Decapping Berdan Primed Brass

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Wollychop
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Decapping Berdan Primed Brass

Post by Wollychop » 19 Jan 2009, 14:55

I've managed to amass quite a few berdan primed pieces in both .308 and .223. I am aware of this tool http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.e ... mid=245983" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Does anyone have a different method for decapping? I read one which used hydraulic pressure, but am curious if anyone here knows of any quick tools.

Thanks!

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jmz5
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Re: Decapping Berdan Primed Brass

Post by jmz5 » 19 Jan 2009, 15:49

They have a pretty good thread on it at ar15.com, but my understanding is that finding berdan primers are damn near impossible.
كاف

Wollychop
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Re: Decapping Berdan Primed Brass

Post by Wollychop » 19 Jan 2009, 17:15

Just toss berdan primed brass in the scrap bin and work with boxer primers instead.
See, that's exactly what I didn't want to hear :laugh:

You were supposed to say somethign about boxer primers working just fine, no worries, etc.

Oh well. Lesson learned.

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Hobknob
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Re: Decapping Berdan Primed Brass

Post by Hobknob » 27 Jan 2009, 20:54

It's a bit of a pain in the ass, but if you don't mind the extra time and work you can drill/ream the berdan anvil and convert it for use with boxers.
I was looking for this same thing a while back and found someone else had done this with good success and documented the process. http://users.ameritech.net/mchandler/primer.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
....if you are really bored some evening and happen to have some spent steel cases that are berdan primed and your curiosity overcomes your better sense, it can actually be done, but it is (hypothetically speaking :) ) a fair bit more anoying than brass.
Good luck

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Hobknob
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Re: Decapping Berdan Primed Brass

Post by Hobknob » 28 Jan 2009, 06:21

True. There are at least 6 different Berdan sizes that I'm aware of (and likely more). For some of the slightly smaller pockets, you can ream them out to .209 for a tight fit (assuming the case head has enough material to support the change). For some of the larger Berdans I've seen guys make a collet out of a .22 casing and that apparently works ok if there arn't any other options....if I had a gun and calliber that I really liked that much I would probably just find a similar boxer primed cartridge and then find some dies to reform it.

Spec-K
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Re: Decapping Berdan Primed Brass

Post by Spec-K » 09 Jun 2013, 20:55

In my quest for knowledge and cheap brass I came across this article-
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthr ... s-to-Boxer" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I haven't got to try it out yet but I am dying to.
-K

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panzermk2
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Re: Decapping Berdan Primed Brass

Post by panzermk2 » 09 Jun 2013, 21:23

or just use a hydraulic deprimer.
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