| Posted: Mon Dec 18th, 2006 07:09 PM |
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kempin
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Hey guys,
Great site! I am a newbie, and this looks like a great place to learn. I've been at the reloading thing for just a couple of years, and it is one of the greatest hobbies I have ever gotten in to.
Here's a question: Do any of you know a source for Berdan primers besides buying 5000 at a time +hazmat from Grafs? I know that it is not really "worth it" to fool with Berdan primers when you can get boxer brass--I am mostly just curious. I have some nice brass for the 7.5 swiss, and it might be a fun project to fool with in my basement on a cold winter's night. Is there any place you know where I might be able to pick a few up?
God bless and straight shooting,
-Kempin
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| Posted: Tue Dec 19th, 2006 12:35 AM |
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2nd Post |
72coupe
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One of Midways monthly specials was a Berdan decapper set a month or two ago. I thought it was interesting, but I didn't buy one. It is a lot of work to decap Berdan.
I have read, I can't remember the source, that RWS makes a superior Berdan primer. I don't know of a source however. I would think that 5000 Berdan primers might be a lifetime supply.
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| Posted: Tue Dec 19th, 2006 12:41 AM |
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hoashooter
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About the only fun you will have is when the tools breaks and you can toss 'em in the trash They are simply not worth messing with 
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| Posted: Tue Dec 19th, 2006 03:12 AM |
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Charley
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Just because you can do something doesn't always mean you should do something. IMO, and IME, it just isn't worth messing with. Your mileage may vary...
I've loaded 7.5x55 when Norma was the only game in town. I learned that .284 Winchester brass makes excellent 7.5x55 brass. It is as simple as running the .284 case into a 7.5x55 sizing die. Length is correct, or close enough not to matter. You are necking up, so no worries about reaming case necks. Anyway you look at it, it is a much simpler process than screwing with Berdan primed cases. The reformed brass works fine in my G-1911 and K-31, even though the rim is slightly smaller than spec.
Graf & Sons has .284 Winchester brass in stock for about $28/50.
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| Posted: Tue Dec 19th, 2006 01:41 PM |
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kempin
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Hey guys,
Thanks for the replies. Your experience confirms my conclusion that it is basically not worth it. I have good boxer brass, and that is good enough for me.
Still, if I ever come across 100 berdan primers at a gun show, I'll pick them up just to say that I've done it.
Even so, 100 primers would probably be a lifetime supply . . .
BTW Charley, do you have a favorite load for your k-31?
God bless, and straight shooting,
-Kempin
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| Posted: Wed Dec 20th, 2006 03:12 AM |
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Charley
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My standard 7.5x55 load is straight from Hornady's book... 150 grain SP over 44.5 grains of H-4895, Winchester large rifle primers. That is a couple grains under max, I don't try to push the old girls too hard. Paper can't tell 150 FPS difference, and no animal I have killed with those kind of loads has ever asked for their money back.
These loads do pretty well in rifle or carbine.
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| Posted: Thu Dec 21st, 2006 01:54 PM |
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Poacher
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Kempin welcome to the HB
I bought a Dillon Berdan crimp remover when I got alot of mil spec 223. Yeah it worked great but it got old quick. I still use it but mainly on those days when I want to do somthing in the load room to just be down there. About 100 rnds is my max on that thing. As the others have said do yourself a favor and just buy the boxer brass unless you have huge amounts of the Berdaned. As a side note if you do decide to buy the crimp remover from Dillon they are about 70.00 so you best have enuf brass to justify it IMO.
Take care Be safe Poacher.
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| Posted: Thu Dec 21st, 2006 07:29 PM |
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ord03
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Berdan primers for GP-11 Swiss (7.5x55) brass are .217. Depriming can be a pain (as I'm sure I'll find out when I try for the first time this winter). Think I will try the hydraulic depriming method. A buddy got one of the claw-type tools and was having a heck of a time getting it adjusted.
Re berdan primers: I recently ordered and received 2K PMC Berdan .217 primers from http://www.brassmanbrass.com. Great looking, new primers and John was great to deal with. He told me that he had 130K of these primers in stock (but that was about a month ago). If you want any, better get them soon.
Regards.
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| Posted: Sat Aug 29th, 2009 05:25 AM |
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triggerfish203
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There has been a large amount of interest in reloading the berdan primed cartridge. The berdan primes are difficult to find. However I've sent a message to http://www.wolfammo.com requesting that they consider importing the berdan primer. The more interest that is shown the greater possibility that they would include the berdan primer in their line of products. Send them a message.
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jflora
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I may be able to get some berdan primers. Anybody want them?jflora 10/07/2009
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-6
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They come in several sizes/diameters so be careful to make sure they seat below flush. wc
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jflora
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I'm looking at importing them if there is enough demand to justify. If you read all the info available and try to reload a cartridge that was made for a berdan primer you can see that it is a heck of a lot easier to put a berdan primer in place than it is to modify the cartridge to fit a boxer. That's why I'm trying to do it. If I can work a deal with the manufacturer I still will have to import 100000 or more at a time.
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ghrit
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Could we hope they are non-corrosive?
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jflora
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Recently manufactured non-corrosive.
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jflora
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Take a look at this web site
http://www.dave-cushman.net/shot/berdan_supplies_dimensions.html
It appears that if you used a 5608 in some cartridges, seating would be a problem, but if a 5620 were used where a 5.5mm primer is indicated all would be OK. I want to reload some .303 enfield so clearly I need size 6000 berdan primers.
Dave Cushman also writes about boxer primers which measure .210", which is why the primer pocket on cartridges originally loaded with berdan primers have to be reduced. All these sizes are available from the manufacturer but the sticky point is the minimum size order they will accept and ship.
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miestro_jerry
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I played with Berdan primed ammo for reloading, it is a pain in the butt. So I sold the decapper and the primers at a gun show.
This was a time during the Klinton years and we thought primers were expensive then.
Jerry
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ghrit
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miestro_jerry wrote: I played with Berdan primed ammo for reloading, it is a pain in the butt. So I sold the decapper and the primers at a gun show.
This was a time during the Klinton years and we thought primers were expensive then.
Jerry What flavor of decapper did you have? 
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jflora
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This is a reply to ghrit's decapper question, sorry to butt in but I have been playing with the berdan primer idea and I have found some answers. There is a web page where there is a detailed drawing of a berdan decapper, which you can make if you are clever enough. There is another page which shows how to make a "hydraulic" decapper, and there is yet another page which shows a home made decapper which looks easy enough to make.
I made the hydraulic decapper from some spare pipe fittings. It was clumsy but it did work. Then I had my own idea and I found a drill bit in my box of bits that fit snugly into the 7.62x39 cartrige I was trying to decap. I filled the cartridge with soapy water, put the cartrige on a fitting that would allow the cap to pop out, put the drill bit in the cartridge "backwards", held it with my fingers and smacked the sharp end of the drill bit with a hammer and out popped the cap. It was so easy I quit messing with the penetrating decapper idea.
If you want me to direct you to the web pages that I found, let me know.
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| Posted: Mon Oct 12th, 2009 10:24 AM |
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20th Post |
nail driver
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i have thousands of casings for 303 british and none of them are berdan primers i did not think they came with berdan primers,i have a decapping tool for reloading my 9.3x72 as i have only found 1 box of 8 rounds that were boxer primed all the rest have been berdan primed,the decapping tool i have is over 40 yrs old and still works like a charm
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