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Decapping Hulls?

6K views 29 replies 16 participants last post by  pettifogger1 
#1 ·
OK, so this is a little off the beaten path & probably more wordy than it needs to be...

I suppose we all have our little reloading idiosyncrasies/quirks - I know I do.

I reload Federal papers for a few of my old vintage trap guns. But two of them - both Winchesters pumps, an early Model 1897 Trap Gun and a custom 1930-vintage Model 12 tournament-type gun - are most happy when I first resize my fired hulls using a MEC Super Sizer. And - in my experience - the Super Sizer is more effective on decappped hulls.

Being somewhat vintage myself, I use an old Hornady/Pacific DL-105 single-stage press for all of my shotshell reloading (I actually have 3 of these, set up for different gauges/hulls). And I hate to “run” the press solely for decapping. So, to do that, I first have to take off the charge bar/bottle assembly, so that I’m not banging them around through all of this “out of sequence” decapping. BTW, this press does do hull resizing “to spec” using a hardened ring around the base of the hull, but the two guns I mentioned like their hulls sized a little more - hence the extra Super Sizer step.

I also use the Super Sizer on plastic AA hulls that I plan to shoot in my Pre-Model 11 Remington Auto Loader Trap Gun. That particular gun doesn’t like paper reloads & cycles better with plastic AA hulls which have been through the Super Sizer.

My single- and double-barrel trap guns are fine with the Federal paper hulls which have only been minimally resized in the reloading press, so no similar issues with them.

For my metallic reloading, I have a handy RCBS universal decapping die, but I’ve never seen anything like that for shotgun hulls.

Watching the video of the Colvini crimping press in another thread here got me wondering if anyone knows about a rig for just decapping hulls? Ballistic Products has one for 12-ga brass “cowboy” hulls that you can use in a regular reloading press (like an RCBS Rock Chucker) but it’s set up for non-209 primers (the hole in the shell holder they sell with that die isn’t big enough to allow a 209 primer through).

I do have a simple French Thalson press, but the decapping process (like all of the other steps with that primitive rig) is tedious to say the least.

Just thought I’d throw this out and see if someone has already figured out a “fast” way to deprime hulls without cycling their “main” press for this extra step?

TIA,

Tom in Pittsburgh
Locked-down & with too much time on my hands...
 
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#2 · (Edited)
You have a single stage press. It is not going to hurt it to deprime with the charge bar and bottles in place. I have a Mec Sizemaster I use for black powder loading. You can deprime till the cows come home and it won't hurt it. The market for a deprime only shotshell machine would be about one -- you. If you really want to do it the "vintage" way look for an old original Lee Loader and smack out the primers with a mallet. It would also be easy to make a deprimer. All you need is a piece of rod with a decapping pin in it and a piece of hard wood with a hole in it to put the hull over.
Knockout punch Tool Tool accessory
 
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#11 ·
It is called a MEC Sizemaster single stage loader. You can use it to size the case head (collet sizer) and de-cap the hull all at the same time. It does a good job and is very fast.

The MEC Supersizer does not de-prime the hull.
 
#16 ·
I use an old MEC Case Conditioner, but with the sizing ring and support tube removed. I bought all the different deprime punches but now just leave the .410 in place. It then is a universal decapper. If I recover some hulls from the range that have been wet, I decap them before the fired primer rusts in place. If I have a reload that is just not up to stuff, I cut it apart to recover the components. The Case Conditioner carefully deprimes it to recover the primer.
 
#18 ·
Thanks for the tip on the Case Conditioner, Bob K.

And, although it might be my imagination, it seems that - if I “Super Size” with the spent primers still in place - they are harder to get out afterward. That’s why I like to deprime the cases first before running them through the SS. YMMV

Thanks again everyone for the help & input.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Buzz - I do the same with my 366. I also find that depriming and sizing steel hulls with the Mec Case Conditioner makes my reloading session smoother. For me, sometimes steel base hulls "hang-up" and I would rather deal with that on a separate device and not part of the overall reloading session.

Also, there are days that I know my mental attention span is not right for a good session, but need to spend some time in the shop. When I have forced myself to reload anyways I almost always end up with pellets or powder on the bench and foul language in the air. On those evenings I just grab a few hundred or so Gun Club hulls and run them through the Case Conditioner. Almost no thinking involved and in the end I have a tub full of hulls ready to go for a smooth session on a later day.

Brass base hulls I just run inline on the 366.
 
#26 ·
Connected through Cast Boolits with a (fairly) local guy here in the Pittsburgh area who had one he wasn't using. We met up earlier today for a FTF exchange. He took $50 cash for it, we avoided the shipping hassle/cost & both drove away happy :icon_smile:

I already have it mounted on a board & have one box of Federal papers through it (from reloads that I shot a 23 with yesterday with my 1930-vintage Winchester Model 12 special order tournament-type gun). So - at the moment - life is good.

Thanks again to the Board for all of the great input & support (& education).

 
#27 ·
Lachmiller was not good---IT IS THE BEST--PERIOD and I have used them all. If you can find one, you will love it. Problem is they have not been made for about 30 years and hard to find and parts even harder. HOWEVER I just had a need for a spring (after about 50,000 hulls, and used when I go it 15 years ago) and called Hunnington Die. They sent me to a very nice fellow in Texas who has all the parts there are. His name is Matt Mitchell and he is a square shooter! Phone 940-696-5559. I bought a few needed parts and he sent a few more. Not much 12ga left but he said he had "several" 20ga units.

Now, past all that. I wash my hulls and like to de-prime before washing. I took and old single stage Mec and some air cylinders and made a air de-primer. If I had enough smarts, I would post a video--fat chance! But it works beautifully and very fast..VERY fast. It does not re-size, just de-prime.
My Best
jim
 
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