Reaming VS Swaging

[tinsnips]

I have 6000 9mm once fired brass to process . I have a Lee App press,Rcbs trim mate etc. My question is what to do with the primer pockets swage or ream ? The brass is once fired so all different brands some are going to be crimped ,some will have tight pockets I reload 9mm on a progressive press an don't want any problems .

[Faret]

I'd try the app swager first. Then ream if that does not work.

[beagle]

I use a RCBS swager on mine and it works well and is pretty fast. Reaming takes longer./beagle

[jimkim]

Don't do them all at once. Do them in batches. Do whatever you like most.

Sent from my VS880 using Tapatalk

[Huskerguy]

I use a Dillon swage tool and it works well. I just don't like the idea of taking off metal with a reamer but that is me.

[ioon44]

I use a RCBS swager on mine and it works well and is pretty fast. Reaming takes longer./beagle

This is what I use for crimped primer pockets also.

About 90% of my range brass does not need swaged, it is easy to pick out the ones that are crimped and S&B cased need to be swaged.

[charlie b]

Swaging is so much easier. I only need to use it for crimped primers. If you have range brass and don't want to sort it then run all of it through the swage.

[bangerjim]

Swaging is the way I have done many thousands of 9mm and 223 military brass. Works fast. Works easy. Works great.

Keep the metal in place....swage it......don't ream it.

banger :guntootsmiley:

[megasupermagnum]

You would get carpal tunnel before you reamed 600 cases, let alone 6000. Reaming is for rifle shooters doing batches of 50 or 100.

[Old School Big Bore]

I had to get into my stash of WCC military 9X19 to load a large order. I HAVE a stash of that one type of brass because I ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS separate headstamps no matter the caliber. This prevents what you're running into by feeling forced into reaming/swaging a batch of brass wherein some/most don't need the process done to them.
I decapped the brass in a decap-only die, then I put the alignment rod in my Forster drill press trim rig and a countersink in the chuck. The rod supports the case as the countersink eats the crimp, and the quill stop controls the depth of the chamfer. BUT my hand was cramping trying to hold the case from spinning.
So I dug out the RCBS swage kit, set it up and yes it does go pretty fast. The stripper cup doesn't sit exactly level on the press I'm using for the task but it's easy enough to square it up on the upstroke.
The primary problem I was having is that I set a catch-box under the press and if I drop a case on its way to the shellholder, it falls in the "done" box and I have to look for it. So I moved the box to one side and now instead of dropping the case after swaging, I flip it toward the box.
Although all this brass is the same headstamp, variations in the case head thickness were causing varying degrees of swage-itude as described in the thread on the Dillon swage tool, so instead of trying to set the support rod to allow the ram to reach top center, I extended it down and just stop the ram when the swaging button has made solid contact.
Ed <><

[country gent]

I would swage for the ease and speed. The primer pocket reamers tend to want to grab and bind, they also dont give as nice a finish as the swage does. Another reason is the swage irons the metal back into where it came from no metal removal. Some even form a nice lead in radius on the pocket.

I have a dillon super swage and it does a very good job and is one that also forms the lead in. But RCBS and other swages do well also.

[gwpercle]

Both... to do a complete and proper job:
1. Swage
2. Pocket reamer to remove any spring back metal .
3. Finish job with a Primer Pocket Uniformer... this makes them all the same depth .

Yes it's 3 steps but it's the right way to do a proper job.
Trust me,
Gary

[BucolicBuffalo]

Swaging works for many people. It is not something I would ever do on rifle brass. There is no way to know for sure where metal is being shoved. Brass springs back. Sometimes enough to have to swage it again.

I use the L.E. Wilson primer pocket reamers. Makes for a super nice finish. I have never had them grab or bind when used in the toolhead. Takes longer. More work. Better results.

