ever forget to bell before priming

[bmortell]

im sure im not the only one whos done it. today i got done priming cases and realized i didnt bell yet, so i started belling them and it seems to compress the air inside to about half volume is this bad. doesnt compressed air make a little moisture that could contaminate primer?

[BNE]

Ive done it many times over the years. I doubt you will generate enough moisture if any to create a problem.

[TXGunNut]

I generally prime before belling, SOP on progressive presses. A bit embarassing when I charge the case before belling, tho. Only done it once, tho....just to see what it was like. ;-)

[Bullshop Junior]

I seriously doubt the amount of compressed air if there even is any would cause a problem.

[Bo1]

I have done it quite frequently, and never had any issues.
Bo

[Bullshop Junior]

I believe a lot of progressive presses prime before belling.

[shoot-n-lead]

I believe a lot of progressive presses prime before belling.

Every progressive that I have ever used primes in the first station and then bells the case when charging with powder...making it kind of messy if you wanted to prime after belling.

[JesterGrin_1]

WoW this one took me off Guard. :)

I have only been reloading since 2007 but have always seated a primer before belling the case. And like has been said it is done this way on progressive presses as well so there should not be a problem.

[bmortell]

i didnt realize thats normal in some presses i do everything single stage. my books say bell first so i was assuming theres some negative effect to reversing the two steps

[NWPilgrim]

Totally immaterial which order you do it. Most will prime then bell case mouth. You are just barely expanding the case mouth by a few thousands so the die barely goes down once making contact. Seating the bullet with powder charge inside will compress the air much more, but that is still negligible.

[zuke]

On my LEE turret after sizing I just spin to the next station with the belling die.

[bangerjim]

The seal is not good enough to create pressure in the case. Don't worry about it. You are thinking about what happens in an air compressor taking room air and compressing it to 120-150 times!

Bell/prime.......prime/bell........go for it!

banger

[StratsMan]

If you want to worry about pressure in the case, forget the belling step and worry about seating the boolit... That creates WAY more pressure than belling... I've had a well-sealed boolit push the primer out of a 45ACP case more than once. Granted, that case was at the end of its' lifespan as the primer wasn't very tight in the pocket. But that does show you how much internal pressure there is when seating a boolit with a nice wax seal.

Hmmmm... Now I wonder if some of my mis-fires were caused by moisture from a tight boolit....

[bedbugbilly]

I use a universal de-primer die on a single stage - then hand prime. Then I load on my Lee Classic 4 hole turret. Size, then bell and charge, then seat then crimp. I suppose everybody may do it differently depending on what works best for them.

[wallenba]

I've been priming and charging cases off the press for years. Then, using a four hole Lee turret press, 1st die, full length sizing (decapping pin removed), 2nd die, Lyman 'M' die, 3rd. seating, 4th die, crimping. Never had a problem belling after priming & charging.

Lee sells charge through expanding dies that require you to prime before case mouth expanding.
Here's one example http://www.midwayusa.com/Product/228449/lee-powder-through-expander-die-44-special-44-remington-magnum

[BruceB]

This is an example of "Never say never."

My normal routine DOES prime cases before the belling step, whether it's on my 550B or "more-leisurely" turret or single-stage presses. No problems at all, just as others have already posted.

However, with regard to the air compression, for many years I used .38 Special brass manufactured by Canadian Industries Limited.

Our Bullseye competition load was the Lyman 35863 double-ended wadcutter and 2.7-2.9 grains of Bullseye powder.

The Model 52 S&W auto requires that the bullets be seated absolutely flush with the case mouth.... NO protrusion at all. Th35863 was designed with this pistol in mind.

When the 35863 bullet was seated in this manner in CIL cases, there was ALWAYS a bulge formed right at the base of the bullet. This bulge formed well away from the area where the brass thickens toward the web, and therefore the bulge was created by compression of the air inside the case. It was a uniform ring completely around the case.

