Shiloh Rifle Forums

Primer Pockets. To swage, or not to swage, that is the question. Swaging large rifle to large pistol. I know it's basically a one way prop. How is done? Suppliers of dies etc? Benifits? Down side? Who done it?

Woody

Hoke makes the tools. I've done it. I can't say it has much mattered with anything I've tried so far when tested CAREFULLY.

Brent

Brent,

Thanks. I'm wondering if it would benifit since I've been using Large Pistol primers for several years. Maybe more uniform ignition?

Woody

Well, I'm still shooting BR2s and I don't see anything that gives me any provable advantage over that. However, I have only done the pistol primer stuff with breech seated .38-55s. Maybe the larger cartridges would benefit.

Brent

Woody,

I am wondering about it myself as the pistol primers work so well in our 38-50's Jimbo's and Mine.

I know Tony Nielson played with it a few years ago here and had some good results, But I think he ended up with Flash-hole Issues in the mix. He is one of them Engineer Types and a very good shot.

I hope someone thats tested this chimes in Maybe Tony?

KW

Brent,

I've been using Large Pistol in anything I can. I've got one 40 that still has it's original firing pin that will not work with LP primers. I use the BR2 in it. I just went looking for any info on the Hoke tool. Can't find it. Got a source?

Woody

Woody, I think you will have to call them. I'm not sure it is listed on a web site but I've seen it in their catalog.

http://www.kermitool.com/ad.html

Bryan

bryany,

I went to the web site. No BPCR stuff listed.

I think Steve R. has been swaging his 40-82 pockets. Steve you there?

Woody

Yup, call Kermit. I don't know if he still makes them but he used to. That's the source.

Brent

I have drilled out primer holes and I have swagged them down to 0.060".
The 40-50BN, 40-65, & 40-82 did not shoot any better than when I used a over primer card. So I would not do it either way again, especially with the price of brass now days.

The biggest bummer about swagging smaller [to 0.060"] is the iddy-biddy depriming pin you need to push the primers out. They never lasted very long, so now I just use the standard primer hole in everything.

Keep on hav'n fun!

I bought a 40-82 last winter with a couple hundred rounds of Brass that were swaged with the Kermitool Primer Pocket swage die and flash hole swage die (.060) . finally after a rocky start, I'm getting some good accuracy with it , but unfortunately, I have nothing standard to compare it to.

Strangely, my standard Lyman 50-90 sizing die has a small enough pin to decap them, so I use it for all my decapping.

When loading pistol primers in large rifle primer cases, they obviously don't fit properly. I have not experienced any problems, but I have seen breech faces damaged by the extended firing of these primers. I think we would see less pierced primers by having the proper seating depth. I'm not concerned that I would be altering expensive brass. My BPCR brass is dedicated to a specific rifle and doesn't get mixed with other brass.

Woody

Woody,
When I got my first 40-82 I swedged the primer pockets so I could use Rem 2 1/2s. (I had alot of them)
I still use that brass in my new Shiloh 40-82 and it works fine, but I forgot they were swedged and loaded CCI BR-2s. That didn't work very well as the primer stuck out of the cases.
I use CCI BR-2s in everything else and in my tests the CCIs and the Rem 2 1/2s performed equally.
I have a tool made by Kermit, somewhere.
I have caused issues shooting the Rem 2 1/2s in unswedged cases. They shot OK but eventually ringed one of my breechblocks.
Steve R.
AZ

I think Woodys question is about moving the primer pocket back. Say from .030 to .015 so the primer doesn't end up deeper in the cases pocket. I don't think he was asking about swagging the primer hole smaller, say from .070 to .060..

Woody can correct me if I'm wrong.

Kelley O.

Woody the tool isn't that expensive and it doesn't take that long to push some pockets back for testing. I think Fred Cornell make the tool also. You can control how much the pocket is moved, so if you used BR-2 you can get the proper depth.

Ran an experiment. Move the pockets back on 15 cases, load your favorate ammo and shoot a side by side comparison, 15 regular and 15 pushed back. Your rifle may like do well with modified pockets.

Kelley O.