How to Identify Boxer/Berdan Primed Ammo?

[Walleye Hunter]

I have seen older US milsurp with those, so I would not rely on it. Just curious, why do you care before shooting other than berdan should be cheaper to buy since it is considered to be not reloadable.

I have a growing collection of brass that one day I dream I will reload.

[wanneroo]

I have a growing collection of brass that one day I dream I will reload.

I actually reload berdan brass. Right now loading 1975 Hirtenberger 7.62 NATO brass I shot. You just need an RCBS berdan decapping tool to pop out the old primers and to raise up the decapping pin on your resizing die. To seat the berdan primers because you are seating it up against the anvil I use a hand primer for the feel of it because if you just ram them in there, boom. The rest of the loading process is the same. Be aware there are two different type of 7.62 berdan primers. One for 7.62x39 and the rest for other berdan large rifle brass.

[Hawk]

I actually reload berdan brass. Right now loading 1975 Hirtenberger 7.62 NATO brass I shot. You just need an RCBS berdan decapping tool to pop out the old primers and to raise up the decapping pin on your resizing die. To seat the berdan primers because you are seating it up against the anvil I use a hand primer for the feel of it because if you just ram them in there, boom. The rest of the loading process is the same. Be aware there are two different type of 7.62 berdan primers. One for 7.62x39 and the rest for other berdan large rifle brass.

I have a boat load of Swiss GP11 that I saved to eventually reload. Problem is I can't find a local source of Berdan primers. I don't want to pay the hazmat fee to get them online, let alone find a online source for them.

[Walleye Hunter]

I have a can of Hirtenberger 7.62, don't know the age but it might be on the can. I'm thinking that I'll start by getting the tools to deprime and clean the brass.

[wanneroo]

I have a boat load of Swiss GP11 that I saved to eventually reload. Problem is I can't find a local source of Berdan primers. I don't want to pay the hazmat fee to get them online, let alone find a online source for them.

Yes the berdan primers from Russia dried up due to sanctions, but I find them at big gun shows. There is usually one vendor that has them. RWS in Germany makes them but no one has imported them for a while.

I have a bunch of GP11 brass that I resized but need to figure out how to trim it as the "Worlds Finest Trimmer" didn't work for this(long story).

[wanneroo]

I have a can of Hirtenberger 7.62, don't know the age but it might be on the can. I'm thinking that I'll start by getting the tools to deprime and clean the brass.

Hirtenberger usually has the year on the headstamp.

The RCBS tool is around $60. There is a learning curve on it getting it dialed in but once you do so you can pop them out pretty fast as long as the primer sealant isn't too bad.

I was going to buy one of these as well:

https://www.rocksolidind.com/product...-crimp-cutter/

[Fred762]

I think wolf is berdan primed.

No way to tell by looking at loaded rounds, tho some say Russian steel cased crap is Berdan. Fired cases? You should LOOK into EVERY case b4 using it to reload. Why? Well bks you will break a expensive decapping pin off in a berdan case bks it has 2 off-center flash holes..ask me how I learned this 35 yrs ago!! ;-)

[Hawk]

Yes the berdan primers from Russia dried up due to sanctions, but I find them at big gun shows. There is usually one vendor that has them. RWS in Germany makes them but no one has imported them for a while.

I have a bunch of GP11 brass that I resized but need to figure out how to trim it as the "Worlds Finest Trimmer" didn't work for this(long story).

If I ever try to reload the surplus GP11 there is a process to convert Berdan primed brass to Boxer and use Boxer primers (see below)

There is also a easy (slick) "hydraulic" method to remove Berdan Primers without any special tools (see below).

Remove Berdan Primers


Convert Berdan to Boxer

[wanneroo]

If I ever try to reload the surplus GP11 there is a process to convert Berdan primed brass to Boxer and use Boxer primers (see below)

There is also a easy (slick) "hydraulic" method to remove Berdan Primers without any special tools (see below).

Remove Berdan Primers


Convert Berdan to Boxer

To me if it comes to that where I need to load boxer primers for 7.5 Swiss, I'll just use Prvi Partisan brass. It's nice to know that can be done if you are down to your last few pieces of brass in armageddon and only have a few boxer primers but it's too labor intensive and time consuming for the volumes of ammo I do.

I'm aware of the hydraulic decapping, but again the RCBS tool is very quick and efficient, so no point in splashing water everywhere to get primers out. I guess if you don't have the $60 for the tool, again it's an option.

That Ammo Channel was pretty good and then it just stopped. Looks like he finally posted a video again last year.

[GeneCC]

Convert Berdan to Boxer

For use with light loads I could see this working, like using Trail Boss or Tin Star for low pressure rounds (close to 38 Special +P max loads). Some of your older rifles would probably benefit from using such "youth loads" anyways. One would have to check for good obturation since the case may not "seal" against the chamber walls. When I use these kind of loads I check fired cases for blow by.

For rifle pressures? This guy is using copper tubing as a bushing for the primer. I see different strain/creep under high pressure than either brass or steel using copper with this method. While the bolt face might hold in the primer gas could still leak around the margins of the copper bushing. Hot gas and unburned propellant could be a problem if the rifle isn't designed to vent it. Gas cutting of the bolt face could be a problem. The higher pressure you load to, the higher the risk.

A threaded insert of a compatible material sounds like a better bet than using a primer pocket swager to upset copper into the primer pocket.