The bulging was very prominent, and prevented the loaded rounds from chambering in either revolvers or the Model 52 autos. Hence I had to use other brands of cases, which did NOT bulge in this manner. Only CIL cases displayed this odd behavior. For non-wadcutter loads the Canadian brass served very well, and obviously I didn't use the CIL stuff for Model 52 loads.....

I was living n Northern Canada at the time, and finding W-W or R-P brass was not always the easiest thing..... I treasured the limited amounts I could find.

[Mk42gunner]

The only way I see to have a problem is if your belling die is one of the old ones that decaps as it expands the case neck.

Since I got rid of the progressives and have been using a single stage press and a hand primer, I usually size and decap, bell the cases, then prime as a batch. The prepped cases go into a sealed ammo can until I am ready to load. I only stock one type of primer for each size any more, so I just throw an empty primer sleeve in the can for identification.

Robert

[popper]

Expand before prime so if the mouth splits I don't have to punch live primer.

[DrCaveman]

Expand before prime so if the mouth splits I don't have to punch live primer.

Awww, ya just push a little slower on the decapper ;)

All my lee handgun dies require priming prior to belling/charging since that is done by a hollow powder-thru expanding die

If the belling procedure caused detrimental amounts of air pressure inside the case, then bullet seating-after a case full of powder has been added- would be even worse

Im not sure that case buckling is because of air pressure either. I could be wrong but i usually get it when seating a) pretty large diameter boolits for cartridge b) pretty long cases and c) very heavy crimp

[35 shooter]

Expand before prime so if the mouth splits I don't have to punch live primer.

Yep! Best reason for doing it that way.

[shoot-n-lead]

Yep! Best reason for doing it that way.

The only reason for doing it that way.

Most of us have settled on the other way as we have VERY FEW case mouth splits.

[35 shooter]

The only reason for doing it that way.

Most of us have settled on the other way as we have VERY FEW case mouth splits.

Either way works and i have done it both ways. It's a non issue really. If i used a press or certain dies that required priming first, i would do it that way. I don't claim to know how "most here" do it, but i use a single stage press and have a choice. There's also another reason i do it that way and it's called age:smile: I'm at the fumble finger stage of life and do manage to drop more cases while loading than i did back in the 70's when i started loading. If i drop a case that hasn't been belled, it usually puts a dent in the mouth if it hits the floor and i have to size that rascal again. However belled ones rarely do that. I hate backtracking on depriming or resizing cases once it's already been done so i just try to eliminate as much of that as possible....I admit it doesn't always work though.
Either approach works and to each his own.

[dragon813gt]

Expand before prime so if the mouth splits I don't have to punch live primer.

I've never had one split while expanding. I've had plenty split while sizing. I've never belled before priming. They get primed after sizing. For cast bullets they're even charged before expanding. I use a Lee powder through die to drop powder only. Then use a M die in the next station. Everyone has their own way of doing things so no way is wrong.

[Hardcast416taylor]

I would be interested to learn where you came up with this "compressed air moisture problem" from. Someone has toooo much free time on their hands to think up this "horse-hockey" psuedo problem that doesn`t exist for handloaders in the real world.Robert

[rockshooter]

For the past 40 years I've kept in my loading bench drawer the .38 caliber belling tool that used to come with the original Lee loader. Every now and then need to use it on a case I've missed or dropped. Any similar round pointy thing will work.
Loren

[JesterGrin_1]

Ok the boredom must have really set in and it is not even Winter Time lol. Two pages on whether to bell before prime WoW.

Nest thing I know we will see a Ten page thread on Floor Mats lol.

[gray wolf]

Totally immaterial which order you do it, carry on.

[Wayne Smith]

The only reason for doing it that way.

Most of us have settled on the other way as we have VERY FEW case mouth splits.

I assume you have not done much case forming. Most of my neck splits are in my 25-20 necked from 32-20 and from 8mm-06 necked from 30-06. Annealing helps greatly.

