How to Reload a Berdan Brass

A primer is a small metal cup in the base of a brass firearm cartridge that holds an impact-sensitive explosive charge. When the gun's firing pin strikes the primer, the charge detonates to ignite the main propellant in the cartridge. Berdan primers are used mainly in cartridges manufactured outside the United States. Berdan-primed cartridges have two small flash holes between the primer pocket and the body; box primers have a single, larger flash hole. Berdan-primed cartridges require a special decapping tool to remove the primer.

Things You'll Need

  • Berdan primer decapping tool
  • Reloading press
  • Reloading die set
  • Hand priming tool
  • Berdan primers
  • Propellant
  • Bullets
  • Precision micrometer
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Instructions

  1. Decap Cartridges

    • 1

      Take the case holder rod from the decapping tool kit in one hand, and slide a case over the rod until it seats firmly against the bottom of the cartridge.

    • 2

      Pick up the decapping tool with your free hand. Hook the jaw of the tool under the rim or extractor groove of the case.

    • 3

      Place the point of the decapping pin against the impression left by the firing pin in the bottom of the primer. Press the tool handle down to eject the spent primer.

    Reload Cartridges

    • 4

      Adjust the resizing die on your press so that the decapping stem does not extend below the bottom of the die. If your die allows, remove the decapping pin entirely. Running a standard decapping pin into a Berdan primed casing will ruin the cartridge.

    • 5

      Resize your brass casings by running them through the sizing die on your reloading press. Press a new primer into each cartridge using the hand priming tool. If your press has an automatic priming feature, do not use it. Berdan primers are easier to damage than boxer primers and should only be seated using hand priming tool.

    • 6

      Load each casing with propellant according to your selected handload's recipe. Major ammunition component manufacturers like Speer, Hornady and Sierra publish extensive lists of data -- known as recipes -- for reloading ammunition. For safety, reload your ammunition using only laboratory tested recipes.

    • 7

      Run each cartridge through the bullet seating die on your press to seat and crimp the bullet specified in your handload's recipe. Use precision calipers to measure a sampling of the finished cartridges to ensure they fall within the mechanical tolerances specified in the reloading data.