Converting berdan cases to use boxer primers

Converting berdan cases to use boxer primers.

Jack has several old rifles in obscure calibers. For some of them, he has had to resort to machining cases from solid brass in order to make cartridges so he can shoot them. I have been following his efforts in this regard for a while now, so this video, if it didn't hit close to home, it certainly landed nearby. Besides, we're reusing stuff that is normally thrown away, so hey, free money.

Ammunition for rifles and pistols is composed of four elements:

1. bullet - the lead projectile
2. case - a metal tube that holds all the other elements together
3. gun powder - provides the explosive force
4. primer - sets everything in motion when properly struck

Primers work by smashing a tiny amount of lead styphnate* between two pieces of metal: the back of the primer and the anvil. With Berdan primed ammunition, the anvil is incorporated into the case (see splash photo for the video above. A shell designed for use with a Berdan primer is on the left.) With boxer ammo, the anvil is part of the primer, and instead of an anvil and two small holes, there is one hole. That hole makes it easy to push the expended primer out of the case. As such, boxer ammo is preferred by people who like to reload ammunition.

Ammunition varies widely in price, from a couple of cents per cartridge for 22 caliber ammo to 50 cents for a 30 caliber rifle cartridge. It's probably more now, I haven't checked lately. If you shoot a lot, and you are shooting larger calibers, your ammunition bills can quickly become exorbitant, hence the desire to reload. The primer, bullet and powder are all expended when you shoot, but the case remains, and the case is the expensive part as it is generally made of brass.

Berdan primers are commonly found in military ammo. We have been making modern metallic cartridge firearms for over a hundred years and there seems to be no end to the variety of guns that have been made. Likewise, the variety of the required ammunition is nearly as varied, and some of them are not very popular. If you go poking around in the esoteric world of old firearms, you may find yourself with a gun that uses an oddball caliber, and when you go looking for ammo you may find that only a handful of Berdan primed cartridges are available. Being able to reload those cartridges becomes a worthwhile quest.

*we used to use mercury fulminate but not so much anymore.

Via Irons in the Fire