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Thread: Converting Berdan primer pockets to Boxer

  1. #81
    Boolit Grand Master


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    Melter68

    Great idea! Adds to the concept a bunch.

    Larry Gibson

  2. #82
    Boolit Grand Master


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    Quote Originally Posted by JIMinPHX View Post
    ..............Perhaps the differences are small enough that you methods compensate for them, or perhaps you have been fortunate enough to run into fairly consistent versions.
    More than likely it is the use of the primer pocket swage that makes my method adaptable to the slight variation in Berdan primer sizes. The use of the swage obviously swages the inside diameter to the correct Boxer primer size.

    Larry Gibson

  3. #83
    Boolit Grand Master WILCO's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by plmitch View Post
    Good stuff here, thanks for sharing
    Ditto for me! I was walking past a box of "Goodies" and just found a large pickle jar crammed with berdan 30-06 and .308 brass! Man, I love finding stuff I've forgotten about.
    "Everyone has a plan, until they get punched in the face!" - Mike Tyson

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  4. #84
    Boolit Buddy Twmaster's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by WILCO View Post
    Ditto for me! I was walking past a box of "Goodies" and just found a large pickle jar crammed with berdan 30-06 and .308 brass! Man, I love finding stuff I've forgotten about.
    Same here. Last week a buddy of mine gave me a box full of brass. 2000+ 9MM cases and 300+ 7.62x51 NATO cases (berdan primed) I'm building a Mauser in .308. I have all the brass I'll ever need now!
    Mike

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  5. #85
    Boolit Grand Master WILCO's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Twmaster View Post
    I have all the brass I'll ever need now!
    Life is good!
    "Everyone has a plan, until they get punched in the face!" - Mike Tyson

    "Don't let my fears become yours." - Me, talking to my children

    That look on your face, when you shift into 6th gear, but it's not there.

  6. #86
    Boolit Grand Master WILCO's Avatar
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    Found some berdan 7.62x54R brass in a bucket today. Was looking for a bobber and found that instead.
    "Everyone has a plan, until they get punched in the face!" - Mike Tyson

    "Don't let my fears become yours." - Me, talking to my children

    That look on your face, when you shift into 6th gear, but it's not there.

  7. #87
    Boolit Mold
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    This is such a great idea

  8. #88
    Boolit Buddy Twmaster's Avatar
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    Got around to trying this today. Unknown make 7.62NATO cases. .217" Berdan primed. Chucked the case up in the little lathe and drilled out the flash hole. Then cut the top of the cup off the primer and gently cleared the anvil out.

    When I seated a fired SR primer it was 20 thou or so deeper in the pocket than I'd like to see.

    I saw the post earlier in the thread where one fellow had the same issue with some Swiss brass....

    I'm hoping the firing pin protrusion on my Mauser project will be enough.
    Mike

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  9. #89
    Boolit Master

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    You know, it's tempting to try a variant of this on the steel, .257" Berdan surplus cases I've been shooting. The inside of these larger Berdan primers is, I think, too big to swage for a .210" large rifle primer, but if I were to pop the primer cups out after drilling the flash hole, I could then turn brass rod to .257", cut slices as thick as the depth of the pocket, and press them in. I'd then redrill the flash hole, drill a starter for the .210" pocket with a 13/64" drill, and use a pocket reamer (driven with a power drill) to finish the new pocket to size and depth. If the brass is a tight press in the original pocket, these should stay in as well as the swaged cup, but I'm not sure it's worth this level of effort (I'd be sure it wasn't if I had a stash of brass Berdan cases or ammo).

    Even if I find the whole process more trouble than it's worth, predrilling with the #18 drill, from the base side, would greatly simplify the shotgun primer conversions I've been working on -- it'd let me drill from the base for the #31 that gives a slightly undersize hole for the .242" battery cup. In fact, for this conversion, I may have to try just drilling with a small center drill -- it's smaller than the original pocket, and plenty stiff to cut into the anvil, if I don't use too much tailstock extension in my lathe...

