Tool for Seating Berdan Primers

[RogerDat]

Looking for suggestions on what to use to seat Berdan primers. I do have an old screw in type Lee hand tool but only three case holders and those are difficult to find as well as costly. The Berdan primers don't really fit either. So before I went about drilling out the holders or going on an eBay scavenger hunt I thought I would ask. What tool can I use to seat Berdan primers?

I have some WW2 dated 8mm brass in good condition and lucked into a few Berdan primers. Wanted to put these back into functional condition. Anneal and prime at least. I have the RCBS pin tool and removed the spent primers, then tumbled in SS pins. Used a taper bit with the point ground off in a Dremal to remove crimp.

Tried seating them using a Lee press but... really hard to control seating depth. Long handle giving leverage reduced the feed back "feel" too much and primer cup holders didn't fit.

If anyone knows where to purchase Berdan primers.... PM me. Apparently due to import restrictions or some such they are harder to find than pistol powder during the late troubles. I guess they are made from unicorn dreams which is an even rarer ingredient than unicorn farts used in some powders.

[Valornor]

I’ve never order from these guys, but here’s what I was able to find.

https://fedarm.com/product/primers-berdan-lr/

I’d be interested to know what others find


Check out my website www.theballisticassistant.com

[NyFirefighter357]

Is converting them to boxer out of the question?

https://youtu.be/AkKJfvMyuDg

[RogerDat]

Is converting them to boxer out of the question?

https://youtu.be/AkKJfvMyuDg

Would rather leave them in original state due to their being from a significant period of history. I'm not terribly short on 8mm brass. Have some boxer primed brass on hand and have the tools to convert 30-06 brass to 8mm so have some of those made. The 8mm Mauser doesn't go through ammo like a 9mm pistol or .223 semi auto so I don't have a huge pile of 8mm brass.

Goal is just to have this WW2 era Berdan brass in a few clips to go with a Mauser of similar vintage. Interesting that link to Fort Smith. Mostly out of stock and sold/described as matching a specific caliber rather than providing primer size. I can get started with the primers I have to reload this brass.

Looking for what tool to use to seat the primers correctly. Hand tool or press attachment. I looked at the newer Lee hand primer tools but they appeared to require the primer tray to be used. I'm betting Berdan probably won't feed well due to size difference. I expect to need and want to feed one primer at a time.

In the press the primer cup doesn't appear to fit Berdan primers. They seem to sit way too high. Unless I'm doing something wrong.

[edp2k]

How about buying/making/modifying something like:

https://www.amazon.com/Traditions-Pe.../dp/B000PW45GS

step
1: lay primer open side up on base plate.
2. put deprimed brass cartridge on top of it, aligning primer to primer hole.
3. insert rod into cartridge mouth.
4. push down lever.
5. primer stops when flush with face of cartridge head. not too deep, not too shallow.

[n.h.schmidt]

I have used Lee's ram prime. Lyman and rcbs also have made something like this. The larger seating punch will just fit the .217 primers. You can screw the die body way out and get it so the primer is set to any depth you want. Lock it down with the ram all the way up. I have found that .003 to .005 deep to work well for me. edp2ks way will work too. I do have .217 berdan primers that I would sell or trade for. They are russian made and are for rifle use. . I have several thousand and don't need so many. I can't get out to use them lately. I shoot BP rifles mostly. I am in Iowa so, there is a distance problem. I use a universal water decapping setup. I like it better than any other way.
n.h.schmidt

[lead-1]

Sorry no picture at the moment but several years ago I loaded a bunch of 308's for a CETME and used my RCBS hand primer tool. I drilled and tapped the lever for a set screw and jam nut, 8-32 I believe.
Adjusted the screw for the depth I wanted and locked it down.

[RogerDat]

I have used Lee's ram prime. Lyman and rcbs also have made something like this. The larger seating punch will just fit the .217 primers. You can screw the die body way out and get it so the primer is set to any depth you want. Lock it down with the ram all the way up. I have found that .003 to .005 deep to work well for me. edp2ks way will work too. I do have .217 berdan primers that I would sell or trade for. They are russian made and are for rifle use. . I have several thousand and don't need so many. I can't get out to use them lately. I shoot BP rifles mostly. I am in Iowa so, there is a distance problem. I use a universal water decapping setup. I like it better than any other way.
n.h.schmidt

Picture or link to the Lyman or rcbs made item?

I like the suggestion of drilling and tapping a set bolt to lock the depth in a hand tool.

I don't like the link to the C&B cylinder loader. One of those is on my wish list and now I'm staring at it for sale for a good price...

[KenT7021]

I sent a request for more info on the Ft Smith berdan primers yesterday.I wonder if I'll get a reply?

