The Firearms Forum banner

De-priming die recommendations

3K views 30 replies 13 participants last post by  howlnmad 
#1 ·
I have a total of five de-priming dies. Two are universal de-priming dies - one Lee and one Hornady. The other three are Hornady deprime/resize dies. The stem that holds the depriming pin has bent on all four Hornady dies and they are useless. The part of the Lee universal die that hold the stem in place has stripped threads and it is useless.

The stems in the Hornady de-priming die bend at the least provocation. Sometimes a flash hole is slightly off center and the stem will bend. Sometimes it will bend when hitting a crimped primer in .223 or 9mm brass. The pin will break if I hit a berdan primer, but it only bends otherwise. Hornady has sent me new stems about 5 times now and I'm getting a little frustrated.

The Lee universal de-priming die has been the most reliable until lately when the screw on part holding the stem stripped twice. I got a new part from Lee, but I'm getting tired of all the down time waiting on parts.

I would like recommendations on a universal de-priming that is reliable and won't bend or otherwise become unusable with fairly heavy use. Maybe such a thing does not exist if so I'd like to know that so I can keep a supply of spare parts on hand. Are the RCBS, Redding, or Wilson dies any better?
 
See less See more
#2 ·
I have been using the same Lee universal de-priming die for quite a while. I have never had a problem with it bending or breaking. I do not put it into any brass that is berdan primed. I have had it hit bottom on an off center flash hole, but I just rotate the piece of brass a tiny bit and it usually works the second time. I go slow when I lower the handle.

Sounds to me like you just need to slow down a little bit.
 
#3 ·
I don't own a decapping "die". I only have the primitive Wilson caliber specific decapping bases and punch.I'm not decapping crimped brass.At the volume you load this would take you forever.I wish I could help.
 
#4 ·
Lee sells dies that come with stripped or weak puny looking threads. I have had some and take them back for replacements. I rub my Lee decapping pins with rubbing alcohol to make sure there is no grease so I can use less force on the threads to keep them in place. Might not be needed, may be it's just a psychological feel good. But I have been ok using that method on all my Lee decappers.
-
Lately, since I use the Lee sizer as a place holder on the LNL AP to help mitigate the shell plate flexing, I have gone back to just using the universal decapper and not sizing before the cleaning since they will be going thru the LNL anyway (otherwise they would get two squeezes which is extra stressing). At any rate, no issues with any of my Lee decapper's. But I have only been using these for 1-1/2 years now.
 
#5 ·
I don't understand it. Been reloading 37 years. Routinely do military brass with crimped-in primers. In all that time I have bent ONE decapping pin.

I don't know what you are doing, but you are obviously doing something wrong.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BlackEagle
#6 · (Edited)
The decapping pins are not bending the stem that holds the pins is what bends. A pin will sometimes break if I I hit a berdan primer, but they don't bend. The Hornady decapping die has a threaded stem and the stem narrows down at the end then the cap that holds the pin screws on. It's the narrow tip that bends.

edit: Hornady calls the rod that hold the pin a "spindle rod". I attached a picture the tip of the spindle is red and that is the part that bends.
 

Attachments

#8 ·
The only thing I can think of, to explain the bent spindle rod, is the rod may be adjusted too low and the threaded piece that holds the de-capping pin is contacting the brass thereby putting pressure on the spindle rod. If that is not the case, and the de-capping pin just barely clears the base of the brass, The spindle itself may be loose in the die and allow the pin to move off center. I have used RCBS and Redding without problems.
 
#10 ·
Call the manufacturers and talk to them.
Personally, you are doing something wrong as, there may be one bad decapping die occasionally, there simply aren't that many.
I have the same pin in my Lee Universal Decapping die that I have used for ALL cases for about 10 years. Never broke or bent anything. The rod has pushed up when I have missed a Berdan primer, but that is how it is designed.
I have used Hornady dies for about 39 years and have never had any problems decapping and never broke or bent anything.
The only sizing die I have ever replaced a decapping pin on was an RCBS 9x19 steel sizing die I bought in 1972 and that only happened once.
I like to take the decapper, loosen it a little, and raise the ram with a deprimed case in the shell holder and, if necessary, ease the decapping pin into the flash hole. While the decapping pin is in the flash hole, I tighter the stem up so it is properly aligned.
 
#11 ·
I use the Lee universal decapping die. The pin is supposed to slide upwards if it encounters too much resistance, obviously if you are stripping threads it must not be set up right, changing the pin is the only reason to even take it out. Since it isn't for a specific caliber you have to be a bit more careful that the pin is hitting the flash hole.

If you are breaking certain parts, then maybe you should keep more of them on hand. I keep five decapping pins in the cabinet, thus assuring that I will never EVER break another one, as they only break when I have no extras...
 
#14 ·
Like the one about, "lost it, can't find it, buy ANOTHER ONE, and two days later the first one appears".
 
