I have lots of 223 brass that I plan to reload. Are all brands basically the same or are there some that you prefer not to reload? I’ve read about staked or crimped primers. How do you identify them are what problems do they cause? Are there other things to watch out for?
All brands are not the same.
I prefer Lake City for consistencies sake, even though I do not year sort. Anything I load that I want it to be reasonably consistent, I load on LC.
I use commercial brass for my blaster ammo for ARs. My loads are pretty middle of the road, and if they hold 1 1/2" on paper, Im happy enough.
This is the only sorting I do, LC vs everything else.
You may find you have alot of Federal (or some other brand) brass and you may want to segregate it out for loads you expect accuracy from, and then use the rest for blaster ammo. Separation is needed if some level of more than accidental accuracy is expected.
Crimped and staked primers can be removed by cutting or swaging. I have done both, but I prefer to use the RCBS cutter method. Hornady cutter works too, but the RCBS is dummy proof for dummies like me. Your mileage may vary.
Edit: I do run the RCBS crimp cutter on EVERY case. Alot of commercial stuff is crimped today. Just makes it all consistent.
Nothing really else to watch out for.