Primer Pocket Depth

[Thegreg]

I personally think the above is your problem. I have a Rockchucker but shelved the idea long ago of using the press to prime cases - you don't need that extra leverage to seat primers - seating primers is all about 'feel' especially after a few firings when primer pockets become loose and decisions have to be made to bin the brass. If a primer is seated correctly you should be able to see with the naked eye that the primer is below the level of the head stamp - my prognosis is that your press is not seating the primer deep enough.

For your benefit, I took a CCI small rifle primer (CCI 400) and measured its depth with my Mitutoya gauge and it was .121" I then took my RCBS priming tool and seated that primer into a brand new 223 Lapua case, then with a universal deprimer carefully removed the primer and remeasured its depth - now .1165". Seating the primer correctly has the effect of expanding the primer outwards to ensure a good seal in the primer pocket. Perhaps you should try that with your press method.

Maybe you have some one in your area that reloads and uses a handheld primer tool that you can use.

Thanks for the reply and for going to the trouble of trying a primer in one of your cases. I appreciate your point about priming on the press but I genuinely don't have an issue with feel on it. My point about extra leverage on the press was just to emphasize that the primers were going to the bottom of the pocket.

I tried your test with a CCI primer and it came out the exact same size it went in.....However, see part 2 of the reply below..

You are not alone I have had issues with these primers exactly the same as you, I stopped using their small pistol primers back in the 1980s I had hundreds of Sako cases & they would not seat flush, I actually broke the bottom yoke on a Dillon press seating these, the answer was use different primers, end of problem. I still use that Dillon after 35 years, I only use large pistol primers these days & again I cannot seat CCI primers in some cases so I don't buy them, strangely enough I can use CCI rifle primers with no trouble but I only use them if I can't get any other brand, however I use a pacific single stage press for loading rifle ammo. My advice try other brands, if they seat O.K. end of problem.
Elwellaxe.

Problem solved! I bought some Federal small rifle primers and they seated faultlessly. I primed 100 Norma cases and every one seated a perfect .004" below flush of the case head.

The problem in this case was the CCI primers. I don't know whether I bought some from a bad batch or what but they just would not seat properly

Following on from dicehorn's test above the Federal primers DID compress as he suggested. I de-primed one which went in at .120" and came out at .117".

Perhaps when the pockets wear a bit after a few firings I'll try the CCI again.

Cheers
Greg