How to quickly tell .223 from 5.56 brass..

[Potatohead]

I believe most tend to think that the system that doesnt remove brass is best (swaging?). But I think it's somewhat open for debate.

 

[FLIGHT762]

My understanding is that brass which is head stamped "223 Rem" is only commercial and not military, therefore it's never crimped. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

There is Commercial "223 Rem." cases that do have crimped primers. I have thousands of once fired "Winchester 223 Rem" Commercial cases that have crimped primers. They came from Ammunition made for L/E.

You have to look to see. You can't rely on only the Military, NATO cross stamped cases to be primer crimped anymore.

I use a Jeweler's loupe to check, if in doubt. It works well.

 

[stompah]

Guys please correct me if I am wrong. Aren't crimped cases harder to deprime? If so couldn't you toss the crimped brass into a different bucket to get reamed or swaged?

 

[Potatohead]

Guys please correct me if I am wrong. Aren't crimped cases harder to deprime?

A little bit, usually but not always . I think you would miss some judging it that way though. And from what it sounds, if you use a progressive, it really throws a wrench into your process if you hit a crimped pocket.