How is a Hornady primer pocket reamer supposed to work?

I bought one to remove crimps from 223 brass and it doesn't come with instructions and it's obviously too big to fit. I used a junk case to see how it works and if you just ream a small bit it leaves a step and if you team it to the bottom a primer falls in and out with no resistance at all. It's obviously not packaged wrong because it is smaller than a large primer pocket. For now I'm just be eking the edge with my RCBS chamfer tool. Any input would sure be appreciated. This is new territory for me. Thanks

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I am not sure about the hornady, but I have a RCBS military crimp remover on my Trim Pro.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/594559/rcbs-trim-mate-case-prep-center-military-crimp-...

You just press the case on it until it bottoms out and the crimp is gone. The case also has a nice chamfer for seating a new primer. It is the quickest way I have found to remove the crimp. Each case takes a couple of seconds.

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This Hornady is larger than a small pistol primer and smaller than a large...I'd guess about halfway between the two without measuring. If you even try to just ream the crimp it leaves a nasty square step. It says it's for removing the crimp but I would take issue with that:/

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I had been swaging my pockets on the press but a while back I bought 1000 .308 Lc brass and wanted something faster. I sized it all in a small base die. Trimmed it, then preocssed it the rest of the way on the trim mate. I need to get one for small rifle but I don't currently have much brass that needs the crimp removed. I figure I'll buy one when ever I need to do some more .223.

You could attach this to a drill and it would work almost as well.

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The bottom of the reamer is flat so it would just hit bottom and stop. But the primer pocket would need a medium rifle primer which they don't make. I'm gonna call Hornady tomorrow and see if they know what's going on.

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http://www.midwayusa.com/product/501588/hornady-primer-pocket-reamer-tool-small

Looking at it it would seem to just chamfer the primer pocket. You can, I have, do that with a case chamfer tool. The straight portion which you insert in the primer pocket is just a guide. You aren't supposed to ream the pocket to the bottom. You use one size for the large pocket and another for the small.

The RCBS tool is a swage that works in your press. A single stage press would be best. It actually presses the primer pocket metal from the pocket crimp back to eliminate the crimp rather than cutting it and is MUCH faster. I know from experience with thousands of cases using both methods. Worth the rather miniscule investment even if you had to buy one of those cheap LEE presses to use it.

http://leeprecision.com/reloader-press.html

--
Sincerely,

Hobie

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Wish list. It's an easy way to keep up with what I'm thinking about buying:) The straight part that is supposed to be a guide on my Hornady tool will ream the pocket out way to big. It has to be oversized. No other posibility that I can think of. I'm gonna call Hornady tomorrow and see if it's a defect. Maybe they'll send me out one that works. I did a few with my RCBS chamfer tool. It works OK but too much work for a large batch of cases.

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When using the RCBS swager set, be careful to not get to much pressure on the rod that presses on the inside base of the case, they will bend. Years ago I bought the Dillon, it works great but does cost more.

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I have the RCBS swagger too, but for me it doesn't work nearly as well as they RCBS reamer. I had to make a shim with some washers to even get the case off the swaging die. And if you have a power accessory the reamer is MUCH quicker than the Swager.

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I discovered primer crimps were a major pain in all of my tender parts. Everyone told me to use a chamfer tool, so I did.

The pain moved to my fingers. Finally got all my 45, 5.56, 308, '06, done. At least it was a one-time-only deal.

Then I discovered the RCBS Primer Pocket Swage tool - it was slow, but wonderful! Used on my Rockchucker.

Many years passed and I discovered the Dillon Super Swage. Now THERE is the solution! Stand alone, around $100, and will work on large and small pockets. Fast! You learn to flip the mandrel which will toss the finished case off and into a box. <b>It is the best out there for the money.</b> No joke - by the time you buy two or three of the others you have wasted nearly enough money to buy the Dillon.

A few more years passed and I bought a Dillon 1050 with the integral primer pocket swage and the Super Swage went on the shelf as a backup. Now the process is transparent and happens automatically during the loading process. Downside is the cost of a 1050.

Buy The Dillon Super Swage.

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I used aRCBS Primer Pocket Swage tool on 3,000 5.56 cases for the boss's kid's ammo. Not fun, But I learned how.

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Of the Troops & For the Troops

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chamfer tool but it is not as good as the Dillon. Perhaps I read too much of the budget consciousness in the original post.

--
Sincerely,

Hobie

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If this is the one you're talking about...

[image]

Then you're doing it right and it's out of spec. That parallel section should slip into the pocket, clean out the carbon and the next section comes along to chamfer the lip and get rid of any crimp. Let us know what Hornady says, but it seems obvious that you've got an out of spec tool.

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I will just chuck it up in a cordless drill if they get it right. I talked to a guy named Seth at Hornady this morning and he said it sounds out of spec. He is going to send me another and said if it's not in the mail today, it will be tomorrow and before he boxes it up to ship he said he would personally take it to the shop and have it checked for proper dimensions and function and he requested I send him mine back so they can anylize it for quality control. I'll report back when I get it.

As for the RCBS swage dies vs. Swager vs. Dillon, I haven't yet decided how serious Im gonna get on this .223 reloading yet. I have a lot of factory Winchester Razorback and Barnes VorteX ammo that I can use the brass for loading precision ammo with Hornady and Barnes bullets. But for general ISIS-headhunter/zombie or home defense I have a lot of M193 ball that is accurate enough for the purpose. If I decide I really want to make use of all that brass I will almost certainly just buy the Dillon tool and be done with it.

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