Federal .223 Headstamps - Need Help!

[RangerPark]

When I got in the .223 plinking game, my first move was to find cheap brass. I got my hands on 1000 FC once fired brass for $100. Now I don't need to hear about how FC brass is cheap, has thin webbing, etc... What I'm curious about is the vast range of headstamps FC brass has. I sampled 100 cases out of 1000, and I found 10 different headstamps!

First 3, "2313" "1414" and "2414"


Next 2, "15" and "16"


And finally, the dots, from 1 to 5, with variations in the 2, 3 and 4 dots markings.


Does anyone know what all those markings mean? I'm all for sorting brass by headstamp, but this is getting a bit out of hand.

Thanks! RP

 

[CanAm]

Don't bother sorting unless you are working up match loads.

 

[Sherlock Gnomes]

Don't bother sorting unless you are working up match loads.

Plinking loads out or an AR15- as mentioned dont bother sorting unless you have OCD and it wont let you not sort it. If you have a match grade barrel/gun setup then pick a large batch of the same headstamp and designate to be used only and keep resizing as needed. In all likelihood you would not notice any difference between the head stamps. If some was made for 5.56, such as the top picture i would venture, you may notice slight differences between them and the ones marked 223 due to a sightly thicker casing (if made for or comparable to military loads)

 

[deagle2008]

Most of the brass you have there are commercial brass and not crimped. Now if you had a mix of mil brass with commercial that i would suggest you sort them out

 

[RangerPark]

Most of the brass you have there are commercial brass and not crimped. Now if you had a mix of mil brass with commercial that i would suggest you sort them out

They were all crimped, I had to remove the crimp with a Hornady primer pocket swage tool. If you look at the pictures, you can see the remnants of the crimp ring besides the radius left by the swage tool.

 

[RangerPark]

Don't bother sorting unless you are working up match loads.

This is what I've been doing. I'm more curious about the meaning of the headstamps than anything else.

 

[deagle2008]

Oh ok i didn't see that.

 

[Mark-II]

Don't know about the markings myself. For target-grade plinking I just sort by manufacturer. The only thing that concerns me about Federal is whether it's crimped primer Federal or not. I have enough brass that I just chuck the crimped into a bag marked as such and won't use it unless I'm excessively in need of a mind-numbing repetitive task.

I still have piles of norc brass shot or scavenged from the glory days of cheap chinese ammo. I tend to reload a lot of that

 

[Ganderite]

I have never bothered to decipher headstamps on 223/5.56

It looks like some of that brass has a year stamped on it. Some is 223. the other stuff might be 5.56. Weigh both types. If there is a big difference, just sort as military 5.56 vs 223.

 

[bigedp51]

Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) owns Federal Premium Ammunition, Bushnell, Savage Arms, BLACKHAWK!, Primos, Final Approach, Uncle Mike's, Hoppe's, RCBS, Alliant Powder, CCI, Speer, Champion Targets, Gold Tip Arrows, Weaver Optics, Outers, Bolle, Cebe, and Serengeti.

ATK also has the contract to produce ammunition at our American Lake City Army Ammunition plant. And since ATK owns Federal you will also see 5.56 made in Minnesota by Federal.

The big difference is American Eagle (Federal) .223 cases can have a thin flash hole web and the primer pockets stretch out of shape. "BUT" not all Federal cases have a thin flash hole web and you will need to sort these cases.

If you make a two inch rod that will fit inside the case neck you can check if the case has a thin flash hole web. The rod should cup shaped at one end so any flash hole burs do do interfere with the case measurement. Use a Lake City 5.56 case as your base line measurement and trash the Federal cases with thin webs.

Below the thickness of the flash hole web and the Lake City is the gold standard for 5.56 cases. Military 5.56 cases are harder in the base and will last longer than commercial .223 cases.

Below .223 and 5.56 case weights and H2O capacity.

Bottom line, I have had once fired factory loaded Federal .223 cases that had over sized primer pockets. So each case must be checked for flash hole web thickness and loose primer pockets. I got tired of doing this and now buy bulk once fired Lake City 5.56 cases, these LC cases are made of harder brass than Lapua .223 cases and very close in quality.

The photo below was posted in a AR15 reloading forum, and the poster said he didn't check his primer pockets. And he said he would just replace the bolt when it got bad enough.

So not only can you damage the bolt face on a over gassed AR15 the primer can be forced out of the primer pocket when fired and end up jamming the trigger group.

I use pin gauges to check my primer pockets "before" doing anything to the cases. And if any primer that isn't snug during seating I check with a Lee depriming tool. And if the primer moves with just finger pressure the case goes in the trash.

