xsquidgator
Member
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2007
- Messages
- 835
I've been reloading for not quite a year, been reloading rifle cartridges for only about the last 5-6 months of that, and .223/556 for an AR-15 for only the last month or so. I shoot just about only my own reloads at the range, maybe a magazine or so of some defensive ammo every once in a great while to be sure it works properly and so forth. So, I'm new to 223 but I think I'm learning ok.
I heard something disconcerting today from another guy at the range, something that made me wonder, so I thought I'd see what you experienced reloaders here would say. Do you put a limit, say perhaps two reloadings or something less than you would choose with other calibers, on reloading your 223/556 brass? The fellow I talked with today said he had a couple of case head separations reloading for his AR15, and now he doesn't reload any 223/556 brass of his more than about twice. He swore up and down that his blowups happened with middle of the road loads.
I know especially with higher-pressure rounds like 223, and also with rifle and bootlenecked cartridges, that you can't get as many reloads out of those as you can with straight-walled pistol cases, especially low pressure rounds like 45ACP. But does what this guy said make sense? He said he hadn't had any pressure signs before his blowups, nothing abnormal looking about his brass, nothing like that. Just about every bit of brass I have is range pickup stuff of unknown history, I discard the ones that appear too tarnished/beat up, and the ones with split cases that I can see, but that's about it. Clean 'em up and reload them. I also segregate them by headstamp and try to keep them together, but I don't know that all of my say "R-P 223" brass has only been shot once before.
Would you worry about this? Or, do you perhaps think this guy might have latched onto the wrong cause of his case head separations?
I heard something disconcerting today from another guy at the range, something that made me wonder, so I thought I'd see what you experienced reloaders here would say. Do you put a limit, say perhaps two reloadings or something less than you would choose with other calibers, on reloading your 223/556 brass? The fellow I talked with today said he had a couple of case head separations reloading for his AR15, and now he doesn't reload any 223/556 brass of his more than about twice. He swore up and down that his blowups happened with middle of the road loads.
I know especially with higher-pressure rounds like 223, and also with rifle and bootlenecked cartridges, that you can't get as many reloads out of those as you can with straight-walled pistol cases, especially low pressure rounds like 45ACP. But does what this guy said make sense? He said he hadn't had any pressure signs before his blowups, nothing abnormal looking about his brass, nothing like that. Just about every bit of brass I have is range pickup stuff of unknown history, I discard the ones that appear too tarnished/beat up, and the ones with split cases that I can see, but that's about it. Clean 'em up and reload them. I also segregate them by headstamp and try to keep them together, but I don't know that all of my say "R-P 223" brass has only been shot once before.
Would you worry about this? Or, do you perhaps think this guy might have latched onto the wrong cause of his case head separations?