Drab Green 7.62x39 brass

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  • Striper69

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 31, 2014
    1,400
    Iowa
    I picked up some at a range. The primers look like they're fastened from the inside somehow. I looked inside and there's two marks on each side of the primer on the inside. I don't have the reload kit yet but I tried to get them out by using the Lee primer tool. They wouldn't come out and I don't want to break the tool.

    My question is: will I be able to get the primers out with the Lee reload decapping tool?
     

    Scrounger

    Active Member
    Jul 16, 2018
    357
    Southern Maryland
    Two holes at the primer is Berdan primed brass. It cannot be de-primed with regular dies including the Lee decapping tool. For most purposes, Berdan primed brass is not reloadable.
     

    SKIP

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 5, 2009
    3,248
    Glenwood/Glenelg
    Here are the differences.
     

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    Blacksmith101

    Grumpy Old Man
    Jun 22, 2012
    22,163
    Berdan primed brass cases are reloadable but is not usually considered worth the trouble unless it is for some rare caliber because it is hard to get the old primers out and new Berdan primers are hard to find in this country. Internet searches on reloading Berdan primers will turn up the details you would need including alternative methods such as modifying the cases to accept Boxer primers. Here is a brief description:
    https://goneoutdoors.com/how-does-a-rimfire-cartridge-work-12194516.html

    But the first thing you may want to do since they are "Drab Green" is see if they are magnetic. They could be steel cases which are generally considered not reloadable for other reasons.
     

    GuitarmanNick

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 9, 2017
    2,221
    Laurel
    Steel cases can be reloaded, it is just harder on the loader and the equipment and most choose not to do it. I really would not want to get a steel case stuck in a die.

    Converting cases to Boxer requires the removal of the anvil from the primer pocket, too. Seating primers may require super glue according to some.

    Overall, not worth it for me.
     

    ken792

    Ultimate Member
    Sep 2, 2011
    4,480
    Fairfax, VA
    You can deprime them with a water piston. Berdan primers are only imported once every few years

    Just buy or acquire Boxer primed 7.62x39 brass.
     

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