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Joined: 26 Apr 2010 Posts: 3177 Location: NCWa

If a loaded shell is tight in a chamber, is there a danger to swaging it down in a Super Sizer?

Member Joined: 09 Jan 2013 Posts: 2168 Location: Florida

I have done it on my sizemaster with no problems

MEC says do not do

I do and have done it with no issues

Mike

I have certainly done it with no issues. But then again I have punched out live primers which is likely stupid Shocked

. I have also stared sentences with prepositions.

James

Member Joined: 08 Nov 2005 Posts: 3438 Location: Illinois

MEC is covering it's backside--Have never heard of any primer detonations while resizing loaded shells.

I also do it. I can't see any danger since the primer doesn't contact anything that could detonate it..

Member Joined: 06 Oct 2007 Posts: 2347 Location: West MI

Do it every time I roll crimp a batch. Shells loaded on a 600 without the re-size ring then over to the drillpress w/supersizeer hull vise. If nervous about it, take a fired unresized deprimed hull, mic the empty primer pocket, resize in your SM'er, and re-mic the primer pocket. I saw no dimensional change to the pockets in the few hulls I did this to.

The only difference between swaging it down in a super sizer and on your mec is that the SS does not have a vacancy under the live primer. Pushing on the primer by the super sizer is akin to the pressure used by the mec in seating the primer. Or, consider the amount of punishment the primer takes when an autoloader bolt slams shut on a loaded shell. In 68 years of shooting I've never had a slam fire from the bolt closing on any firearm. So it's probably unlikely the SS will ignite a primer in a swage session.

So, how come you don't resize those hulls if you're picking them up at the range or someone is giving them to you? Or if you're using them in two guns of different makes and manufacturing tolerances in the chambers?

Joined: 26 Apr 2010 Posts: 3177 Location: NCWa

as long as there isn't a protrusion , shouldn't be any diff than when you chamber a shell. I have a bucks worth of change on my loader for short shells . I only get the eebb-ggeebb's when the coins are face up - don't worry about the flats .

Member Joined: 06 Oct 2007 Posts: 2347 Location: West MI

Whoops, I figured the concern was crushing the primer from the sides. All the SS collets I have 10, 16 & 28(24)ga have a Shell Lifter Tube (part #5 in the MEC SS parts list) that prevents any primer contact while sizing.

Even if the primer were to pop the shell will not fire unless it is in a chamber. All that happens is the ejection of the shells contents and some of the powder burns. I know this because when I was a kid I set up a 12ga shell to rest on the tip of a soldering Iron then from a distance I plugged in the Iron hopeing for a big bang ,in about 3 min. the shell popped open and there was some powder fizzle but that was all that happened every time I did it.