  10. #90
    Boolit Mold danm0's Avatar
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    There are 4 sizes, small rifle and pistol are the same, but large rifle and pistol are slightly different one is slightly longer, and of course 50BMG.
    Buying cheap equipment to reload with is like buying a cheap parachute, it only has to fail once to not be a bargain!

  11. #91
    Boolit Mold danm0's Avatar
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    I am no expert, but do remember that you are now igniting the Powder in three places instead of two. Should not be a problem at moderate loads, but at Max loads I would think it could be.
    Buying cheap equipment to reload with is like buying a cheap parachute, it only has to fail once to not be a bargain!

  12. #92
    Boolit Mold LukeLewis's Avatar
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    Hey guys, I'm new to casting. Luckily bought most of my equipment before the recent price rise in the anticipation of my SKS. I have a steady supply of 7.62x39 steel cases that I can pick up from my local gun range (~200 a trip after a few minutes work). I was wondering if anyone could evaluate my plan of action in regards to converting them to boxer primer capable cases. I was thinking I could make a jig to insert my drill into that would allow me to push cases (fired primer and all) through an appropriately sized hole to drill out the center of the berdan primed cases. This hole would then give me an easy way to use a homemade tool to pry out the spent berdan primers before replacing them with boxer primers. It would look something like this:
    Click image for larger version. 

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    Obviously the drill would be held in such a way as to keep it completely stationary, and I would probably just use a rubber band to keep it running throughout the process. I would think that If done correctly, it would allow me to quickly drill out the steel cases for boxer use. I don't have access to a drill press so this would basically be a lathe type adaption to the idea.
    Thanks for any input!
    Guns owned: AR-15 (built), Mossberg 88, Mosin Nagant, Norinco SKS

  13. #93
    Boolit Master WRideout's Avatar
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    Luke, I have just gone through the process of converting some 7.5 Swiss, berdan primed. Here is what I found out. When I used a drill press to go through the primer and drill the anvil of the case at the same time, the drill wanders off to the side, and will not drill a proper center hole. I suspect that it will be very difficult to keep any hand-held drill steady enough to drill the flash hole without first eliminating the anvil.

    I finally had to take all my brass to a friend who has a lathe. With the correct diameter center and twist drills, it was easy to take the bottom off the primer, like Larry said originally, and then drill the flash hole. I then swaged the pockets with an RCBS tool.

    Wayne
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  14. #94
    Boolit Buddy sixpointfive's Avatar
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    When I used mini lathe the Sr primer was loose and fell ot

  15. #95
    Boolit Grand Master

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    I drilled the top of the cup and anvil away. Then used a punch and steel post inside to flatten the primer post. Then drilled the flash hole and finished sizing the pocket. The punch displacing the post, filled the Berdain twin flash holes, leaving almost perfect Boxer brass

  16. #96
    Boolit Buddy sixpointfive's Avatar
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    I am doing 6.5x55 do I still use small rifle primers?

  17. #97
    Boolit Buddy Twmaster's Avatar
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    Yes you should use small primers. The key is for the rim of the original berdan primer to remain in the case. Then you swage the pocket with the rim of the old primer still in the original pocket.
    Mike

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    1 in office. 1 in prison.

  18. #98
    Boolit Buddy sixpointfive's Avatar
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    I tried using the small primer pocket reamer in my mini lathe and the pockets are loose. I do not have the small primer pocket swager. I guess I will have to get one.

  19. #99
    Boolit Buddy Twmaster's Avatar
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    It needs to be swaged. The reamer removes metal. The swager reforms the metal keeping it in the pocket.
    Mike

    Politicians should be limited to two terms.

    1 in office. 1 in prison.

  20. #100
    mace2364
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    Has anyone done this with surplus 8x56R casings? I've got some, and I'd like to load for my Steyrs, but I don't have any other brass.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check