Can cheap .223 ammo be realoaded
- Thread starter cowpolks
- Start date
Be careful with cheaper brass. It can be reloaded though. I haven't seen primer pockets open in Federal .223 bras, but I have in 7 mm Rem Mag and .308....
Also, some of the Amereican Eagle brass will have a crimp securing the primer. This can cause a bit of a problem inserting the new primers.
Also, be careful you do sort your brass carefully even if it's cheap. Some of the really cheap factory loads (you might pick up the brass on the range) has Beridan primers. Try to resize this and you'll shatter the de-primer pin in your die before you realize what went wrong.
Also, some of the Amereican Eagle brass will have a crimp securing the primer. This can cause a bit of a problem inserting the new primers.
Also, be careful you do sort your brass carefully even if it's cheap. Some of the really cheap factory loads (you might pick up the brass on the range) has Beridan primers. Try to resize this and you'll shatter the de-primer pin in your die before you realize what went wrong.
NB.nagantsniper
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- northern nb
if not berdan it all can be reloaded ( berdan can be reloaded but you need special tools what a super hassle) , you wont get as many refills with cheep brass is all. .
as to crimped primers --its a bit more work but lee reloading got a hand tool fer 5 or 10$ to remove the crimp from this or any military brass. works on all calibres too..
see my post if needing brass in the bits /pieces or all other stuff section .
nuff said.
as to crimped primers --its a bit more work but lee reloading got a hand tool fer 5 or 10$ to remove the crimp from this or any military brass. works on all calibres too..
see my post if needing brass in the bits /pieces or all other stuff section .
nuff said.
I paid off the cost of my Dillon 1050 by selling processed .223 Rem brass for this very reason.
There is nothing tricky about loading .223 Rem. The only issue is the time it takes to primer pocket swage and trim once fired brass. If you are only doing 120 cases, then who cares? If you are feeding an AR-15, and want to have a few thousand cases on hand, it can be back breaking.
I bought the 1050 and the Rt1200 trimmer so I didn't waste my time on this task. Then I figured i could make a few bucks on the side.
On the issue of Federal brass, the older stuff is most definately suspect. At least it is consistantly soft. For bolt action use, or for reloading once in an AR, go with God. For long term use, I would tend to avoid it.
I took the warnings with a grain of salt, until I processed a large batch of it a while back. On my press, I full length small base resize, then swage the primer pocket, then trim to length. I check the last and first cases in the headspacing guage when I dump the catch bin (400 rounds+/-). With Winchester military or commercial brass, IVI, Rem or pretty much any other manufacturer, the cases all guage the same. The first round of Federal that came through the press was below minimum headspace. I quickly backtracked and checked a dozen from the last batch, and they were all perfect. I checked a dozen unprocessed Federal cases, and they were just above the top of the guage as expected. After sizing and trimming, they were like the first, well below minimum. I then tried to size a few stray Winchester cases, and they came through just like the other Win cases, right on the money.
I wound up having to adjust the size and trim dies for this batch to get them to guage correct. I believe the softer brass has less "spring" to it.
Now that ATK funs the Lake City plant, I wonder if the Federal brass made their will be of better quality.
There is nothing tricky about loading .223 Rem. The only issue is the time it takes to primer pocket swage and trim once fired brass. If you are only doing 120 cases, then who cares? If you are feeding an AR-15, and want to have a few thousand cases on hand, it can be back breaking.
I bought the 1050 and the Rt1200 trimmer so I didn't waste my time on this task. Then I figured i could make a few bucks on the side.
On the issue of Federal brass, the older stuff is most definately suspect. At least it is consistantly soft. For bolt action use, or for reloading once in an AR, go with God. For long term use, I would tend to avoid it.
I took the warnings with a grain of salt, until I processed a large batch of it a while back. On my press, I full length small base resize, then swage the primer pocket, then trim to length. I check the last and first cases in the headspacing guage when I dump the catch bin (400 rounds+/-). With Winchester military or commercial brass, IVI, Rem or pretty much any other manufacturer, the cases all guage the same. The first round of Federal that came through the press was below minimum headspace. I quickly backtracked and checked a dozen from the last batch, and they were all perfect. I checked a dozen unprocessed Federal cases, and they were just above the top of the guage as expected. After sizing and trimming, they were like the first, well below minimum. I then tried to size a few stray Winchester cases, and they came through just like the other Win cases, right on the money.
I wound up having to adjust the size and trim dies for this batch to get them to guage correct. I believe the softer brass has less "spring" to it.
Now that ATK funs the Lake City plant, I wonder if the Federal brass made their will be of better quality.
dangertree
Business Rep
- Location
- NL/ON/FL/PL
The Lake City Federal brass is very well regarded state-side.
gushulak
CGN frequent flyer
LC 5.56mm brass is as good as gold as far as I am concerned. I have several thousand and the brass is great.
American Eagle brass with the LC headstamp is produced by Federal ATK at the same LC plant. Other than the primer crimp the brass is excellent for reloading and shooting.
American Eagle brass with the LC headstamp is produced by Federal ATK at the same LC plant. Other than the primer crimp the brass is excellent for reloading and shooting.