[gpidaho]

I've swaged a lot of primer pockets with the RCBS II pocket swager and yes it works pretty good. I recently bought the swage dies for the Lee APP press and it's much faster and the brass doesn't hang up on the swage pin like it does on the RCBS Gp

[Brass&Lead]

Swage to put the brass back where it belongs.
Ream to chamfer the edge so that the primers go in smooth.

[megasupermagnum]

The new Lee primer pocket swager puts a chamfer in the pocket. It does the best job of all swaging tools I have tried.

[tinsnips]

Thanks guys that was the answers i was looking for. I ordered the App swage kit not easy to find now. Found one at Kempf Gun Shop have my work cut out for me.

[kevin c]

I do what OSBB does and recommend sorting your brass. At least my experience with the once fired 9mm brass I pick up at my range (frequently rented to various agencies in the area) is that there are just a few brands that are crimped, and the headstamps are distinct, with the exception of Winchester, where some cases have crimped brass primers. The time spent sorting and then swaging just the handful or so that actually need it might be much less than what it'd take to swage all 6K cases.

[lightman]

I prefer to ream but with 6000 to do I would probably swage them. All crimps are not created equal and I don't feel like any one method works well on all of them.

[mdi]

I first encountered military primer crimps in about '88 and being a life long machinist/mechanic I immediately thought of a countersink. I already had a few in my tool box so I grabbed a 1/2x60 degree countersing with a 1/4" hex drive and removed about 100 crimps (5.56). I have been using a countersink since on all my military once fired cases. I have never removed "too much metal" and even experimenting with an extra heavy cut/chamfer I never blew a primer. Just 1 second light touch removes the crimp. Inexpensive, readily available an easy. I chuck one in my hand drill and cut as many as I need or as many as I feel like doing...

I have found many tools/products that work just as well as "dedicated reloading tools" and a counter sink is one. https://www.mcmaster.com/countersinks/

[.429&H110]

+1 for gwpercle and 3 steps!

I have a set of 50 44 mag brass
whittled down to 21 keepers
that has been reloaded 40 times
so I retired them. Split some necks
but every 10 or so trials,
had to RCBS swage their pockets.
They tightened up nicely!
Mid range loads, 250 gr keith boolits.
Federal brass.

[fatelvis]

Which brands of brass should I be pulling aside to ream their crimped pockets? I know WCC is one of them

[charlie b]

Look for the crimp ring around the primer pocket.

[dverna]

Both... to do a complete and proper job:
1. Swage
2. Pocket reamer to remove any spring back metal .
3. Finish job with a Primer Pocket Uniformer... this makes them all the same depth .

Yes it's 3 steps but it's the right way to do a proper job.
Trust me,
Gary

That may be the right way but not for me...I am way too lazy to invest that much time in 9mm brass. My last 9mm brass purchase was $30/1000 delivered. Too cheap to waste time on. But all my 9mm is plinking and target ammunition so getting anal about it has no return for the effort. I mix all sorts of headstamps. If I was using it for Bullseye at 50 yards I would use good brass and keep it segregated. IMHO uniforming primer pockets on pistol brass adds no value at all.

The only crimped primers I have to deal with are 5.56 and 7.62. The Dillon 600 is the tool I use and it works OK. I do not ream or uniform rifle brass either but my accuracy needs are "pedestrian".

Sometimes the "right way" is not the most practical way.

[Wayne Smith]

S&B brass needs to be reamed - but I sort and only ream the S&B and anything crimped. But - I have a set of pliers with a V end and dipped in rubber designed to repair pens I make - got it from www.pennstateind.com and it works great for holding 9mm brass. The Lyman uniformer in my drill motor does the work.

[Super Sneaky Steve]

I've done a lot of both and I much prefer to swage. If you have a good swage depth go/no go gauge you can get it done in one step. I use the Dillon.

3 steps may be better but I've never had trouble priming after doing it in one step.

[Cattleman406]

I know on 5.56 brass ive used a deburring tool to remove the crimp for as long as I've loaded the cartridge. 4-5 turns usually is enough.

[oley55]

an auto-eject modified Dillon Super Swage will getter done PDQ.