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gschwertley
veteran member
Posts: 158
(12/19/04 7:12 pm)
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Different standards for foreign brass
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I will start this off with "in my experience..."
Now have some of you noticed that with some of the foreign brass we are seeing now, both from factory-loaded ammo and brass offered as components, there are differences in the way they are made from US brass? By this I mean in how it relates to reloading and the various fits we encounter.
The one difference that challenges me the most is in the area of the rim. I guess there is no such thing as SAAMI in the Czech Republic, Serbia, et al. My experience is with some of these Boxer-primed, European-made cases that the rim groove may or may not fit in a standard shell holder for that nominal caliber.
I wind up with different strange batches of brass not out of my own free choice in what I buy necessarily, but what I get tempted to use that I may pick up free that is laying around at the gun range. In this, I cannot help myself. As a consequence, I have had to experiment with different brands of shell holders, and yes, they do vary. I have discovered that even different vintages of shell holders from the same manufacturer vary. For example, the #3 from Lee was used for .30-30 and others, but recently with the rush to reload 7.5x55 Swiss, that round calls for a #3 also. My old #3 will not accept Graf 7.5x55 cases; I sent away for a new #3 made by Lee, and low and behold, it has room for a deeper flange on the 7.5x55 Swiss rim. As a result, the .30-30 case inserted this later shell holder rides higher and primer seating depth may not be as deep as when using the older #3.
My preference is not to prime cases on the ram-style bench press, but to use the little hand-held jiggers. I have been using a Lee hand primer for years. A couple of years ago, I bought an RCBS just so I could use universal type shell holders if necessary. I was having trouble with .32 ACP cases (is anyone else foolish enough to re-load these?), which is the one US-made metallic case that I have found much variation in with regard to the rim. The RCBS is a pain in the neck to use in that changing the shell holder is more involved than the Lee. One advantage that the RCBS has is that the punch that drives the primer into the pocket has more throw than the Lee. If you have a case that rides a bit high in the holder, that longer throw will be more apt to properly seat the primer and avoid a high primer condition. I have even made my own "oversize" punch for a little more reach if necessary. I also have an older RCBS bench-mounted priming tool, not one of those things that takes the plastic strips. This I save for tight primers.
Which brings us to other variables with the foreign-made brass. Pocket primer depth is one. Primer flash hole size is another. The foreign brass seems to be softer to me than most US brass; it seems to flow more with each firing and need trimming sooner. With some of the once-fired brass, it seems to take a LOT of trimming, which makes me wonder if it started out over-length. Well, that is certainly something sometimes seen even with Winchester and Remington.
One more comment about the Lee and RCBS hand priming tools. The RCBS tool is supposed to be safer to use in that the reservoir of primers is seperated from the primer being inserted at the moment of work, thus theoretically avoiding a possible sympathetic detonation.
Kar98AZfan
Moderator host
Posts: 331
(12/19/04 9:19 pm)
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Re: Different standards for foreign brass
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Yes some of us do load the .32 ACP.My wife likes shooting them up in her CZ70,but I havn't convinced her to reload her empties -TR
No man's life,liberty or property are safe when the legislature is in session-Mark Twain (1866)
308Dave
veteran member
Posts: 254
(12/19/04 9:33 pm)
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Re: Different standards for foreign brass
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I also reload 32 acps. I bought the RCBS hand primer just to use for the 32, because I was bending rims on my rock chucker.
Dave
"An armed society is a polite society"
nam barney
administrator
Posts: 493
(12/19/04 11:19 pm)
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Re: Different standards for foreign brass
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Yes, I too load the 32ACP as well as the 32 S&W short, and long. 38 S&W, 32 H&R Mag and to TR's amusement I reload the 25 ACP. Now ain't that a hoot??
But all my priming is done with a LEE autoprime and I have no problems,
Nam
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