Help with primer flash hole.

[ageingstudent]

That protruding ridge is exactly what I'm seeing. I'm confident that the die is set correctly and the resistance I'm feeling is the pin trying to push through the small flash hole.

Thanks fellas. I see I need to acquire a couple of more tools too.

So just identify which headstamp is the culprit and put those off to the side for later or recycle them. You can get rid of that ridge by using a uniformer or even a pocket cleaner. I haven't tested any of the smaller flashole brass yet to see if it makes a difference ballistically, it might or might not depending on powder\primer combo.

 

[Joey]

There is at least one brand of 5.56 brass that has smaller flashholes. I think I have some in the shop I'll dig through and find them when I get out there today. This kind of stuff is why I sort by headstamp.

Found it. Theheadstamp is IK. The flashole is just slightly smaller than a standard decapping pin, the pin will actually bore out the flashole a little and leave a little protruding ridge of brass right around the flashole. So that's one possible problem you may be having with that 10%. Often when problems like this arise it's the same headstamp causing the issue. You can see in the pic that the flashole on the right is considerably smaller.
View attachment 340397

Ding ding ding! We have a winner. Thanks guys. IK headstamp.

 

[Joey]

Pics

 

[rick benjamin]

Joey,
I was working through a bucket of 223 brass last summer and found some smaller flash holes.
Noticed they were european headstamps.
"American" flash holes will pass a 5/64" drill bit but not the other.
I sacrificed a case and filled it with epoxy then stuck the 5/64" bit in it.
Whenever I find a small hole I give my nifty tool a twist to uniform the hole.
I use the Frankford hand tool to de-cap, and the Lyman uniformer to etc...
P.S. IK headstamp is from Igman Zavod, Konjic, Yugoslavia

 

[Joey]

Joey,
I was working through a bucket of 223 brass last summer and found some smaller flash holes.
Noticed they were european headstamps.
"American" flash holes will pass a 5/64" drill bit but not the other.
I sacrificed a case and filled it with epoxy then stuck the 5/64" bit in it.
Whenever I find a small hole I give my nifty tool a twist to uniform the hole.
I use the Frankford hand tool to de-cap, and the Lyman uniformer to etc...
P.S. IK headstamp is from Igman Zavod, Konjic, Yugoslavia

Good to know Rick. Thanks.

 

[ageingstudent]

P.S. IK headstamp is from Igman Zavod, Konjic, Yugoslavia

Gesundheit Rick. I'm sure glad that's not my address.

 

[Member 5605]

3/16" below bottom of die.

Throw the brass away or ream it.

 

[Swedish K]

Or worse, Berdan primer pockets... stranger things have happened... OOOPPPPSSS.

Yup - ran into this with some 7.62x51 a few years back - a friend had given me his pile of brass as he didn't reload. It caught me off guard as prior to this all the Berdan I had seen was steel case or eastern block/russian/chicom calibers.

 

[Caveman Jim]

Yup - ran into this with some 7.62x51 a few years back - a friend had given me his pile of brass as he didn't reload. It caught me off guard as prior to this all the Berdan I had seen was steel case or eastern block/russian/chicom calibers.

And what caused me to post that about berdan primers was that the other day I had found probably 30 nine millimeter cases laying in a small area (obviously someone had gathered and looked at them and dropped them there). I thought it odd that they were all right there, and among them were seven of those cases which still had bullets on them even though the primers were struck, some deeply but they failed to fire. Anyways I took them home, pulled them down and looked inside and low & behold, Berdan primed. My first encounter with them in real life.....These are good for nothing but brass garbage to be recycled.