Berdan primed brass with hole in center

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  • dieselrealtor

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    Nov 5, 2010
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    Going through my accumulation of years, found a fair amount of 7.62 (.308) & maybe some others which were Berdan primed but had a larger hole in the middle.

    I haven't tried to decap any of it, I am completely ignorant on berdan stuff, is it possible to reload this with boxer primer?
     

    fordfarmboy

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    Dec 18, 2012
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    Lg. primer pocket depth .123-.132 diameter .2085-.210 , You can drill a flash hole and sleeve with copper tubing for boxer primers . Lots of you tube videos doing this.
     

    AmmoManAaron

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    Feb 20, 2015
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    Going through my accumulation of years, found a fair amount of 7.62 (.308) & maybe some others which were Berdan primed but had a larger hole in the middle.

    I haven't tried to decap any of it, I am completely ignorant on berdan stuff, is it possible to reload this with boxer primer?

    Since you haven't decapped any of it, I think you will find that the larger hole in the center is not really a hole, but rather a dimple that is an artifact of some berdan case manufacturing processes. If it's once-fired brass, I doubt that it is someone's attempt at modifying the brass to take a boxer primer. With range pick-ups all bets are off though.
     

    AmmoManAaron

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    Feb 20, 2015
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    Isn't a berdan primer just a touch bigger in diameter than a boxer?

    There are a whole bunch of sizes of berdan primers, far more than boxer. They vary in both diameter and height. Since the OP is talking about 7.62 Nato, they would be .217" vs. .210" for LR boxer. LR boxer primers will be undersized and won't stay in the pocket without a ring-type sleeve or other modification to the primer pocket (i.e. - some folks will use a ball bearing and press to swage a lip onto the primer pocket to hold the boxer primer in place). Both methods can be worthwhile with more expensive calibers of brass, but it's good to practice on cheap 7.62 Nato so you don't screw up your rare brass while learning.
     

    AmmoManAaron

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    Not worth the time or effort unless you have all the tools and a stash of Berdan primers of the correct size.

    Tula had been importing the correct size, but the Russian sanctions screwed that up. They were available from Powder Valley, Natchez, DAG Ammo, and Grafs. I liked it because the brass could be had for free, I knew it was once-fired, and I didn't mind letting them fly in an area where I couldn't pick up my empties. I only use one specialized tool and I got it at a gunshow for $15. All of the other reloading tools are the same, you just need to unscrew the decapping rod from your FL sizing die. Plus, as stated already, it is good to practice with cheap brass and get your methodology down so that you can do it properly when you are dealing with rare brass. For now, I have a decent supply of a variety of sizes of berdan primers, but they won't last forever and I know I have more brass than primers in most instances - .217" LR being the most glaring example because it was so widely used (.308, 8x56R, 8mm Mauser, 7.5 Swiss, FN made 303 and 30-06, etc.). I would only resort to the various boxer conversion methods mentioned in my other post if I had no choice and the brass was expensive or unavailable. I know some guys who do it with 7.5 Swiss GP-11 brass because it is simply the best quality brass in that caliber. For me, the old Nazi-occupation 8x56R I have reloaded has outlasted my PPU brass. :twocents:
     
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