.

 

[Smellydog]

AYE, YOU ADDED PERCUSSION INSTEAD OF A GENTLE PUSH.
IVE GOT THE BADGE ALSO, HENCE WHY IM SHOUTING
HAS THE PPU BRASS GOT A THIN NECK?

 

[cjs66]

When I've pulled rounds in the past, I've taken the pin out of my neck die to resize the neck with the primer in place.

cjs

 

[gixer1]

AYE, YOU ADDED PERCUSSION INSTEAD OF A GENTLE PUSH.
IVE GOT THE BADGE ALSO, HENCE WHY IM SHOUTING
HAS THE PPU BRASS GOT A THIN NECK?

Must have as the S&B resized fine….just the PPU that’s seeing the issue.

 

[gixer1]

When I've pulled rounds in the past, I've taken the pin out of my neck die to resize the neck with the primer in place.

cjs

I will be doing this when I get a die.

 

[antsa]

I got hold of a cheap Chinese made press, put in a universal decapping die and use this exclusively for used primer removal. Removed the pins from my sizing dies. Never had an issue if I had to resize a case with a live primer either.

Cheers

 

[trickie]

The S&B may have thicker necks.
My 6.5 Creedmoor S&B cases had smaller primer pockets than Lapua or Hornady, I stopped reloading the S&B as I kept flinching with every primer seated

 

[gixer1]

The S&B may have thicker necks.
My 6.5 Creedmoor S&B cases had smaller primer pockets than Lapua or Hornady, I stopped reloading the S&B as I kept flinching with every primer seated

Yup, that was pretty much the case with the 303 S&B too, way tighter primer pockets.