223 Brass Questions

[rdnktrkr]

I also separate and weigh brass for any accurate loads, for 55 or 62gr blaster ammo I don't think it matters, The press mounted RCBS primer pocket swager for crimped brass works better than the screwdriver bit or the bevel bit. I picked up some Perfecto(sp) brass once that had very offset flash holes and broke a couple of pins while decapping. I bought a few cases of IMI ammo a few years back and have had no issues with their brass and use it with my 69gr accurate reloads.

 

[FROGO207]

What are A-USA and GFL?

They are a couple of low budget ammo manufacturers that traditionally have offset flash holes. Those are the headstamps you will see. Also A-MERC is another that I avoid for the same reason.

 

[IALoder]

GFL is Fiocchi brass, A-USA is Armscor I believe.

 

[AJC1]

Lake City (LC) is military 5.56 brass and has a thicker case wall than commercial .223 brass. Because of the thicker case walls there is less volume in the case so loads should be reduced.

I separate military (LC) from commercial brass and load them separately. If you mix the brass and use a charge that is safe for both of them the pressure, speed and point of impact between the two will be different reducing accuracy (grouping).

Is that true???

 

[2ndtimer]

Is that true???
View attachment 1165505

FWIW, I just weighed 5 cases each at random of Federal, Lake City, IMI, and Remington. They all averaged around 91 to 93 grains in weight with the Remingtons the lightest and the IMI the heaviest. Lake City seems very comparable to most commercial brass, in my experience.

 

[Dane R. Marley]

I always separate the military brass from the commercial brass. I don't do any other additional sorting.

 

[JerkyFreak]

Lake City (LC) is military 5.56 brass and has a thicker case wall than commercial .223 brass. Because of the thicker case walls there is less volume in the case so loads should be reduced.

I separate military (LC) from commercial brass and load them separately. If you mix the brass and use a charge that is safe for both of them the pressure, speed and point of impact between the two will be different reducing accuracy (grouping).

Not in my experience. They weigh less than Lapua brass. Neckwall thickness is also less on the LC brass. So much so that I had to buy a bushing 0.002" smaller to size the necks enough.

Using the same bushing as I use for Lapua brass, bullets just drop into the case

 

[Dudedog]

I usually put A-USA and GFL cases in the scrap bin, broken way too many decapping pins on the super off center flash holes. Other than those two, they've all been pretty good!

The GFL .223 brash I picked up at the range was bad news, same issue way off center flash holes.....

 

[MarshallDodge]

The GFL .223 brash I picked up at the range was bad news, same issue way off center flash holes.....

I run a Mighty Armory sizing die. The firing pin floats, and doesn't seem to care about offset flash holes.

GFL brass has performed well for me.

 

[2ndtimer]

I run a Mighty Armory sizing die. The firing pin floats, and doesn't seem to care about offset flash holes.

GFL brass has performed well for me.

I run a Lee Universal de-capping die with a Squirrel Daddy forged pin and it has no problems with the GFL .223 brass with offset flash holes. Also handles undersized flash holes on I2K .223 brass and Norma 9mm brass. I also have had good results with the GFL brass.

 

[Dudedog]

The Squirrel Daddy forged pins are nice, picked some up after dealing with GFL brass......

Yes I can deal with the GFL brass if I have to but I can pickup free .223 brass with flash holes that are not off center, so why mess with it?
(not all GFL are off center and the brass seems to work ok, but any I find goes to the recycle can)

 

[denton]

Lake City (LC) is military 5.56 brass and has a thicker case wall than commercial .223 brass. Because of the thicker case walls there is less volume in the case so loads should be reduced.

Ummm....LC 5.56 brass actually has more case capacity than most commercial brass. That's the opposite of 308 and 30-06 brass, where military brass typically has less capacity that commercial.

 

[hdwhit]

I segregate all "new to me" brass by headstamp (and year if present). This is not because I experience much difference between differenence in performance between manufacturers, but because I use a single-stage press without compound leverage and after 40+ years, I can "feel" differences between the manufacturers and I discard anything that doesn't feel "right".

 

[MarshallDodge]

I segregate all "new to me" brass by headstamp (and year if present). This is not because I experience much difference between differenence in performance between manufacturers, but because I use a single-stage press without compound leverage and after 40+ years, I can "feel" differences between the manufacturers and I discard anything that doesn't feel "right".

That feel can be the differences in manufacturers but it can also be different chamber dimensions, firing in a semi auto, and brass hardness- depending on how many times it had been fired.

 

[film495]

I sort it. IMHO, if you're not sorting it - you're not really inspecting it well enough. If you're gonna inspect and look at each case for splits or defects just look at the headstamp and put the matching ones into separate containers. I also think it helps narrow down the cause of any issues that may come up. This brass bulges easily, this brass needs trimming because it is inconsistent, this brass has loose primer pockets, this brass has military crimps, this brass splits easily, this brass seems to stovepipe or cause jams.

 

[kmw1954]

I work as an RO at a large outdoor rifle range (4 ranges @ 25/50/100/300yds) so I can pick up as much brass as I feel the need for. At one time I had so much 223 brass I couldn't give it away. Now today I am very fussy about what I pick up. Which is now limited to Norma, PMC, Nosler and Hornady. None of which has crimped primers. Not going to waste my time dealing with brass that had crimped or staked primers.

Yes I know not everyone is as fortunate as me to have this resource available to them.