  • Like
Reactions: BlackEagle
#16 ·
That's why I have two sets of 223 dies, two of 38/40 and two 9.3x57. :confused:
 
#17 ·
I have been using the same Lee universal de-priming die for quite a while. I have never had a problem with it bending or breaking. I do not put it into any brass that is berdan primed. I have had it hit bottom on an off center flash hole, but I just rotate the piece of brass a tiny bit and it usually works the second time. I go slow when I lower the handle.

Sounds to me like you just need to slow down a little bit.
the only times i've ever bent a stem or broke a pin was once on berdan, and then a couple times on hornady brass when they put the flash hole in another place from everyone else. the rcbs with bent stem was repalced.. the pins i replaced.

i shy away from hornady brass since they seem to not know where the industry standard flash hole is at.
 
#19 ·
The spindle tips are bending for a couple of reasons. The first is off-center flash holes. This seems to occur mostly in pistol brass when a flash hole is off set from the middle the pin goes to the hole and the tip bends a little so that it is slightly off center. The next case will have a centered flash hole but the tip is not centered and bends more. After decapping several the tip finally gets bent enough that it will not deprime the brass any longer.

The second cause is almost the same except it occurs with crimped or staked primers. What I believe is happening is the crimped primer is pushed out on one side of the primer pocket before the other side comes loose and causes the tip to bend a little. When that happens the bent stem pushes succeeding primers out in a crooked manner which causes even more bending. When that happens the primers start to hang in the pocket and don't come all the way out until I punch them once or twice more. I've learned that if a primer does not push out easy or hangs in the pocket it usually means the tip is bent.

The stripped threads on the Lee universal deprimer are a caused by insufficient thread depth. In this case the pin came up when trying to deprime a crimped primer so I tightened the pin more. The pin came up twice more and I finally took it apart and found the treads stripped out.

I really don't know what I could do different when depriming. It's not rocket science and I don't move fast. I fact I go fairly slow so I can inspect each case as it rotates around with the shell holder. That way I can inspect the entire perimeter of the case and see tiny splits or cracks.

I believe I have broken two pins on berdan primers and both were Lee unbreakable pins. I've never broken a pin using the Hornady universal deprimer, but at least 6 spindle tips have bent to the point they are not usable. I believe Hornady needs to use a different, stronger, and more ridged material for the spindles. I can bend a spindle tip with my thumb and they should be stronger.
 
#23 ·
Are these dies carbide? ...probably should not make a difference, but just wondering. If they are not carbide dies try a different case lube for the hell of it.

I broke two pins on Hornady dies - one in 45 Colt and one in 40 S&W. I also had an issue with the taper on a Hornady 40S&W sizing die which required guiding the case in with my fingers as the case was entering the die in a Dillon 550b. Swapped it with a Lee die and no issues.

Consequently, I no longer buy Hornady stuff - ever. I found their customer reps have an attitude which is not appropriate for the development of loyal customers. Apparently, they do not need my business.

Lee dies? ....no problems. Cheap and effective for me. I especially like their separate factory crimp dies.
 
#24 ·
I started thinking (which is always dangerous) about this and I do remember having to get a new decapping rod/pin when I first started loading 5.7X28. If I remember right, it wasn't the pin that broke but something happening to the rod. It was on an RCBS die set and the the "screw off" expander ball/pin holder coming loose and it messed up the threads on the rod. I contacted RCBS and got advice on loading that particular round and at the same time ask for (and got) a new complete rod/expander/pin setup and they also sent me a few extra pins, which I have never used.
 
#25 ·
I keep five decapping pins in the cabinet, thus assuring that I will never EVER break another one, as they only break when I have no extras...
I've noticed that same thing in many places. When I bought my first reloading press - a RCBS Turret - and my first dies, I immediately broke a decapping pin in my .243 Win resizing die. RCBS was happy to replace that pin for free, but I bought a 5-pack of replacement pins, just in case. I've never had another pin break.

That theory extends to shirts, by the way. Over the 40 years or so that I've been working, I've had to buy dress shirts from time to time. I've noticed that I can sort my shirts into two classes - those which came with spare buttons sewed to the front flaps of the tail, and those without spares. I have never in my working life lost a button from a shirt that came with spares, but those which sold without a backup lost a button within 12 months of purchase.

This pattern would not be a bit disturbing if the shirts that lost buttons had been the cheap ones; I could write that off to poor quality control in order to sell for less. But this is not at all the case - some of those which were sold with spare buttons were bargain basement items, and most of those which failed early were expensive, name brand products.
 
#28 ·
when i broke my pins on my hornady brass i bought ? a 5 pack ( i think that's what RCBS sells ). i used 2 of those.. one for some accidental berdan.. and one for hornady brass. since then, I bet i havn't lost a decap pin in at least a couple years now.
 
#29 ·
I'm just getting started, but I do have about 2000 re-sizings on a Hornady 40 S&W die set without any issues. I don't have an AP and pull the lever with a light touch so any time something hangs up (eg. brass not fully seated in shell holder) I instantly know it with minimal stress to my components and tools.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top