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/AkKJfvMyuDgWould 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-Performance-Firearms-Revolver-Cylinder/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/20090109164453/http://users.ameritech.net/mchandler/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


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJnOO_tn_Zw

[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
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=ZQNDgjcgofY

[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

[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
250577250576

[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.