.223 once fired brass recommendation

[jsconnelly]

I'm thinking of buying some once fired brass (if I can find it). What manufacturer do you guys recommend between Winchester, Lake City, Federal and Remington. I've heard that Federal's pockets don't hold up. What are the advantages of some of the others? I'll be getting a Dillon Swager so crimps are no problem.

Thanks in advance.


Duff

 

[ATAShooter]

If you are going 5.56 then goto

http://www.gibrass.com

 

[345 DeSoto]

My recommendation is that, whenever possible, reload Military brass. It might be a PITA to remve the crimp in the primer pocket, but that only needs to be done once...

 

[fourrobert13]

3 out of the 4 you listed are fine. Stay away from Federal brass. it's the devil IMO.

 

[jsconnelly]

fourrobert13 - Thanks. That's what I'm looking for. Is any one better than the rest? How would you rank them?

 

[amlevin]

If you had to pick just one, I would make it Lake City (LC). It has proven to be the most durable to me. Make sure that the brass you get HAS the crimps if you are buying military. I recently got a bunch that had no crimps. Turned out to be a bunch of LC brass that Black Hills Shooter Supply had processed and reloaded for some local police agencies. The primer pockets were reamed, not swaged and the chamfer was recessed into the base at least .060in or more. Makes for primers that look "overpressured" on even wimpy loads.

If the brass still has the crimps and you have a Dillon Super Swage 600 you can process it right and the brass will last a real long time. Some of my LC brass is on its' 6 and 7th reloading at max loads.

 

[fourrobert13]

I use Winchester for my match grade/accuracey loads. The rest get used for blasting. My accuracey loads are frome a Savage 10FP 223, and the rest is fram AR's.

 

[Samgotit]

For those who have ordered from gibrass.com: there is an option to have the primer pockets processed for $15/1000. Sounds good to me. That mean the no decriping for me, right? But, amlevin's post has me wondering about the process that's used. Is this a good idea?

 

[Bula]

I recently had the same question. Seems like most of what's available is either bulk LC once fired or "mixed". Buying the 'mixed' had me a little concerned that I might end up with 980 rds of FC empties. I ended up ordering 1k LC once fired AND while at the Dillon store here in AZ this week (buying the Super Swager) picked up a box of once fired mixed, good stuff. About 50%LC 40% RP and 10% FC. I'm not making "Camp Perry" loads I'm just shooting 200 yd gongs, and rocks, and cans....So, I guess I'll perform my own experiments and see what brass the new rifle likes to eat. I may just load the FC stuff to shoot when I don't want to pick up my brass...
BTW that Dillon Swager kicks some serious tail, worth every penny if you're processing bulk brass.

 

[SSN Vet]

I e-mailed gibrass.com and asked him this question....

do you swage or ream the primer
pockets when you prep the 5.56 brass?

Jeff promptly replied....

The crimp is removed by reaming.

 

[Z-Michigan]

As a marginally relevant comment, I reloaded some .223 Federal (AE) that had crimped primers. I didn't notice they were crimped and had no problem seating new primers without removing the crimp. That does seem to hint that the pockets are a bit loose.

 

[Clark]

CAUTION: The following post includes loading data beyond currently published maximums for this cartridge. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither the writer, The High Road, nor the staff of THR assume any liability for any damage or injury resulting from use of this information.

The .223 is registered with SAAMI at 55,000 psi and published loads will be close.

The .223 case head can take 72,000 psi sustained with long brass life and no loose primer pockets.

The .308 is registered with SAAMI at 60,000 psi and published loads are less.

The .308 case head can take 62,000 pis sustained with long brass life and no loose primer pockets.

What does it all mean?
All the .223 brass brands are plenty strong around the primer pocket.