Berdan Brass Questions

[mtnman31]

Over the years I've always just tossed the common berdan brass, (.308 Win, 8mm Mauser, etc) into my scrap brass bucket. I have held on to some of the less common stuff (7.5 French, 6.5 Swede, etc) on the off chance that someone else could make use of it. I guess I'm curious if anyone actually reloads or converts berdan brass to reload on a regular basis? i.e. more often than just using some to quell your curiosity? I guess it's one of those things that I question whether I'm just needlessly holding onto or do folks need/want berdan brass.

Second question is where has anyone gotten actual berdan primers lately, as in, within the last ten years or so? I've seen none for sale from an actual supplier in probably a decade. Sure, I see them for sale on gunbroker from the random guy who had a few to try out and never did anything with them, but not from an actual vendor.

I don't personally have anything or caliber that would require me to reload berdan brass - I have a useable supply of boxer brass for everything I shoot. I guess I may just post up the brass for sale and that could be my indicator of how useful the stuff is, lol.

[reddog81]

I ordered a box of 1,000 back in 2015 from Powder Valley. Tula KV-762N was the description and they cost $33. I don't recall seeing any for sale since then. I tried reloading some 7.5 Swiss brass but it was a bigger pain to get the primers out than I thought it would be so I gave up... I still keep the brass in case I decide to revisit it in the future.

[mdi]

I did a little research a few days ago, just out of curiosity (https://www.google.com/search?q=berdan+primers+for+sale&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS874US874&oq=Berdan+primers+for+sale&aqs=chrome.0.0i457j0j0i22i30l6.15006j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) but didn't find much and one I found I wasn't sure of availability; https://fedarm.com/product-category/ammunition-components/primers/

[kreuzlover]

I've never reloaded Berdan brass, but an old time gun article, probably from the mid-60's, said one good way to deprime was to fill the case full of water, then take a wooden dowel that fit tightly in the mouth of the case and hit it with a small hammer. Since water won't compress, it would move the primer out of the case. Sounded to me like more trouble than it was worth.

[Larry Gibson]

Much easier to convert them to boxer primed.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?143958-Converting-Berdan-primer-pockets-to-Boxer

[Traffer]

One of the projects on my backlog is to make a set of forming dies to draw berdan primers. One of the former members here "Marshall" has many very good (some better than commercial) priming compound mixes worked out. So the home manufacture of Berdan primers is on the table.
Just have too many projects ... haven't gotten this going yet.

[Traffer]

I make a hydraulic depriming rig. There are several designs out there. One at least on youtube.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

I also have saved some of the less common military Berdan primed brass. I've never attempted to reload any of it because I always made an effort to obtain some Boxer primed brass. It hasn't been that hard to do, with companies like Privi Partisan and Norma producing them.

I've also accumulated some (Boxer) from this Forum from WTS ads. As already remarked upon, converting Berdan to Boxer is always an option, not that hard to do if you like to tinker. One thing to bear in mind when attempting to purchase Berdan primers is that there is more than one size, so you have to know exactly what you're looking for, and sometimes foreign military ammunition manufacturers used different sizes for different runs of ammunition. All in all, if one wants to play with the Berdan brass, conversion to Boxer is the way to go.

DG

[garandsrus]

I have deprimed Berdan brass using the hydraulic method. It worked pretty well and was sort of fun. It makes you appreciate boxer primed brass though. I have some LR equivalent berdan primers to use with 7.5x55 and 6.5x55 brass. They prime normally. I probably bought them 10 or so years ago.

[ascast]

Currently no one is importing the standard sizes into the US. I have used the hydraulic method. It worked a couple times but bulged cases a lot of times. That was on military Lebel with a stout crimp. I cut out the crimp on the lathe and it worked much better. The RCBS /LACMILLER Berdan tool works very well. I used to use a lot of 11mm Mauser or Werndl brass, original. Reseating to a correct depth was more of a challenge than removal.

[Winger Ed.]

As tedious as they are to remove, it would seem that Berdan primers would be easier to reload or rebuild
than Boxer ones if it comes to having to recycle your old primers..

[haak48]

272566 This machine allows me to de-cap berdan primers with one turn of the handle. Different inserts in the barrel allow different cartridges to be inserted. German, post WW1. Regards, JH

[garandsrus]

Can you post a video of that in action? I would like to see how it works. Thanks....

