Tool for Seating Berdan Primers

[lead-1]

RogerDat, yes the .217 Berdan primers for 308/7.62 brass will fit the RCBS tool with no mods, single for sure but I honestly don't remember if I used the tray or not. If recent health issues allow me to go to my garage I will gladly check that for sure.

Are the primers for 8mm brass larger in diameter than .217?

[samari46]

When I bought my first press a rockchucker got two sets of priming tools one was for standard primers and the other for Berdan primers. An old Lachmiller bench priming too also came with two rod sets one was for standard primers and the other was for berdan primers. This was in the late 60's so someone was using berdan primers then, Frank

[RogerDat]

RogerDat, yes the .217 Berdan primers for 308/7.62 brass will fit the RCBS tool with no mods, single for sure but I honestly don't remember if I used the tray or not. If recent health issues allow me to go to my garage I will gladly check that for sure.

Are the primers for 8mm brass larger in diameter than .217?

I will have to measure to be sure. Will do that sometime this evening or this weekend.

Sorry to hear about your health issues, hopefully you will be feeling up to getting out and about soon. I'm sure your garage misses you. I know if I neglect my garage for too long it gets annoyed and hides tools and parts . Wife says I just forget where I left them after a couple of days but I know better.

For a long time one could purchase Berdan primers readily, then the federal government decided to classify them as military parts or supplies. Now they can't be easily imported from the countries that manufacture and use them. I think every so often some manufacturer in the US does a run for export and because they don't have to be imported having been manufactured domestically they can be sold into the US market. The demand for Berdan primers ins't that great. Reloading Boxer primed is much easier and the components are readily available.

My interest is in having brass that is historically interesting functional. And I have a big plastic jug of 8mm brass with Berdan primers that would last me a long time if I could reload it. After all 20 to 30 rounds is probably about as much as will be shot at a time from that old Mauser.

[lead-1]

Back when I bought mine they were like $30/brick then very shortly after a bunch of political crap hit the fan and reloading supplies went thru the roof or dried up, Berdan primers did both. I remember a brick of Berdan went to $60 and I refused to buy more.
Thanks for the well wishes and about the only thing my garage doesn't hide anymore is the lawnmower, lol.

[Rapidrob]

I've been using this tool to reload Berdan primers for the last 30 years or so. I have reloaded tens of thousands of rounds with no issues.

While the primers will not fit inside of the drop tube, they do fit inside of the primer seating ram.
Make sure you buy the Berdan"cricket-tool" to remove the crimp ring around the primer pocket on the brass. The tool has a hole in its center to allow the anvil to enter allowing the crimp ring to be removed.
I use the RCBS Berdan Decapper to remove the spent primers and have posted a vid on how to use the tool properly.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1012932670

[RogerDat]

Just a humorous side note. Followed the Midway link to the RCBS bench top primer tool shown. It is $99 under that item Midway displays similar items that might also be of interest. There is the RCBS APS bench top for $120, the Foster Co-Ax for $90 and the Lee for ..... $28.99

Just thought the contrast was funny. Not going for relative merits, just if one had no idea of the market segment the different companies were going for they would be pretty confused at the price differences.

[garandsrus]

I have some Berdan primers but had never used any. I tried using the Lee Hand priming tool with the flat shell holders and the round primer tray. The primers seated without any issues. I primed 6.5x55 brass. The primers go through the slot so the primer tray should work fine.

[Duckiller]

I use a Rockchucker press and priming tool to reprime swiss brass. Usa a bolt , socket and water to deprime. Swiss brass is too pretty to waste.

[RogerDat]

I have three boot shoe box sized plastic bin and about 3 or 4 coffee cans of brass I thought was "too pretty to waste". I sold much of it to get down to this remnant. I have no really good excuse for keeping it since it is calibers I don't reload but toward the end I just decided to keep some for someday. My use or someone else. Seem to recall wasn't that long ago when some of this stuff wasn't available.

I want to prime the old Mauser brass I have some to use and some to keep with it as period matching equipment but would tend to use any leftover Berdan primers for the calibers that are harder to come by in boxer primed brass. Or as Duckiller says the especially fine quality brass that sometimes shows up from Europe.

[lead-1]

RogerDat, I went out to the garage a while ago to check the priming tool.
Yes they fit, I put ten large rifle Berdan primers (.217) in the RCBS tray and ran them thru the hand priming tool. A few took a slight tap on the tool for the primer to completely slide into the hole above the seating ram but if I was sliding brass in and out of the shellholder they might have been shaken into place by that movement alone.

[RogerDat]

RogerDat, I went out to the garage a while ago to check the priming tool.
Yes they fit, I put ten large rifle Berdan primers (.217) in the RCBS tray and ran them thru the hand priming tool. A few took a slight tap on the tool for the primer to completely slide into the hole above the seating ram but if I was sliding brass in and out of the shellholder they might have been shaken into place by that movement alone.

Thanks for confirming that. I was hoping if I purchased a tool that it would be one I could use for both Berdan and Boxer. I generally prime on the press with an Ez Prime but figure if I had a tool for priming I might find a use for it. If nothing else I have a Lee hand press with nothing to use with it for priming. Now if I can just get down to the bench to check the primer diameter.

[Bmi48219]

Back in the 60’s my dad purchased thousands of berdan primers. He had a machinist at work make some pin punches and he bought a crimp remover tool.
All we had was Lee Classic whack-em kits but the primer bases & punches worked fine for re-priming 7, 7.5 & 8 mm rifle brass. If the OP isn’t looking to reload vast quantities, I would think the Lee would work.

[RogerDat]

Back in the 60’s my dad purchased thousands of berdan primers. He had a machinist at work make some pin punches and he bought a crimp remover tool.
All we had was Lee Classic whack-em kits but the primer bases & punches worked fine for re-priming 7, 7.5 & 8 mm rifle brass. If the OP isn’t looking to reload vast quantities, I would think the Lee would work.

I checked for the 8mm Lee Loader kits. They are hard to come by. Out of production for many years. I sort of put the idea of trying a 30-06 kit to see how that worked on the back burner. Or maybe 308 win kit. Think I would get more for the money if I bought a priming tool but if it was a Lee Loader in a caliber I reload it might make some sense.

I like the Lee wack-a-mole kits. Dog and wife both get a bit upset with me when I set off a primer using them but I don't do it often. Both seem to hold a grudge on the subject however thus I find myself banned to the basement or garage when using one to pound a primer in with a hammer.