 

[gunner065]

My guess is that the markings indicate lot numbers

 

[bigedp51]

My guess is that the markings indicate lot numbers

You are correct, lot number and date, but none of the cases are stamped 5.56 and have the NATO markings.

And I would not load these cases with hotter loads if you want to load them for a AR15. What is very frustrating is these cases can vary in flash hole web thickness. And you either check the flash hole web thickness and primer pockets or just trash all the federal cases. (just Google federal brass and read the complaints)

I'm very picky because I load for my sons AR15 rifles and dear old Dad isn't going to be blamed for a etched bolt face or a jammed trigger group.

President Eisenhower said beware of the military industrial complex and ATK/Federal quality control is governed by the stock holders.

So again the military sets higher standards for their cases and are harder and thicker in the high stress points. And I can buy 500 processed once fired Lake City cases for $59.00 and just size and load.

.223/5.56 - Cleaned, Deprimed & Swaged - LC Only - 500 Pieces
http://brassbombers.com/223-556-Cleaned-Deprimed-Swaged-LC-Only-500-Pieces-2LC-S0050.htm

 

[RangerPark]

I'm likely to get rid of the entire lot and move on to something else. Thanks to everyone who responded. Lake City brass is appealing, but I'm using this in a bolt action varmint rifle, I might wait for a lot of once fired Lapua brass to come along.

 

[Sherlock Gnomes]

I'm likely to get rid of the entire lot and move on to something else. Thanks to everyone who responded. Lake City brass is appealing, but I'm using this in a bolt action varmint rifle, I might wait for a lot of once fired Lapua brass to come along.

Look for ivi from vendors on this site. Same idea as Lake but Canadian equivalent. Unsure if the quality is the same as LC but should be close

 

[Scott_N]

Does anyone know what the "circles" on the OP's pictures are from on a few of the case heads? I've only seen those on Federal brass.

 

[bigedp51]

Does anyone know what the "circles" on the OP's pictures are from on a few of the case heads? I've only seen those on Federal brass.

The dimples or circles are on all ATK/Federal cases, below is a Lake City case with the dimples. It is my understanding the dimples/circles represent which machine the cases were made on when inspecting the cases. Meaning what machine to check if the cases are out of specification.

Below Federal “American Eagle” XM193 55gr 5.56 NATO and the Lake City military cases have the same type dimples/circles.

Below Federal dimples/circles from American Eagle .223

 

[RangerPark]

The dimples or circles are on all ATK/Federal cases, below is a Lake City case with the dimples. It is my understanding the dimples/circles represent which machine the cases were made on when inspecting the cases. Meaning what machine to check if the cases are out of specification.

Below Federal “American Eagle” XM193 55gr 5.56 NATO and the Lake City military cases have the same type dimples/circles.

So would say that cases with the dimples are from military contracts and cases with the numbers are from civilian contracts?

 

[Reeferman]

They were all crimped, I had to remove the crimp with a Hornady primer pocket swage tool. If you look at the pictures, you can see the remnants of the crimp ring besides the radius left by the swage tool.

How is that Hornady swage tool working for you?. I'm looking at getting the one for my LNL AP.

 

[RangerPark]

How is that Hornady swage tool working for you?. I'm looking at getting the one for my LNL AP.

I'm very happy with mine, got it from Budget Shooter Supply. It's very easy to adjust. I set mine up in a spare press so I could decap and full length resize on one press and swage on the other. The trick is to swage only as little as is required to properly seat a primer. This will usually mean you won't get a perfect radius every time. You can over do it and end up wilt loose primer pockets. If you under swage and end up with some overly tight primer pockets it's easy to touch them up afterwards.

 

[bigedp51]

So would say that cases with the dimples are from military contracts and cases with the numbers are from civilian contracts?

What dimples, I no longer see any dimples or photos. Could someone explain this, if I download the photos and post from a image hosting website is it OK???????

And if the cases were a military contract they would be stamped 5.56 with a NATO stamp. And some say the 5.56 ammunition that Federal sells are cases rejected at Lake City but pass commercial .223 standards. Federal also sells 5.56 M193 and M885 ammunition but the boxes say made in Federal plant in Minnesota.

I gave up trying to figure out Federal and their markings and buy once fired Lake City cases fired at military installations.

Once Fired Military Brass
http://brassbombers.com/main.sc
Welcome to Brass Bombers where you can find quality once fired military brass for reloading. Our calibers include: .223/5.56, .308/7.62, 9mm, 50 BMG and 300 Win Mag.
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