Military 223/556

[Raymond.Emsley]

Is there a list of Military 223 / 556 brass that are common in Canada?

I got a bucket of range pick up brass and would like to sort them out so I can swag them and get rid of the crap ones.

Thanks.

 

[Blastattack]

Norinco Brass is junk. CJ something head-stamp. The rest should be fine.

 

[fridge450]

Lake City and IVI swage easily, PSD tends to get stuck in my Hornady lnl swage die do those I'm sorting out to cut the crimp out. The Federal crimped cases don't seem to. E crimped at all as far as trying to seat primers.

 

[bigedp51]

Military 5.56 cases are made of harder brass and have thicker flash hole webs that add strength to the base.

Commercial .223 case are made of softer brass and do not like being loaded to higher pressures of military M855 5.56 ammunition at 58,700 psi. Meaning the hotter loads will stretch out the .223 primer pockets much sooner if loaded hot.

How Hard is Your Brass? 5.56 and .223 Rem Base Hardness Tests
http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2014/05/how-hard-is-your-brass-5-56-and-223-rem-base-hardness-tests/

That being said I use .223 cases in my AR15 rifles all the time, "BUT" I load them below 55,000 psi, which is normal .223 chamber pressure.

 

[TacticalCanuck]

IVI brass is cheap and easy to source. Shipping is the real problem as it is heavy and expensive to move.