[Eddie2002]

I've been using berdan primers and brass for about 10 years with no special equipment. I seat them on an old Lyman Spartan press using the standard large rifle primer cup which I opened the mouth up a few thousands so the primer berdan primer sits on it without falling off. Once you have the primer up in place under the primer pocket just seat it carefully. Sometimes they are a tighter fit than boxer so you need to check to see if the primer is flush with the base of the case. I've even had brass where the berdan primer ended up being recessed by about 20 thousands, they shot just fine even with the recessed primer. Wear ear protection when working with berdans, too much pressure during seating will set them off. The are fun to work with but can be a royal PIA if the brass has a long anvil or the flash holes plug up. I use them because I have a lot of 30-06 brass in berdan which I use in both 06 and convert to 7.7x58 Arisaka. Also just picked up a sporterized 1918 mauser in 243 Winchester and hope to convert some .308 berdan and boxer over for it.
I punch and pry the old primers out, sometimes it helps to start by using a small drill bit drilling a hole in at an angle on the firing pin mark. I clamp the brass in the bench vise with a holder made out of wood. Nothing high tech, just slotted holes that pinch the brass when the vice gets tightened. Resizing is done with RCBS dies and I remove the primer pin from the inside sizer to keep it from getting busted.
Not sure where to get them, my last batch was a score at a local gun show and before that Graff's had them. Think berdan primers are considered military munitions and can't be imported from the Soviet Union which is where the main manufacturer is located.
I've seen plenty of berdan primed 8x57 surplus ammo at the local shows, it's not date right for a WW2 Mauser but would be a possible replacement for your display. Luck with it, hope this helps.

[lead-1]

Ok I took a couple pictures today, I didn't use anything special but improvised a couple tools for the job. I located one of the flash holes with the 1/16" drill bit and drilled thru the brass, then I used the decapping rod I made to tap the used primer out, no damage to the anvil in the brass this way. I used the LEE case mouth tool with a hole opened in the end to remove the crimp and the hole kept the tool from hitting/damaging the anvil, this tool also deburrs the inside case mouth while the other LEE tool deburrs the outside of the case mouth. I resized with the decapper removed, trimmed to length and set the new primer with the RCBS tool, as you can see the set screw was set to the depth I wanted so squeeze away and no guessing. By the way enlarging one flash hole to 1/16" didn't change anything that I could see, no blown primers or change in accuracy.

[lead-1]

Oh yeah, I did try the RCBS Berdan decapping tool and lost too much brass to destroyed primers, pockets and or anvils which is why I went with the drill and tap out method.

[M-Tecs]

I use a cheap aluminum lee press and water to remove the Berdan primer.

For converting this process works http://web.archive.org/web/200901091...er/primer.html

[lead-1]

M-Tecs, that is a good looking setup, the only thing I accomplished with the water method was making a mess.

[M-Tecs]

I don't use this method but I will have to build one and try it

[Valornor]

That is pretty clever!

I love seeing stuff like this!


Check out my website www.theballisticassistant.com

[M-Tecs]

M-Tecs, that is a good looking setup, the only thing I accomplished with the water method was making a mess.

Starting at 7:30 this is basically the method I used

[M-Tecs]

Not cost effective but I have an Effemes berdan primer removal tool. It uses a boxer primer to blow the berdan primer out.

[RogerDat]

Ok I took a couple pictures today, I didn't use anything special but improvised a couple tools for the job. I located one of the flash holes with the 1/16" drill bit and drilled thru the brass, then I used the decapping rod I made to tap the used primer out, no damage to the anvil in the brass this way. I used the LEE case mouth tool with a hole opened in the end to remove the crimp and the hole kept the tool from hitting/damaging the anvil, this tool also deburrs the inside case mouth while the other LEE tool deburrs the outside of the case mouth. I resized with the decapper removed, trimmed to length and set the new primer with the RCBS tool, as you can see the set screw was set to the depth I wanted so squeeze away and no guessing. By the way enlarging one flash hole to 1/16" didn't change anything that I could see, no blown primers or change in accuracy.

So the current RCBS hand priming tool can be used without the tray? For my uses setting one primer at a time in the tool is I think going to be the preferred approach.

That Lee inside chamfer tool use looks interesting. I use a dremal stone with the tip ground off to where it can ride above the anvil and put a chamfer to the pocket.

[n.h.schmidt]

Get on Graff and sons Look up ram prime. Lee,Lyman and RCBS all have them. M-Tecs That decapper is like my universal one. Same idea. If the cases are first time military they take a LOT more effort than that. You will not be holding the base in your hand. If it is the second time or more ,then it gets easy. If you push in the fired primers a little,it breaks the seal. The first Timers come out easy then. Turk 8mm and SA 303 are really tough but if pushed in first ,then it becomes normal