Separating .223 cases from 5.56 cases.

[Gin0nlacasa]

I have been reloading for several years now and was just wondering how many people separate the .223 cases from the 5.56 cases? I understand there are a number of variables when trying to achieve the best possible load, as far as accuracy. Like most of us here...i'm on a journey to find that go to load with the 62 grain fmj as well as the 55 grain using my carbine. I've been told to also separate the brand of the brass. I'm not a hunter...so, yea...most of this is just for plinking, however...I still would like to find the most accurate loads for my rifle. I currently am using H335 and would love to hear from others on their favorite load recipe.

 

[MEHavey]

For all intents/purposes, 223/556 are internally identical.
https://loaddata.com/articles/PDF/BenchTopics 87.pdf
If going the extra mile for accuracy, separate by headstamp/weight.

 

[rskent]

I just pull out the brand of cases that I use for “match” ammo and toss the rest in a bucket for “all other” ammo. The all other ammo gets annealed and prepped just like the match, then loaded with your 335 and 52 grain projectiles.

I don’t see the point of loading 55 grain bullets. If you want to blast, just buy some bulk 55 and blast. You can sort cases by brand, weight, or whatever. But if you want you gun to shoot, you need to start with a good bullet.

As always, your mileage may vary…….

And welcome to THR.

 

[Blue68f100]

There can be several grains differences in case volume between commercial and military. I only shoot LC or high quality Lapua brass. I sort LC by year since there is enough differences that require me to adj the OAL to get them all to shoot the same.

Accurate Shooter has a table showing the differences in the brass. https://www.accurateshooter.com/cartridge-guides/223rem/

 

[Charlie98]

I don’t see the point of loading 55 grain bullets. If you want to blast, just buy some bulk 55 and blast.

My thought as well, considering the cost of components, and all the time invested in case prep and loading. I put 9mm ball ammo in the same category.

I segregate everything by headstamp, I'm too OCD to load mixed brass straight up. I would probably need counciling if I opened a box of reloads and there was a bunch of mixed headstamps staring back at me.

If you are plinking I don't think it matters... even if accuracy is a 'consideration,' if you see what I mean. The components you would generally be using are not match-grade components, so as long as you have a reasonable expectation of accuracy, cut your time losses over thinking and over processing the brass... just load it and go shooting. That changes, of course, if you are loading quality components for accuracy, not plinking.

I also use H335, but I would also consider TAC the next time I go 5.56mm powder shopping, it's supposed to work well with the 7.62mm, too.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

Welcome to THR.
My reload ammo is pretty much divided into hunting ammo,223 commercial cases, and AR practice ammo,misc. military stuff.
I've had good results with H335 but am also fond of CFE223.

 

[jmorris]

I have a project that I did get to “working concept” a year ago but haven’t had time to get back to it to finish.

Sorts by 10 gn, 1 gn and .1gn (into 10 bins eventually). Idea being chunk brass into a collator and each bin will contain brass within 10 grains max/min. Take one of those bins and dump it back into the collator and when finished each bin will have brass inside 1 gn max/min. Take one of those bins, dump back into the collator and you wind up with brass sorted to the tenth of a grain and have never had to touch a single case.

 

[Gin0nlacasa]

I just pull out the brand of cases that I use for “match” ammo and toss the rest in a bucket for “all other” ammo. The all other ammo gets annealed and prepped just like the match, then loaded with your 335 and 52 grain projectiles.

I don’t see the point of loading 55 grain bullets. If you want to blast, just buy some bulk 55 and blast. You can sort cases by brand, weight, or whatever. But if you want you gun to shoot, you need to start with a good bullet.

As always, your mileage may vary…….

And welcome to THR.

Thank you Rskent. I started reloading several years ago in fear of my 2A rights here in California, and i'm so glad I did. If I lived in a free state, yea...I might not have to worry to much. At the same time, it is a fun hobby.

 

[GBExpat]

Welcome to THR, Gin0nlacasa!

As with my pistol cases (I spend most of my time reloading for pistols), I separate my .223/5.56 by headstamp only ... which results in my .223 cases being segregated but I load them exactly as I do the 5.56 cases.

I load both 55gr and 62gr (military & commercial), with CFE-223 most recently, but I have not worked with them for a while. I acquired 16# of WC-844 (think, non-canister H335) last Fall, but have not found the time to develop loads yet, not that those loads would be H335 equivalents.

Enjoy!

 

[BSA1]

Well for starters I am sure you know your ammunition will be only as accurate as your gun. So if you are wanting 1 moa groups you need to make sure you have a 1 moa capable rifle. Otherwise you are just chucking wood.

Just separating .223 from 5.56 brass isn’t likely to show much if any improvement. Sort your brass by manufacturers (headstamp), trim them to same oal, trim the neck thickness, cut your primer pockets to same depth, weigh your brass for consistency. Then start all over with the bullets. Then the primers. Well it is a matter of how hard to want to pursue accuracy.

 

[Chuck R.]

I load 62 HORN FMJ over TAC for my 3 Gun load. I find the 62s slightly more accurate in the 1:7 and 1:8 barrels I use.

Honestly for 98% of the carbine tgts in a match I could use cheap 55 FMJ bulk.

I did my load development using FC brass because I have a a lot of it. For the majority of my loads I use mixed range pick-up brass because the odds are I won't be getting it back in a match. I do separate out the FC loaded rounds and keep them for the long stages which are usually 300 yds at my club. The rest of the carbine tgts during matches are 3' to 50yds so accuracy isn't paramount.

For my "precision" stuff in .223 bolt guns and ARs, I segregate brass by manufacturer and do a complete brass work up to include annealing, also use either match or varmint bullets. I've yet to find an FMJ that will compare to either match or quality varmint bullets.

 

[Gin0nlacasa]

I absolutely appreciate all the comments and great info on this fantastic hobby. Thank you all...

 

[rdnktrkr]

I haven't separated headstamps but I do think case length makes a big difference. I trim length and check primer pockets before the 1st reload and anneal before 2nd reload, I do that in 223 and 30-06.
I also use H335 and I use IMR3031, take whatever bullet you want to load and load 5 different loads of 10 to find what works best then load your most accurate and enjoy a better round than you can buy in bulk.