Anyone tried reloading Norinco bulk .223 brass?

[AikiNut]

Hi,
I have a growing collection of Norinco .223 brass from the case I bought last year - time to start reloading some 62 gr bullets for matches this spring.

Has anyone used the Norinco brass to reload and if so what sort of experiences have you had... I've had 3 split cases out of the first 500 rounds of the original loads (1 neck, two bases). A fellow shooter suggested I not fire the rest of the ammo at all.

If you don't recommend using the Norinco again, where's a good source for GOOD once-fired .223 brass?
Cheers,
AikiNut

 

[deagle2008]

Thin, brittle brass. Annealing would help that, also trim them they stretch quite a bit

 

[Ganderite]

I have reloaded 1,000s of range pickup Norc 223 brass. Just sized and loaded. No problems. I do not load it hot.

 

[Phat Eagle]

Thin, brittle brass. Annealing would help that, also trim them they stretch quite a bit

My experience is the same. It reloads fine, but its not the BEST quality brass. Shouldn't be a surprise given the cost.

 

[Death]

If u get 1-2 loadings out of free brass it's worth it isn't it?

 

[AikiNut]

Thanks for the feedback

 

[Brianma65]

I did about 500 last night , I didn't see any issues, other than the brass not getting real shiny, after tumbling..

 

[CV32]

Thin, brittle brass. Annealing would help that, also trim them they stretch quite a bit

Yeah, many much better options out there. Mine goes into the recycling bin.

 

[Brianma65]

Yeah, many much better options out there. Mine goes into the recycling bin.

Now I'm a little concerned, I have about 500 done and another 500 trimmed but not primed yet. From inspection ,the brass looked fine,but maybe I should ditch the 500 I haven't loaded yet.

 

[Pr589]

Hey CV - If you don't want yours can I have them for the cost of shipping?

I use them for plinking and move and shoot where I am unlikely to recover the brass. Interestingly I have some that have gone though 4 reloads and still seem to be going strong. They get shinier the longer I use them and while I have a higher discard rate with them, most have tight primer pockets and no neck cracks.

 

[bobbynewmark]

never had a problem.. I have a pile of about 5000 +

as stated, even if I get one or two loadings that is still 10-15 k of ammo... that will do me for a bit

free brass plus my XL650 = indefinite supply

 

[CV32]

Now I'm a little concerned, I have about 500 done and another 500 trimmed but not primed yet. From inspection ,the brass looked fine,but maybe I should ditch the 500 I haven't loaded yet.

They will probably be fine. I already have a large supply of American brass and don't need the Norc stuff. I inspected a crate of the Norc bulk before shooting it and came up with about a box (20 rounds, yet to be fired) that were visibly defective (cracked necks, mostly). Its not worth my effort to pick it up except for recycling.

 

[silverfoxdj]

I use the Norc as backup but not for current loading Starline & Remington first

 

[bluesclues]

I have reloaded about a 1000 norc brass and used it in my AR. No problems so far. For plinking I load 55 gr Frontier CMJ over 23.5 gr of H335 and haven't had any issues.
I do not use the norc brass in my bolt guns but for plinking with the AR absolutely. As others have mentioned, inspect them first and discard any problem brass.

 

[brewmech]

I reload with it in the winter time for my ar. Don't really try to retrieve the brass in the snow.

 

[saskcop]

I have loaded buckets of the stuff with never a problem. Some of I have lost track as to how many times I have reloaded them.

 

[silverfoxdj]

I have loaded buckets of the stuff with never a problem. Some of I have lost track as to how many times I have reloaded them.

Have you seen any difference quality or shooting wise, ease of priming etc?