223 brass

I have had real good luck with older LC military brass, and later commercial Remington.

But it think it depends on the luck of the draw, as each lot number is a little different.



rc

All of mine is either winchester, or LC no newer than '84 (lots of late '60s) I have no complaints. I have heard some people gripe about LC, but I think its good stuff.
I did have some '07-'09 LC that i didnt care for. Was seeing some premature linear splits. Kindof brittle maybe.

I don't notice any real difference. Shoot every brand I can get my hands on.

I have used Remington .223 brass at least 5-6 loadings so far, and haven't had to cull more than a couple so it's good to go as far as I'm concerned. Similar experience with PMC; it seems to have more off-center flash holes than most but doesn't seem to affect accuracy to a measurable degree. I haven't loaded enough Winchester brass in .223 to form a strong opinion, but the last few bags of new brass I bought were more inconsistent than I like, had to trim a bunch of them short just to square up the case mouths. Otherwise it shoots as well as any. I like Federal brass in most cartridges but it seems to have a real bad reputation in .223 for being soft and expanding primer pockets, so I've not loaded all with it. I have a couple thousand of them but I am hesitant to spend the time prepping if they aren't going to last more than a load or two. If nothing else I have them in reserve if needed...

LC has always been great brass for me; worth the extra time it takes to decrimp the primer pockets IMO. But that isn't on your list

I prefer the LC brass as well. Even the newer stuff is OK so far but I have so much that I have a 20 year or so lag between manufacture and use with the OF brass. Most all 223/5.56 brass is GTG I find if you only shoot it 4-5 times and retire it though. YMMV

With one exception they all work just fine for me.

The exception is the Bosnian made brass with a headstamp "IK 03". The flash holes are so small they break the decap pin. Even the pin on a Lee universal decapper.

Fortunately haven't seen any of it around in a few years.

I've bought a lot of once fired brass and prefer Remington .223 brass. Nothing wrong with Winchester. I'd pick both over FC in the past. You can get bad lots that have been abused in others guns. Rim damage and signs of case stretching in badly headspaced guns. RP once fired has typically had the least issues. But if I were buying once fired today I'd choose LC. New brass, then I'd pick RP but wouldn't pass up a good deal on Winchester. FC brass in the past had the reputation of getting loose primer pockets but today FC brass seems to be made by different suppliers?

Lapua, hands down!

The free kind I pick up at the range!

Unless you are in a hurry to sell I would say just try them all and see what works best for you with our load/rifle/gives best case life.

Even with the same headstamp sometimes there are diiferences lot to lot.

You fellers shootin' them through an AR? Bolt?

Hornady and LC have been the most durable. Can't afford Lapua but they say it is the best.

In my experience, Win, RP, FC in that order. Older FC was as good as the other two, but the primer pocket on the newer stuff gets loose quickly.

I don't bother loading FC brass in .223 anymore because of the loose primer pockets after two or three loadings. I have about 800 pieces segregated in a container collecting dust as an emergency reserve.

Laupa first LC second.

I know Texas is sort of out of the way, but I've been a lot of places and have yet to trip over a Lapua .223/5.56 case. Leave some behind next time.

Lots of brass winds up in my loading area. I'll accept it when it offered so I have an inordinate number of different head stamps. I clean then sort. Keep 'em if they look good, toss 'em if they don't. When I get enough of one type, I load 'em up and shoot 'em up. I just can't keep stressing over the head stamp question.

Mark

Precision and accuracy Lapua. Allmost no other choice. Perhaps Remington.

For hot loads or mil spec LC

After all these years I finally purchased some new 223 brass
General Dynamics of Canada--500 new from Midway--expensive
Out of 500 the only thing I had to do was run 3 necks thru the die.
Will let you know how long they last.

They have an ---A--- stamped on them with .223 below

General 223 brass I have heard, and read how Winchester is so much better than Remington brass, yet I have never seen any difference between the two in quality nor longevity. Between the two I would buy either without any concern, or buy some of both to see if you can find any difference enough to prefer one over the other.

Federal makes dang good brass, I like everything about it except the primer pockets will not hold up around 3-5 firings and that's it. You may get more firings if you load light, it's a shame because I really like Federal brass.

Lapua if you have a rifle that is capable of the accuracy Lapua will provide over the others due to consistency. Lapua seems to last longer as well, and not having to turn necks is worth the extra cost.

I have settled on once fire military brass for most of my shooting in 223, it's cheap enough, and as good maybe a bit better than remington/winchester. It's the best bang for the buck on my use. I always suggest anyone new to loading 223 purchase some new brass that has no primer crimp to work with to get a standard on working with the cartridge. Keep a few new brass unfired, when/if you decide to purchase some once fired brass that's had the primers crimped you will have something to compare to as well when removing the crimps.

I've been using LC since the early 80s. Doubt I'll change. My loads duplicate M193 ball, and the brass lasts forever.

LC and Remington hands down for me.

Starline for every caliber

or if you want military brass then it's Lake City

I personally don't care for RP brass.
I cut 'em down & use 'em for 7.62x25.
But that's just my 2¢ worth, which is no more important than anyone else's.

YMMV