Reports on Hart's tool that tightens up primer pockets

I have the small and large tool and they work. It's kinda slow, but it does save your brass.

One thing I noticed is that you probably should do all your cases you're going to do at once because you need consistency on how hard you whack the tool with a hammer. Every time I took a break and then came back to finish, I would swing the hammer harder than needed on the first case or two.
 
RCBS makes a primer pocket swager kit that will do the same thing and you don't use a hammer with it. You set the die in a reloading press and adjust it for uniformity.
 
RCBS makes a primer pocket swager kit that will do the same thing and you don't use a hammer with it. You set the die in a reloading press and adjust it for uniformity.

question...
i know rcbs makes a primer pocket swaging tool for REMOVING primer crimps. is there another tool for saving large pockets ?

mike in co
 
I have used the LR tool

has anyone tried this tool?

But one thing to think about, if you have shot the cases hard enuf, long enuf, to loosen the pockets.......what have you done to the rest of the case. I know brass has gotten a lot more expensive as of late, but it is still cheaper than losing a match because you shot the brass beyond it's life and had a catastrophic failure and blew a group or shot a 9 or heaven forbid a 8. When brass gets to the point that the pockets a shot, the whole case is shot. Chuck it and start over w/ new.
 
question...
i know rcbs makes a primer pocket swaging tool for REMOVING primer crimps. is there another tool for saving large pockets ?

mike in co

It's the same tool Mike. I have never used it for it's intended purpose of reforming crimped primer pockets. Many years ago another shooter recommended this for tightening loose pockets and sure enough it works.
 
I would like to use it on deer rifle brass.....

my 7 STW has an accuracy node that makes Rem brass have loose pockets. No issues with Win, but Win discontinued their 7 STW brass.
 
But one thing to think about, if you have shot the cases hard enuf, long enuf, to loosen the pockets.......what have you done to the rest of the case. I know brass has gotten a lot more expensive as of late, but it is still cheaper than losing a match because you shot the brass beyond it's life and had a catastrophic failure and blew a group or shot a 9 or heaven forbid a 8. When brass gets to the point that the pockets a shot, the whole case is shot. Chuck it and start over w/ new.



That may be true with Lapua brass but it's a different story with American brass and most of Norma's as well. That brass is so soft that the pockets can get loose with a few high pressure loads and the rest of it is fine.
Many guys, myself included, have wildcats based off this soft brass and it is nice to be able to bring these hard-to-make cases back into use.
 
if pockets get loose very early in life, i tend to think the reamer is incorrect for the brass being used. the back of the chamber needs to be small enough that the base does not grow much and the the sizing die does not move much brass inorder to rechamber .

so in these cases a primer pocket tool is a bandaid to a problem....fix the problem , not the symptom.

if one is annealing br brass and needs/wants to do pockets too, i do not see an issue as long as growth/thinning does become a problem.


mike in co
 
if pockets get loose very early in life, i tend to think the reamer is incorrect for the brass being used. the back of the chamber needs to be small enough that the base does not grow much and the the sizing die does not move much brass inorder to rechamber .

so in these cases a primer pocket tool is a bandaid to a problem....fix the problem , not the symptom.

if one is annealing br brass and needs/wants to do pockets too, i do not see an issue as long as growth/thinning does become a problem.

mike in co


Actually, it has nothing to do with brass to chamber fit. Pressure is pressure and is in an outward force from the center. The pocket grows outward and is actually out of the chamber walls in any event. The bolt would be the "limiting" factor in this way of thinking and we know that it isn't what happens as you can have a 6ppc on a standard bolt face and the pockets are fine. They will only grow when there is enough pressure to allow them to do so.

The rifle I mainly use my tool for is a wildcat based off remington brass and I had the reamer made around a specific lot of that brass. It fits it perfectly because it was made to be that way. With loads that shoot well, it loosens pockets in about three firings. This is because the brass is soft and the pressures are above it's threshold for keeping tight pockets. The brass, the chamber, and the dies are as close a fit as any custom benchrest ppc rig.;)
 
if pockets get loose very early in life, i tend to think the reamer is incorrect for the brass being used. the back of the chamber needs to be small enough that the base does not grow much and the the sizing die does not move much brass inorder to rechamber .

so in these cases a primer pocket tool is a bandaid to a problem....fix the problem , not the symptom.



mike in co


I haven't found this to be true. A small chamber will cause your brass to STICK, it certainly won't keep caeheads from expanding. I've got several sets of three chambering reamers for 6BR/6X47L and 30BR/30X47L which start at "SAAMI Min" which is just a thou or so over the brass and which increase in size by .002 each reamer.


