Best .223 Rem Brass

[Skinnedknuckles]

I am purchasing a Winchester Model 70 in .223 Remington and after getting used to it I plan to begin reloading for it.

My plan is to purchase a few hundred rounds of factory ammo to use for the initial shooting and then use that brass for reloading. What brand would you suggest I purchase? This rifle is my introduction to shooting a "real" rifle and I'll be shooting paper or steel but not trying for match or benchrest accuracy or maximum velocities. I'll probably be loading 55 gr or lighter bullets.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[RugerOldArmy]

Lapua is the best brass.

I'd get Lake City brass in loaded ammo next, then Winchester.

I'd avoid 'FC' head-stamped brass. (It is soft, and primer pockets get loose, IME.)

 

[notaglockfanboy]

I personally prefer Winchester brass. Federal is a bit soft and Remington has too much deviation in capacity in my experience. Now if you want the BMW of brass, get Lapua. Good luck and happy shooting.

 

[Skinnedknuckles]

Thanks for the tips. I've loaded a lot of Winchester handgun brass and have generally liked it and Federal about equally. Good to know that FC brass in .223 can be softer.

I recently reloaded some .357 Magnum brass from PMC and I found it to be the most consistent weight brass I've used to date. How is the PMC .223 brass?

 

[RugerOldArmy]

I've not disliked Federal brass in straight-walled handgun cartridges.

In rifle, however, I cull any I find and recycle them.

 

[Gadawg88]

I agree with others, avoid FC brass if you want to get more than a couple of reloads out of it. The primer pockets can get so loose the primer just falls out after only two or three reloads. And that is with just mid to upper mid range loads, not max screamers.

 

[joem1945]

LC is good brass. I shoot a lot of it and reload.

 

[gahunter12]

I'm agree with the rest. I would go with Lapua for the best, and LC next. I do load FC, and Rem for my AR's, but as others said about all FC rifle brass is soft, and primer pocket get very loose.

 

[Catpop]

I'm using LC 10 for my 223 load testing. I had a bunch of it and I seem to be having good group results.
Good luck, catpop

 

[moxie]

With Lake City and any other military brass be aware that it will have crimped primer pockets. If you don't want to deal with removing the crimps, be sure not to get the military brass.

Here's a decent deal:

https://www.wideners.com/itemdetail.cfm?item_id=100001464&dir=18|830|845
Prvi is very good ammo and brass.

http://www.bullets.com/products/USA223R1-223-Rem-55-Grain-FMJ-Ammo-Box-of-20/BL7832

bullets.com also has Lapua but I think it's pretty expensive for just starting out. Might want to get some of that once you're dialed in.

 

[Skinnedknuckles]

Is Lake City 5.56 military ammo or .223 Remington SAAMI ammo, or are you just talking about buying LC brass for reloading? I'm still new at this. Thanks.

Glad to hear that PPU is good brass.

 

[readyeddy]

Definitely Lapua brass for a bolt gun.

It's made to be uniform and durable. Their website claims it can be reloaded dozens of times.

 

[GLOOB]

I like LC just fine, for your question.

About the only brass I would actively avoid are Federal and PMC. My PMC 223 is even softer than Federal. The case webs bulge upon firing, and I get only one or two loadings before I lose neck tension. (My 223 die doesn't size very tight in the neck).

 

[retsub]

How does one lose neck tension? I have never heard of this. Just being curious.

 

[Ifishsum]

I've had real good luck with PMC/PSD brass, it seems to be very consistent and I've so far got four loadings on it. That's with an AR15 and full-length sizing each time. I have noticed a percentage of them have off-center primer pockets which always bugs me, but I see the same issue with LC brass and honestly it does not seem to make a noticeable difference for what I'm doing. My current load for Highpower/CMP XTC competition is put up in PMC brass.

I've also got Remington brass with 4 reloads on it and it's worked out fine too. It isn't quite as consistent though; when I measure cases after each resizing probably 15-20% of them have grown enough to warrant trimming whereas the PMC/PSD and Lake City seem to mostly all grow at the same rate.

If you go PMC commercial, get the Bronze rather than the X-Tac or XM193 type loading if you can, as you will have to deal with crimped primer pockets with the mil-spec stuff. With LC you won't have a choice as it's all crimped, as is most brass sold as 5.56 NATO. Most that is marked .223 Rem isn't crimped (although I have seen it) - the primer crimp adds another step to your initial brass prep and another tool you'll have to pickup. Honestly if I had a bolt gun and didn't burn up so much ammo in matches, I probably wouldn't deal with crimped brass unless I had to.

 

[ironworkerwill]

I got a NEW IN BAG 100ct. Federal brass stamped FC 14. Several had busted necks after the first loading. All shot through a 5.56 AR. They were loaded 25.5 gr of Blc2 and 63gr Sierras. I think it's 5 out of about 30 rounds so far and I loaded the whole bag the fall of last year.

 

[moxie]

Lake City 5.56 is military ammo and is crimped.

Suggest you start with the uncrimped PPU (Prvi) ammo, maybe 100 rds. Reload it. You'll get many reloads out of it.

 

[cougar1717]

Since you're looking to buy ammo and reload the brass, the most economical way to get decent brass IMHO is to buy PMC or PPU (Prvi Partisan). Some of it depends on whether you want to deal with the labor and tool expense of removing crimped primers (or not.) LC is better, but unless it's totally virgin brass, the primers are crimped more than likely. Lapua would be the best, but the cost of 200 rounds of loaded ammo with Lapua brass is probably going to make you think twice. Remington and Winchester are just average. If you were just going to a big box store and going to buy 100 rounds, that's what they would have and in all honesty, that would be ok.
Since it's a bolt action, you can get by with a partial resizing (instead of full length every time for AR's, etc). This definitely extends the brass life and has the potential to be more accurate as well.

 

[moxie]

Note that the Prvi ammo in the Widener's link at post #10 IS NOT CRIMPED!

 

[Kaldor]

Buy some Lake City. 500 pieces is pretty cheap.

Buy a crimp cutter, Hornady or RCBS for $15

Decrimp them all and be done with it. Youll have enough brass to last you a lifetime if your just shooting a bolt gun.

Yes, you can buy PPU or other ammo, but you still have to shoot the stuff up to get the cases. Yes, you can buy some Lapua or something, have your wallet be a little lighter buying something you really dont need.

Or you can just buy some mil-surp Lake City from some place like Monmouth Brass, prep it, and have a good quality case for a reasonable price.

 

[Skinnedknuckles]

When I clicked on the Bullet.com link (thanks, Moxie) I saw they also have Norma ammunition for a pretty reasonable price. I have heard on the internet that Norma is among the best brass. Does anyone have any experience with Norma?

As Cougar said, the cost of Lapua ammo (even brass) definitely made me think twice.

 

[KansasSasquatch]

I love Hornady rifle brass. I think its about as good as it gets without paying top dollar for Lapua. But ai dont have much Hornady .223/5.56 brass. Most of my .223 is Lake City and Federal, with all of the other common brands sprinkled in.