Reloading .223 or 5.56/XM193?

[Luggernut]

I've been reading up in reloading for my Bushy (which can use .223 or 5.56 ammo). I've only seen dies for the .223 though. Can I use the 5.56 cases with these dies? Are 5.56 cases (military?) good for reloading?

I have some Federal American Eagle .223 and Federal XM193 cases I've been saving... but if I can't reload the XM193 cases I won't buy any more. I've also read up that the FC cases are soft and not prefered for reloading.. my XM193 cases are LC05 and I've heard they are better.

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[cdrt]

The .223 Rem and 5.56 NATO are the same cartridge, that's why you'll only see dies for .223 Rem. Yep, military brass is good. You'll have to remove the primer crimp and the internal capacity might be slightly less than commercial brass, so be sure and start low and work your way up.

 

[GunTech]

You can always shoot 223 in 5.56x45mm chambers. Doing the reverse can lead to high pressures in some rifles.

 

[Gearhead Jim]

As mentioned above, the exterior dimensions of the cartridges are interchangable but max loads are not. A 5.56 chamber has a longer lead into the rifling, which may slightly reduce accuracy but will also allow hotter loads. And as mentioned, military brass is usually thicker/heavier than commercial, but not always. Best to segregate you cases by weight.

 

[byf43]

Luggernut wrote:

I have some Federal American Eagle .223 and Federal XM193 cases I've been saving... but if I can't reload the XM193 cases I won't buy any more. I've also read up that the FC cases are soft and not prefered for reloading.. my XM193 cases are LC05 and I've heard they are better.

Any Federal cases that you don't want to load. . . you can ship them to me!

I've used Federal cases with GREAT results for many years, now.

With conservative loads and GOOD reloading practices, Federal brass will give you AT LEAST 5 reloadings.
I have some .223 brass (Federal) that has 10 loads on 'em. (They're getting close to being tossed!)

Again, attention to details is key to long brass life.
Don't overwork the brass.
Don't overload the case by trying to create a .223 MACH 14 cartridge (exxageration there!) Or, being more realistic, don't try to create a .22-250 from the .223/5.56x45mm.

IHTH.

 

[1lostinspace]

here is the recipe
Gi case 28 gr Winchester 748 Magnum small rifle primer CCI. 2.15 COA. Crimp at a 1/4 turn.

Work up to the load I get about 3120 fps out of a 16" ar