[bedbugbilly]

A very interesting thread and a good one to bookmark.

Larry G. - thanks for the link you posted on how you convert

[haak48]

A few more pictures; not to good with videos. As the handle is turned, the barrel swings into position and the chisel point is driven down into the spent primer. As the handle continues to turn, the barrel rotates open, and the spent primers is ejected from the chisel. Cases can de primed as fast as they can be loaded into the chamber. Regards, JH

[Larry Gibson]

These South African 303 Brit cases converted to SR boxer primers are on their 7th firing in my Canadian No 4 Mk II since conversion. Load is 4895 w/dacron filler under a 170 gr C314291 (GB).

272570

Here's some Bulgarian 7.62x54R that were converted to SR boxer primed. They were fired 3 or 4 times at least with a full power load of 4895 under a .312 Hornady 150 gr bullet. Also numerous times with 4895 w/dacron filler under the same C314291. Also a target showing how they shoot. Target has two 3 shot groups for sighters with sight changes the 11 shots for "record" out of my Finn M39.

272572

272573

I've also converted, or actually helped convert, some 8mm Lebel and some 8x56 Austrian.

272574

[beagle]

Tried that one time and either I was hasty, didn't read the directions close enough or didn't pay attention to tolerances. It was WET....and comical to watch. Think RCBS makes a berdan decapper or they once did./beagle


I've never reloaded Berdan brass, but an old time gun article, probably from the mid-60's, said one good way to deprime was to fill the case full of water, then take a wooden dowel that fit tightly in the mouth of the case and hit it with a small hammer. Since water won't compress, it would move the primer out of the case. Sounded to me like more trouble than it was worth.

[Traffer]

This is very similar to the ones I make: (there is no chance of ballooning the case with this type)

https://youtu.be/o6a3BOZxKdY

[garandsrus]

That’s the way I deprime Berdan also. The top plunger stays above the brass case and the entire case and cavity are full of water so there isn’t any pressure on the case walls.

[Traffer]

Another (very recent) video by the same guy:

https://youtu.be/ppZ7yHbr5qk

[jsanch03]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201205/291c4282488110756b37dccbbb8fa210.jpg

For some it can been seen as tedious or not worth it but for me it’s one of those things my tinkering mind had to try. Berdan brass/steel cases come in different qualities and should be sorted out. I drilled the old primer out, popped the remaining portion out with a flat head then drilled out the berdan brass nipple. Using some 1/4 copper tubing I cut small portions of the tubing to fit slightly recessed into the primer pocket. Next with the good ole rcbs large primer pocket swagger I pressed the tubing into the primer pocket. You can YouTube berdan to boxer conversion for a more detailed look on the process. This works for me for 7.62x54r.

You may not have a use for the berdan brass but there’s always someone that will put it to use. So far I have (2) firings with 70 converted cases without the copper bushing coming loose. I even tumbled the brass in my wet tumbler without issue. Keep in mind when first experimenting with drilling the berdan primer out the bit may walk (chatter) and dig into the side of the pocket making for a useless loose primer pocket that will not accept the bushing. Hope this helps!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[oldsalt444]

Or you could try this:
https://sharpshooter-22lr-reloader.myshopify.com/collections/products/products/berdan-military-case-loader-foreign-domestic?variant=31222574273

[NuJudge]

I bought a lot of the Russian-made Berdan primers, before Murom got sanctioned by the President. Two types were imported, both being .217" diameter, one being taller/softer/more explosive and intended for bolt-actions, the other being shorter/harder/weaker and intended for the 7.62x39. I have shot a lot of them both.

Berdan primers can be extracted by hydraulics, or pried out with a tool such as that made by Lachmiller, and then by RCBS. The hydraulic tool is more workmanlike. A hydraulic tool can be cobbled up using an oversize neck expander, or a Lyman M die.

The majority of the Berdan cases I fire are in 7.5 Swiss, but 8x57 and 6.5x54, and soon in 6.5x55 also. It requires one more somewhat messy step. Load workup seems easier than boxer.

Remember, there are a zillion different Berdan primer diameters, and for each diameter there are usually several primer heights/hardnesses/strengths. Fiocchi used to make seemingly all of them. I wish I had more of the .250" for .303 and .254" for 7.62x54R.