Dillon super swage

FA9 · Mar 5, 2015

I sorted the brass by headstamp, adjusted the super swage and noticed that some cases had more resistance. Does that mean the some of the primer pockets are over sized?

bockja · Mar 6, 2015

It could, but most likely some are not crimped or just had a lighter crimp.

evltwn · Mar 11, 2015

You will also feel the difference in resistance when you press the new primer in the swaged pocket. The reason for crimping in the first place is to avoid primer issues when military rounds are fired in machine guns.

AMProducts · Mar 23, 2015

different manufacturers, and even different lots have different web and base thicknesses. I really don't recommend swaging, reaming is massively superior, however it's also more difficult.

bockja · Mar 23, 2015

Why do you say reaming is superior? Reaming removes material from the primer pocket. Swaging reforms the primer pocket, maintaining brass thickness. Regardless, both methods should only take a few seconds to perform.

knarley · Mar 27, 2015

I agree with bockja. I try to sort by headstamp but when I load mixed stuff especially, the super swager goes from almost no contact to serious pressure. I had some TAA 09 (Taiwan Nato Military) that was a real bear but the primers loaded real consistent with the other stuff. Back when I reamed I still had some that had problems loading. Maybe I just don't have the knack or the time. Swaging is lots faster.

AMProducts · Mar 29, 2015

bockja said:
Why do you say reaming is superior? Reaming removes material from the primer pocket. Swaging reforms the primer pocket, maintaining brass thickness. Regardless, both methods should only take a few seconds to perform.

Reaming only removes a small amount of material from the edge of the pocket opening. I am not talking about reaming in the same fashion as match shooters, I'm talking about reaming to chamfer the edge of the pocket and allow a new primer to be seated. Usually the amount of material removed is very small.

Swaging often deforms the pocket entirely especially when the case heads are hard as it's pushing the web of the case downwards, if the cases are mixed manufacture, mixed lot, and fired ? number of times, you really have no idea how consistent the swage is going to be between any two cases, in some cases it may not be enough, in others too much as it depends highly on the hardness state of the brass. Simply removing the offending material is a more consistent solution.