[Tony Gable]

Hey guys,

How are you all doing? I have a question. I do a lot of scrounging for brass that I reload. I find a lot of .223. I have enough to last me a few years. I come across a lot of brass with the head stamp of FC with crimped primer pockets. I don't pick them up as I don't like to mess with the crimp. I believe they are Federal brass. How many of you will use them? If it is worth while I will save them and sell them. Probably pretty cheap. I only use civilian brass.
I find lots of crimped pocket bass out there. Let me know as I will start saving it if it is worth my time.:)

Tony

[dmftoy1]

Depends on what you value your time at. I value my time at the reloading bench or at the range at $0 so to me they'd definately be worth picking up even if I just built up a huge supply to process when it gets too cold to shoot.

Even for scrap value at the local yard pretty much any brass is worth picking up. (although I've got an alterior motive in that I trade scrap brass for scrap lead to feed my casting habit)

Just my .02

Regards,
Dave

[stubbicatt]

The stuff with the crimp intact is the only stuff I use. This is my assurance that it is once fired for sure. Don't care much for old, brittle, brass, or brass that has no life in it. Just get you a Dillon SuperSwage and remove the crimps and proceed as per usual.

[tlen]

I only use military brass. Removing the primer crimp is one time chore. Just get a Lyman small primer reamer and go for it.

[Grandpa Shooter]

I find lots of crimped pocket bass out there. Let me know as I will start saving it if it is worth my time


If I were you, I would save every piece of brass (other than non reloadable stuff) just so that you have it for down the road. When the stuff hits the fan in the shooting/reloading world you will have a very valuable commodity.

[rcmodel]

+1
And it's already hit the fan as far as I'm concerned.

.223 brass has more then doubled in price in the last two years.

I also very much agree with Stubbycat about crimped primer brass:
This is my assurance that it is once fired for sure.

rcmodel

[jhansman]

I scrounged about 2K pieces of '06 LC .223 from my local range after a bunch of military contractors finished testing guns and sights. In the midst of processing it now, and it's the best score I've made in a lonnnnng time. Get all you can.

[strat81]

.223 FC brass is junk. Primer pockets are very loose. Keep it for scrap/recycle value only.

Nothing wrong with mil-crimp ammo. LC and WCC are great brass. A Dillon Super Swage or RCBS Chamfer and Deburr Tool work great for removing crimp.

[Farnorthdan]

Ream away.........I use the stuff all the time, just one more step in the prep process. I use a Lyman reaming tool and cordless drill, it's a snap.

[amlevin]

I started grabbing all the Mil-Crimped .223 brass at my local range because the rest of the shooters were turning their noses up at it. Today I have over 7,000 cases that have been sized, swaged, trimmed, and loaded (about 5,000 of the 7k).

Cost for brass was $0.00

Maybe someday I'll actually buy some .223 brass.

[Mt Shooter]

I feel its worth the effort , I just use a tapered 1/2 bit I got at the hardware store for 6 or 7 dollars, attach it to a drill and remove the crimp. Takes a few seconds is all then its usable brass though out its life time.

[The Tourist]

I have a primer pocket swager, and I small hand-driven case trimmer permanently set for .223 cases. I always come back from the range with more .223 cases than when I arrived.

I once owned an AK chambered in .223, and it left a nasty dent on the body of the cases. I expected it to weaken the cases and crack them over time. I still have them, the dents ironed out with full-length sizing and few, if any, ever cracked.

I don't think it's possible to run out of .223 cases.

[Tony Gable]

Hey guys,

This is Tony again. Thanks for all of the repies. Looks like I'll be saving all of the .223 brass I come across. I'm going to buy me a small pocket swager/ reamer. I agree. Get all you can.

Tony:D

[Griz44]

Headstamp data for the hard to identify stuff. This is the most complete list I have found.

http://cartridgecollectors.org/headstampcodes.htm
(http://cartridgecollectors.org/headstampcodes.htm)

[Roccobro]

Griz- That is an AWESOME site. Thanks!

Justin

[HJ857]

I've read the rumors/reports that FC brass is bad. However I prep them the same as all other brass and haven't seen any problems with them.

I load .223 for an AR only, and I don't sort brass at all. During prep I inspect the cases and if the look ok, they go in to the "to be primed" bin. I see neck splits in various cases occasionally, but I can't say that any headstamp fails more than any other headstamp. For whatever that may be worth.