.223 Brass question

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Rogue_wave

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Hi to all.


Going to start loading for a .223 that I just purchased and have a question about the brass. I picked up some once fired brass at a local gun show. It is all stamped .223 and made by Remington. My question, some of the brass trims very easy as the trimmer collet fits like it should. The rest of the brass is very hard to trim, the collet is really snug in the case neck. Upon inspection this brass looks to military ( possibly ) as there looks to be a neck crimp on the brass. I want to shot varmints in my .223. Will there be a noticeable difference in accuracy between these two types of brass as I suspect there may be. Or should I just go ahead and buy new brass for hunting and use this to pound away out my AR? Thanks in advance.

R/W
 
Are you referring to the case mouth or the primer pocket?
Usually the case mouth crimp will get straightened out when you resize the brass. You did re-size the brass before you trimmed it, right? The brass will grow in length a bit when you re-size.
Any primer pocket crimps, on the other hand, need to get removed before you can easily re-prime the case.
 
As you said "neck crimp" then the primer pocket crimp mentioned above doesn't apply...
De-prime, clean and then resize all of you brass. Then you should trim to length followed by a slight countersink of the neck mouth (to help ease the bullet into the neck).
You only need to chamfer the outside of the mouth if you are not going to do a factory crimp or the trimming process leaves a noticeable burr.
imho, you should always factory crimp .223 Remington / 5.56 NATO if you are using them in any semi-auto rifle or pistol.
This is an inexpensive and useful tool for countersinking / chamfering as it cuts from the inside & outside:

Lee Chamfer Tool (90109)
LeeDeburringTool_zpsa80b70fc.jpg
 
Yes the brass has a case mouth crimp of some sort. I suspect the non crimped brass to be perhaps hunting ammunitions and the crimped to be military. I first tumbled the brass and F.L. sized and deprimed. The crimp was / is still evident. The trimming collet was very tight to push into the cash mouth while the non crimped trimmed as usual. I also have used a de burring tool on the outside and on the inside and the crimp is still evident. I currently reload for four other calibers for hunting and this situation is new to me. Think I'll perhaps buy some new brass for hunting purposes.


R/W
 
I'd try it. you may be surprized.

I have seen a few non military brands of .223/5.56 that's crimped.

I also agree that crimping any semi auto .223/5.56. Yes its another step, but its not hard, and the Lee Factory Crimp die is excellent and cheap.
 
You're going to get sore wrists and fingers using that lee chamfer tool! lol. The RCBS one is far superior for a hand chamfer tool. As for the Brass, If it has a primer crimp on it, it is for sre military brass, and I don't see any problem with that for hunting. The crimp must be fully removed before installing a new primer. The crimp on the neck should go away once sized and trimmed. Make sure its trimmed to the right length. If a little portion of the crimp for some reason is still evident, try loading one or a couple and send them down range. it takes time to perfect your results, but I don't think you'll have an issue.

Happy huntin! :)
 
I would check your expander ball as it should make the inside diameter of the neck the same..................... unless you are sizing with only bushing dies which would give you the screwy inner neck.

I just ignore the crimp and it disappears after a few firings.
 
I have seen Lee case trimmer pilot/gauge too tight in sized & expanded necks. Rotate rod with drill, & sand or file a half thou off the shaft.
 
Rogue_wave said:
Yes the brass has a case mouth crimp of some sort. I suspect the non crimped brass to be perhaps hunting ammunitions and the crimped to be military. I first tumbled the brass and F.L. sized and deprimed. The crimp was / is still evident. The trimming collet was very tight to push into the cash mouth while the non crimped trimmed as usual. I also have used a de burring tool on the outside and on the inside and the crimp is still evident. I currently reload for four other calibers for hunting and this situation is new to me. Think I'll perhaps buy some new brass for hunting purposes.


R/W
Click to expand...

You are confusing people by referring to the trimmer pilot as a collet. If the trimmer has a collet , as some do, it clamps down on the case head to hold it while the cutter trims the case. The pilot fits into the case mouth to keep it lined up as the cutter removes material.
 
Rogue_wave said:
Hi to all.


Going to start loading for a .223 that I just purchased and have a question about the brass. I picked up some once fired brass at a local gun show. It is all stamped .223 and made by Remington. My question, some of the brass trims very easy as the trimmer collet fits like it should. The rest of the brass is very hard to trim, the collet is really snug in the case neck. Upon inspection this brass looks to military ( possibly ) as there looks to be a neck crimp on the brass. I want to shot varmints in my .223. Will there be a noticeable difference in accuracy between these two types of brass as I suspect there may be. Or should I just go ahead and buy new brass for hunting and use this to pound away out my AR? Thanks in advance.

R/W
Click to expand...

Use the Gun Show Remington brass for your AR15 as blasting ammo and buy some new quality brass for your bolt action.

I was given three five gallon buckets of once fired .223/5.56 brass fired by our local police department. It consisted of Remington, Federal and Lake City cases and the Remington brass was the least uniform with wide variations in neck thickness and weight.

Below a Remington case with .004 neck thickness variation and some of these Remington cases had as much as .008 variation. Low quality cases like these will give you accuracy problems and are best used in your AR15.

IMG_2136_zps079ece9b.jpg


IMG_2137_zps66bcfc13.jpg


Out of the three brands of brass I was given the Lake City military were the most consistent in neck thickness and weight. I can buy once fired Lake City brass for .08 cents each and Lapua cases are .84 cents each.

casecap_zps3f8bb2c9.jpg


223-556weight_zps3566d29a.jpg
 
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