I've used minimum chambers in .243AI, 6BR, 22BR, .308 and 30X47L and they all need(ed) to be rereamed or polished out to function correctly.


A too tight chamber is a total PITA, it has zero redeeming features IME.

In shooting otherwise identical chambers, one only .001 over the brass and another .007 oversized, there is no difference in pressure capacity EXCEPT that you'll forever fight the click on a tight chamber.

al
 
Yes, I have one

has anyone tried this tool?



I bought several years ago. It is made from soft steel, all of it and will quickly deform when one has a number of cases to do. It would be a great tool if it were hardned some but like it is now I pronounce it a piece of junk. A shame.

I have one of the RCBS setups and have not had a lot of luck shrinking primer pockets with it. Where have I gone wrong?
 
David

I kinda agree with that. If cases have been abused to the point that primers are falling out, maybe you should simply toss them in the trash.

Perhaps a shooter who is having this problem should take a good look at the pressures he is shooting.

People sometimes question the PPC loads we shoot, but I cannot remember the last time I blew a primer, or had a loose pocket.

Shooters should learn what their Rifle is telling them. If you are blowing primers, or primer pockets get way too loose, there is a message being sent. Shooters just need to learn to listen........jackie
 
Perhaps a shooter who is having this problem should take a good look at the pressures he is shooting.

People sometimes question the PPC loads we shoot, but I cannot remember the last time I blew a primer, or had a loose pocket.

Shooters should learn what their Rifle is telling them. If you are blowing primers, or primer pockets get way too loose, there is a message being sent. Shooters just need to learn to listen........jackie



With all due respect Jackie, you were on here just the other day telling me how you get rid of your brass after only using it for a weekend was it? Well, that could be the reason you can't remember the last time you blew a primer or had a loose pocket!;)

Since that time, I read the last match report where you shot and it listed you ran 30.0 grains of N133. I'll bet you've gone above that at some time too. Well, in the Texas heat, running that kind of charge, I guarantee you that if you kept your brass for very long, you would see your pockets enlarge. I have seen mine enlarge running half a grain LESS than that! But then again, I keep my brass around as long as it doesn't give me the "click" upon opening of the bolt.

And I realize you're probably coming at this thread from a 6ppc lapua brass point of view in which case, I would agree that if the pockets are loose on that cartridge, there probably is other things wrong with it and it should be discarded because we can't afford failures in competition. But to tell someone that they need to "learn what their rifle is telling them" in a context of something OTHER THAN A 6ppc LAPUA is not as valid. If you had ever tried to work with a 300 ultra mag using Remington brass, or a 6mm remington using Remington brass, or a 300 wsm using Norma brass, you would understand why I say this.:)
 
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Goodgrouper

You make some very good points. You are right, I am rather myopic in that I tend to look at everything from a Benchrest point of view.

As for my load data on entry forms, I now just put, "133, lots"......jackie
 
Perhaps

we need yet another forum for folks who use other chamberings than the 6 PPC. Some of us seem to talk past each other quite often. WILBUR!!!!
 
Pete

When I say 'Benchrest", I mean any round that is suitable for 100-300 yard Group or Varmint for Score, or HBR Competition.........jackie
 
Some may suggest that the chamber is too large for the brass.....

Ain't so. Reamer was made specific to the brass with cases sent in to Pacific Precision, just like you would have a BR reamer made, .002 over web dia.

Now, on to plan "B"...what ever that is.

I think that I will buy a Hart tool and have it hardened at work. Thanks for that bit of advice.
 
I kinda agree with that. If cases have been abused to the point that primers are falling out, maybe you should simply toss them in the trash.

Perhaps a shooter who is having this problem should take a good look at the pressures he is shooting.

People sometimes question the PPC loads we shoot, but I cannot remember the last time I blew a primer, or had a loose pocket.

Shooters should learn what their Rifle is telling them. If you are blowing primers, or primer pockets get way too loose, there is a message being sent. Shooters just need to learn to listen........jackie

I could not let you get a pass on this, knowing your loads, just kidding. Hey thanks again for taking Jeff under your wing at Rachels. Hope to see you there this spring. You got the boys so pumped up they may bring their guns for that shoot.
 
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