[Alferd Packer]

I just bell the start edge of the case with closed needle nosed pliers or if not handy a nail set or even a loose .30 caliber bullet will work.
Even a small center punch.
I 've also used a .223 case to flare .30 cal case.
However for brand new cases that have never held a bullet, you may have to bell the case on the press to keep from collapsing the shoulder or splitting the case neck.

Life is simple till it's your turn.

[JoeJames]

Sometimes I bell before, and sometimes after priming; I just really try to remember to do it before adding powder and seating the cast bullet.

Upon reflection, one other reason to prime afterwards; a couple of weeks ago I had primed quite a few 44 Special cases, and without paying attention I had also primed a couple of 44 Magnum cases. Of course the die was set up for 44 Special belling, not for 44 Magnum. When I belled the 44 Magnum case if looked kindly like a blunderbuss. Went back through and found another one that had not been belled yet.

[Larry Gibson]

Just mentioning for a friend....[smilie=1:....who has even charged cases before flairing/belling the case mouth......

If the expander doesn't compress the powder charge then no harm no foul.....doesn't hurt anything other than your pride......

[cupajoe]

Back in 1977 when I started handloading I put 6 CCI large pistol primers in a jar of water for a week. Took them out, blotted them dry, then seated them in cases. No powder or bullet. I put them in my SBH and all of them fired just fine. Oil or solvent would be a different story.

[JoeJames]

Just mentioning for a friend....[smilie=1:....who has even charged cases before flairing/belling the case mouth......

If the expander doesn't compress the powder charge then no harm no foul.....doesn't hurt anything other than your pride......Must have been the same friend who when belling 44 Special cases had a few a wee bit short, but did not discover that little problem until after charging and fixing to seat the boolits, huh? With 6.8 grains of Unique, it sure ain't going to doing any powder compressing.

[Conditor22]

You can do (and I have :( ) do everything except using a de-priming pin or wet tumble primed brass.

The NOE neck expander mouth flare die shouldn't touch the powder (IF it does, you have too much powder).

[JoeJames]

Wet tumbling primed brass. Never done that but I hope you are not calling up spirits from the vasty deep with that one.

[dtknowles]

No one has commented about how a lot of expanders now have a big hole thru them for charging. Those won't compress air or powder. Maybe some did I did skip a lot of the posts from 2014 ;) Lyman M dies and such if you have a full case of powder, that would be trouble. I don't have expanders for every size I load so sometimes I just use big steel balls or small steel balls. I do a bit of making do with what I have for tinkering projects. I do buy good stuff for serious projects.

Tim

[Texas by God]

The powder thru expanding die is one of the main reasons that I like Lee pistol dies. Heck, with a couple wraps of electric tape on the threads, a Lyman 55 will fit in the top of the die.

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[fastdadio]

Using RCBS single stage, I bell on the up stroke and seat the primer on the down stroke.

[dverna]

I just bell the start edge of the case with closed needle nosed pliers or if not handy a nail set or even a loose .30 caliber bullet will work.
Even a small center punch.
I 've also used a .223 case to flare .30 cal case.
However for brand new cases that have never held a bullet, you may have to bell the case on the press to keep from collapsing the shoulder or splitting the case neck.

Life is simple till it's your turn.

You had to post on one of the dumbest threads ever posted that was started over 6 years ago....

Must be a really bad case of cabin fever.

[marshall623]

Me too

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[gumbo333]

Me too

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The seven year itch.

[marshall623]

The seven year itch.No I tried to quote a previous reply LOL , I bell on the up stoke and prime on the down stoke . Usually works pretty well .

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[Bill*B]

Don't fret. Bell away. Everything will be O.K. Just try to remember to do it before priming, next time.

[Beaverhunter2]

While I wouldn't purposely let primers get wet- remember a LITTLE moisture almost certainly won't affect them. My firefighter buddies tell me to deactivate primers you're supposed soak them in oil-not water. Powder is a different story.