Questions on 223 mixed brass

[AR. Hillbilly]

I sorted all my brass today. I’m going to post a list of what I wound up with. I’d like to know if any is good or bad or in between.
There is a lot of some and few of some. I separated all 556 from the 223 but didn’t separate the 556 in to batches.
I got a lot of these in 223
FC, R&P, PMC, PPU, perfecta, and win/Winchester. I got a few -25 or less of each
Wolf, Aguila, Frontier, A USA and very few Norma and S&B.
Maybe 75 to 100 assorted 556 that I won’t use.
Is any of this something to avoid. I have the most FC then Win then Perfecta.

 

[berettaprofessor]

FC is good to go. So is Winchester.

 

[Skeptic13]

The only one that I usually don't reload is the A-USA but some sneaks no matter how hard I try. If you are reloading for plinking ammo and not precision ammo then it probably won't matter as long as the case is in good shape. And if you are reloading for precision you probably shouldn't be using range brass.

 

[ericuda]

I use em all. I am curious what folks think is better but I will still just load the same.

 

[Bronco72]

For precision! Separate by brands, then separate by weight! All in each batch should be within a grain or so. The rest is good for plinking. Even when all my brass is say FC I go through and have batches that are in a range weight. I used to get a lot of once fire FC match brass back in the good old days for free. Those were the days my friend, I never thought they'd end ....

 

[Lennyjoe]

Why not use 5.56? Resize with a .223 die and you’re good to go. Don’t waste it man.

 

[Bfh_auto]

I use em all. I am curious what folks think is better but I will still just load the same.

Perfecta is trash. It has the most of center flash holes I've seen.
Other than that. After neck turning, they are almost identical.
I noticed a .2 grain difference in powder charge necessary to get the same velocity from my lowest capacity brand to the highest capacity one.
AUSA, PPU, and LC ran nearly identical capacities. Pmc was low. Hornady was high.
This may all change in the next batch though.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

It all works for me. It does get old removing primer crimps though. Im waiting to get some RCBS swagger dies.

 

[AR. Hillbilly]

As

It all works for me. It does get old removing primer crimps though. Im waiting to get some RCBS swagger dies.

i mounted a primer pocket reamer on a small electric motor. It worked very well.

 

[entropy]

Inspect the Perfecta for off-center flash holes. They tend to have a lot of them. Use the 5.56 brass also, as lennyjoe said. The dies are .223 anyway. My favorite brass is LC 5.56.

 

[Highland Lofts]

It all works for me. It does get old removing primer crimps though. Im waiting to get some RCBS swagger dies.

I have an extra RCBS Swagger die set.
Pm works best.

 

[AR. Hillbilly]

Should have known about the Perfecta. Thats all I started loading when I first started 223. Walmart was selling it cheap so every week I was buying some. Sadly I have a bunch of it besides this range brass.
The FC brass has dates on some and not on some. Some has the F and C close and some not. Some has what looks like punch marks.
The PPU appears to have very dirty primer pockets. Is this a bad sign?

 

[AR. Hillbilly]

Why not use 5.56? Resize with a .223 die and you’re good to go. Don’t waste it man.

It’s all resized and primer pocket reamed. I saved it but it’s a mismatch. Some have wired numbers some don’t say 556 just letters. Basically anything that didn’t say 223.

 

[Akula69]

Should have known about the Perfecta. Thats all I started loading when I first started 223. Walmart was selling it cheap so every week I was buying some. Sadly I have a bunch of it besides this range brass.
The FC brass has dates on some and not on some. Some has the F and C close and some not. Some has what looks like punch marks.
The PPU appears to have very dirty primer pockets. Is this a bad sign?

I was told (at a ballistics conference) by a Lake City representative the brass they produce can be traced back to the individual press due to the various marks (punch marks) and spacing of the letters on the case. Supposedly, this also allows them to tell when a press case die has reached the end of its useful life.
I deprime my .223/5.56 before wet tumbling to clean the primer pocket (as well as the case). In my process it takes care of most of the primer residue.

 

[AR. Hillbilly]

I was told (at a ballistics conference) by a Lake City representative the brass they produce can be traced back to the individual press due to the various marks (punch marks) and spacing of the letters on the case. Supposedly, this also allows them to tell when a press case die has reached the end of its useful life.
I deprime my .223/5.56 before wet tumbling to clean the primer pocket (as well as the case). In my process it takes care of most of the primer residue.

I dry tumble. 2 hrs in corncob before de-priming/re-sizing and 2 hrs after all prep. it doesn’t do much for dirty primer pockets but I do clean them during prep.
Just curious why these have so much residue

 

[Highland Lofts]

Wet tumble for 45 minutes and you have super clean primer pockets, super clean cases inside & out.

 

[kmw1954]

I sort to 6 groups; GFL, PMC, LC, PSD, non-crimped and everything else.

The Fiocchi (GFL) and PMC are not crimped and is very plentiful at our range. I have found these to be pretty consistent for what I'm doing and I then don't have to fool with primer pockets. Everyone knows about LC brass and the PSD I'm finding just as good as the LC.

 

[AR. Hillbilly]

Going through it this morning. Perfecta has some flash holes way off. Bummer.

 

[Highland Lofts]

After seeing the grouping these cases shot at a hundred yards I don't worry about head stamps any more. I load for my grandson to shoot up in the gravel pit, longest distance is just 85 yards so any brass will work.







If my grandson was shooting three hundred yards or more then I might worry about same head stamps and certain brands of brass.
But until then it is mixed head stamps.

 

[entropy]

It’s all resized and primer pocket reamed. I saved it but it’s a mismatch. Some have wired numbers some don’t say 556 just letters. Basically anything that didn’t say 223.

Pics of the headstamps will help us identify them. Akula69 is right about the SCAMP marks, they identify which press the round was loaded on.

 

[AR. Hillbilly]

Pics of the headstamps will help us identify them. Akula69 is right about the SCAMP marks, they identify which press the round was loaded on.

Can I post pics with an Iphone

 

[Highland Lofts]

I have a Samsung that i post pics with. Try the upload a file right below the box you write in.
Just click on to it.

 

[Bfh_auto]

After seeing the grouping these cases shot at a hundred yards I don't worry about head stamps any more. I load for my grandson to shoot up in the gravel pit, longest distance is just 85 yards so any brass will work.

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If my grandson was shooting three hundred yards or more then I might worry about same head stamps and certain brands of brass.
But until then it is mixed head stamps.

LoL. That's why I'm not too picky. Off center flash holes about guarantee flyers though.

 

[gifbohane]

I toss the Perfecta and the A USA. I do not remember why I started tossing both of them. Maybe someone told me that the A USA is related to AMERC (bad.) I have been warned for years about AMERC and finally found two of them in December, oddly they looked OK.

I have been finding a lot of LC before the snow hit. MY theory is that folks are now down to shooting the good stuff? Any other thoughts?

 

[entropy]

I noticed the same this fall. I didn't mind picking up all the LC left there.