First AR which ammo to buy for reloading

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Bozrdang

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I've been reloading shot shell and pistol ammo for the past year and a half. I just bought my first AR (first rifle for that matter other than a 22LR) and I need to buy some ammo for it. I don't plan to reload for it right away but I will eventually. With that in mind, is there any factory ammo with preferable brass or any to avoid with reloading in mind? Obviously I'd like to keep it as cheap as possible.

EDIT: Should've added that since I'm new to rifles, I'm initially just looking for plinking ammo.
 
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They key thing to avoid is a crimped primer pocket. You really need to do some extra steps to reload it, and there so so much brass out there it is easier to just avoid it. Most military ammo and federal ammo seems to be crimped. you can google "223 crimped primer" and see a lot of pictures of they styles and types of crimp.

I'm kind of partial to remington brass because it has a nice beveled primer pocket, but honestly, it all loads about the same for casual purposes. Winchester seems to make a nice case too. PMC brass seems to be and remain shinier for whatever reason.
 
For reloading I like to buy processed lc brass and hornady 55gr sp. For heavy bullets I like the hornady 75bthp but they are twice as expensive.

I don't shoot hardly any factory ammo but pmc has been ok for me as well as American Eagle which is about .30/ each and is made with Lc brass But will likely require extra prep work to reload as it has crimped primers.
 
If you don't want to mess with removing crimps from primer pockets I would suggest you stick with an ammo that doesn't have a crimped primer. You used to find Winchester, Remington and Federal without crimped primers but this may not be true now. Lake City is a popular brass but it can be a bit pricey in loaded ammo. I used to buy a lot of Prvi Partizan, but now I only shoot my reloads in my Mini 14 and 2 bolt action guns.
 
I just found out my wife decided to stop by a local store after work and surprise me with 500 American Eagle 55 gn 5.56 Ammo. She bought it for $179/500. It's Lake City brass but crimped primer pockets. She said the guy told her it's best to buy 5.56 if planning to reload as it's meant for higher pressures and should do well with reloads. I'm sure there's other perspectives than that but it sounded good to her.
 
A drill press with a fat drill bit will take that crimp out in about 2 seconds. Just hold it up to the bit long enough to see a sliver of metal come off and you are done. Hold the mouth of the case up to the same drill bit and you can dress up the inside of the mouth while you are at it. I trim to length with a Crow WFT and them clean up the cases on the drill press and then into a water bath. After they dry you can put them into a tumbler to make them pretty.

That's the simplified version of what happens. Check for an internet video to see the long version.

kwg
 
Bozrdang said:
I just found out my wife decided to stop by a local store after work and surprise me with 500 American Eagle 55 gn 5.56 Ammo. She bought it for $179/500. It's Lake City brass but crimped primer pockets. She said the guy told her it's best to buy 5.56 if planning to reload as it's meant for higher pressures and should do well with reloads. I'm sure there's other perspectives than that but it sounded good to her.
Click to expand...
Lake city is good brass for sure. And crimped pockets aren't the end of the world, they're just 1 added step. I wish my wife would give me nice surprises like that. Sounds like she's a keeper for sure :)

KWG's method works, and there are many others as well.
 
Bozrdang,
Your wife just bought your first batch of reloadable brass. That's awesome! Crimped pockets be darned! Just take care of them once, and that's it.

Pretty much most brass will work well for plinking ammo. Starting off with the FC will be fine.
Enjoy! And give your wife a big kiss! She deserves it!

BTW after trying the RCBS Swager, and the case prep station I went with the manual task of using the case mouth chamfer/reamer tool on the primer pocket to remove the crimp. It's a manual method, but I could do several hundred in a short time. And the beveled edge lets me know they've been done.
 
Yeah, she's a keeper! I just wanted to ask because I had read where some people say to avoid FC brass because of a weak web. I just want to make sure that since I have to buy some ammo anyhow, I might as well get some with good reloadable brass.
 
Removing the crimp from the primer pocket is a one time thing. Once it has been removed in the case, it is gone for the life of the case.

A little inconvenience but if you are in the habit of dealing with the crimp, it would not be a surprise down the road when you get some pick up brass that is crimped.

New, unloaded factory cases do not have a crimp.

LC cases are good cases. I also like W-W and R-P.
 
Avoid most of the foreign made stuff. Not because it wont work for .223. It will. Its just a little thiicker mid case and if you ever want to convert to 300 BLK you wont be able to use it for 300 BO cases
 
I'm in the process of reloading ALL of my 223 brass, which was about 2 gallon bags full. Federal seems to be the biggest pain in the butt, Remington seems to be the easiest. I have RCBS case prep station and it made life much simpler.

I used to be a great shot and trying to get back to that. 223 and an AR15 is a great way to do so.

Also get a brass catcher.

HB
 
Removing the crimp from the primer pocket is a one time thing. Once it has been removed in the case, it is gone for the life of the case.
Click to expand...

Don't let crimp removal "crimp" your reloading ... it really is a simple little deal that takes about a couple seconds and once done ... you never have to do it again ...

Some folks make it out to be like pulling a tooth without the numbing juice ...
 
Most if not all the major ammo companies have their "bargain" brands.
Federal American Eagle,Winchester White box etc ,perfectly good ammo but the brass isn't polished 55 gr bullet no crimped primers. Walmart and Dick's has bulk packs on sale on a regular basis usually Remington.
 
Once you start reloading. 55gr FMJBT from whoever is cheapest, look for free shipping too. Till then look for sales (good luck these days) of brass case, boxer primed, non-crimped primer ammo.

Nothing wrong spending extra bucks upfront and buying fully processed once-fired brass. That means sized, trimmed and primer pockets reamed. Yes, you can trim and ream a thousand cases one at a time by hand with an inexpensive tool..... but it sure is a whole lot of piece work drudgery.

http://www.topbrass-inc.com/reloading-supplies/product_details.php?item_id=414

I like H335 powder FWIW.

A Wilson case gauge is handy and eventually you will need a way to trim/deburr cases.
 
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I bought 1K .223 from TB some years back assuming it would be sized to the minimum spec, but it wasn't so. Good brass, worked just fine, but some didn't fit a gauge, so a really tight chamber might be an issue.
 
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