Primer Seating Question

[A-Brakke]

Hi All,

Looking for some advice opinions as I’m not the most seasoned reloader and typically only load for my two hunting rifles.

I recently was prepping some 6.5 Creedmoor brass that’s x3 fired. I full length resized bumping the shoulder back .002, Trimmed, and uniformed primer pockets.

I re-primed them with my Lee hand primer and checked most “should have checked all”. Than charged and seated bullets.

Upon double checking CBTO of each round I noticed 4-5 where the primer end of case would not sit perfectly flush on the anvil attached to my caliber. And those bullets tended to be .002-.003 longer CBTO because of this.

Either way I should have caught this sooner but got pulled away a few times during my loading session.

My main question is….

a. What is likely the cause for this? Is my cheap Lee primer uniformer wore out, and need to be replaced with a better carbide one?

b. Will these be safe to shoot? I chambered them all outside and they all were fine maybe slightly stiffer than usual but not much. But when ejecting all of them I noticed the mark in the attached picture on the primers.

Appreciate the help.

-Andrew

 

[HuntHarder]

Dirty primer pockets, if I am understanding correctly.

 

[A-Brakke]

Dirty primer pockets, if I am understanding correctly.

That’s what I was leaning towards. I did used a uniformer, and wire uniformer but I definitely didn’t notice any brass shavings in the bin. Wondering if I didnt use enough elbow grease.

Would you still shoot em?

 

[HuntHarder]

Shouldn't be an issue shooting them. I have had similar happen with no ill effects.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

I’d still shoot them. Either dirty primer pockets or inconsistent seating pressure.

 

[Wrench]

Try seating the primer with a press mounted priming tool. Primer variables can be a bigger source of accuracy issues than recognized. Primers sitting too proud can be dangerous.

 

[rayporter]

personally, i would use them for foulers.


you might try pulling them down and reseating them with the lee. you may have been in a hurry and not seated them correctly.
a lee will wear, i have several old lee tools that are questionable.

if you decide on something else i would be interested in the lee for parts. sometimes i can mix and match parts to keep one going.

 

[wapitibob]

That’s what I was leaning towards. I did used a uniformer, and wire uniformer but I definitely didn’t notice any brass shavings in the bin. Wondering if I didnt use enough elbow grease.

Would you still shoot em?

Most uniformers are dull as a hole. The adj 21st Century uniformer works well and cuts to depth easily. Different brass brands have different pocket depths and primer brands also vary in height. I have had to cut primer pockets to depth on both Nosler and ADG brass to ensure the primer sits below the case head.

 

[Plainsman79]

Most uniformers are dull as a hole. The adj 21st Century uniformer works well and cuts to depth easily. Different brass brands have different pocket depths and primer brands also vary in height. I have had to cut primer pockets to depth on both Nosler and ADG brass to ensure the primer sits below the case head.

How are you measuring the depth of the primer pockets?

 

[A-Brakke]

Most uniformers are dull as a hole. The adj 21st Century uniformer works well and cuts to depth easily. Different brass brands have different pocket depths and primer brands also vary in height. I have had to cut primer pockets to depth on both Nosler and ADG brass to ensure the primer sits below the case head.

Thanks for the response!! I ordered one. Out of curiosity. What are your thoughts on the circle pattern left on the primer after checking fit in my chamber? It’s on every loaded round even the ones where the primer is nice and flat.

 

[zekepa]

Sounds to me like you have some primers that are protruding .002 to .003 above the end of the brass. It's always been my understanding that primers need to be seating so they are below the end of the brass by a couple of thousandths.

Best guess is the marks on the primer are from the bolt face when it rotates into the locked position.

 

[wapitibob]

How are you measuring the depth of the primer pockets?

depth mic if you have a small pin or the end of your calipers
Using calipers for depth takes a little practice though.

 

[wapitibob]

Thanks for the response!! I ordered one. Out of curiosity. What are your thoughts on the circle pattern left on the primer after checking fit in my chamber? It’s on every loaded round even the ones where the primer is nice and flat.

Looks like you're using a small primer pin in the hand seater maybe?
I modified my seater with a bolt stop so it limits how much I can crush the primer once it hits the btm of the pocket.

 

[HuntHarder]

Those marks look like firing pin hole marks. I'm guessing your primer is sticking out so far, that when clambering, essentially your bolt face is trying to seat the primer deeper, causing flow into the firing pin hole.

Maybe I'm seeing it wrong tho, picture is a little blurry