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Berdan fail!
This is the hard way of learning what happens when you attempt to deprime a Berdan primed case... dammit. I have zero idea how these got mixed into my LC brass which was all fired and collected by yours truly at my private range. I ended up pulling 11 of these dastardly pieces out of 1000+ lubed cases. Check and confirm headstamps once, then check again
Yup! That surplus ammo will get you sometimes! There is actually 5.56 running around with berdan primers as well, so keep your eyes open if you reload surplus.
Some flavors of surplus brass also has undersize flash holes. Standard pins dont fit.
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If I remember correctly, the Guatemalan stuff had small flash holes. Good ammo, but had to scrap the brass.Originally Posted by Hoser
Looks like it's steel, coated to look brass?
Nope, brass. Two itsy-bitsy little flash holes, neither centered in the web. I was very surprised to have destroyed the decapping pin assembly as I did. I've snapped one in the past but nothing remotely like this - the little U-shaped piece in the pic is the pin and the shaft with the case mouth expander ball is bent pretty good as well.
Replacement parts on the way from Dillon. I'll be giving my case prep a bit more due diligence in the future.
The one I have got bitten on is the Venezuelan Cavim. Some of it is Berdan primed and some is Boxer. Just depended on manufacture date.
Years ago, one of the die manufacturers touted an "unbreakable" decapping pin, claiming to have used it to put new flash holes in berdan cases(not to actually reload, but to prove their strength). Anyone remember who it was?
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