Seating Berdan primers

[milprileb]

Well, here I am: got Berdan primers, berdan brass and none of my priming tools
will seat the primers. Rock Chucker priming arm, Herters Model 0 priming arm, Lee turret priming arm, RCBS bench model priming tool...... all a bust.

Is there a tool sold that will let me seat berdan primers ?

Thanks so much.

[Reload3006]

even berdan primers are crimped have you properly removed the crimp? I have seated Berdans using standard priming tools not ideal but it worked ... I still had to remove the crimp. Obviously you cant swage the primer pocket like you can with Military Boxer primed. But you can cut the crimp ring off with a pocket knife Pain in the neck but can be done.

[swamp]

I use a RCBS ram priming tool for my berdan stuff. The primer rods would not fit, so took a piece of delrin rod and turned down till it matched the diameter of the primer. Then made sure it would fit thru the priming tool. Works well for me.
I am using early CBC 24 ga. brass shot shells formed to 577 Snider.

[n.h.schmidt]

Hi
I have been in your shoes. My solution was quite easy. Most priming setups do not provide any way to not seat the primers too deep. What worked for me is the Lee ram prime. The plain, one at a time one. No automatic feed.. The cup is just big enough to fit the .217 dia primers. If you place a thin lock ring on the ram prime body before screwing it into the press,you can adjust the seating depth. I like mine to be about .002 to .004 below the base bottom. Good luck with this.
n.h.schmidt

[milprileb]

If one does not seat a primer fully into the primer pocket, won't that cause the firing pin strike to be dampened and mis fires occur.

I have always been told primers must be seated fully to bottom of cup and to always run a finger across base of a case to be sure no primer is high.

So is Berdan an exception ?

[lead-1]

You will need to remove the crimp as said before and then the new primer will seat. I use an RCBS hand primer to seat the new primers with a modification, I drilled and tapped the handle for a set screw to adjust the depth of the primer and set the jam nut so it stays put.
Here is a pic of the modification to the tool, you can see the set screw by my middle finger.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/517/reloadingpics015cv3.jpg/

[MtGun44]

A friend that does it has told me that his RCBS ram prime system works well for Berdan.

Bill

[milprileb]

Thanks for the photo and tool idea.

As to depth of primer seating: I seated all berdan to bottom of primer pockets, the primers looked deep but in 3 tests: 7.5 Swiss, 8mm Mauser and 303 British berdan cases, they all test fired just fine so I am not having firing pin issues hitting and setting off the primers: K31, 98K and No.4 Enfield is a nice spread of rifles to test that seating depth of primers so I am thinking seating them down to bottom of primer pocket works just fine.

Now... any one see a issue of seating them that way ?

[n.h.schmidt]

Hi
If it works it works. You most likely are not seating the primers to the bottom of the pocket. You are more likely seating them so the anvil bottoms on the inside of the primer. It must be ok,as it works. My pmc berdan primers are not cupped deep enough to bottom out in any primer pocket. The orginal removed primers from my 303 ,7.5 and 8mm cases are also too short to bottom out. They were also seated flush with the base of the cases. What is right in this ,I have never heard. What do you think?
n.h.schmidt

[milprileb]

n.h.schmidt,

You are most likely got the best grip on this. I don't know the Tula primers are / are not seating fully to bottom of primer cup... but I do know that 5 test rounds loaded up in GP 11 brass, Yugo 8mm brass and SA 303 brass all fired off perfectly. Now , granted I did not load
any rounds up yet but that is on the sked this week.