223 Highest quality brass for reloading

Dusty Stevens said:
they do. it comes as .223 and is made into .204 just like it was back in the wildcat days
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Not quite Dusty.

The 204R's parent case is the 222 Remington Magnum.
Theres just not enough brass in the 223 to create a 204.

Nosler's not bad at all. Norma costs a touch more but I see no reason to pay the extra. Noslers better prepped right out of the box.
 
American Eagle

I just brought a 1000 once-fired Lake City 07 headstamp. It has no primer crimp and measures to be excellent brass in terms of neck thickness and in case weight. They are long as all get out and I have to trim 0.0150-0.020" to get them down to 1.750". Some where too long to chamber in my new factory 223 Stevens barrel without bottoming out in the chamber. They are all annealled. I was told that this was American Eagle (M193 equivalent) ammo. Great price and better than any American stuff I have ever used. Is it Lapua or Norma? No. But as $60/1000 delivered I didn't expect it to be. Loading some up tonight to test out.

Tiny
 
too long on a single firing, and no criimp ?

sorry sounds like twice fired brass...not once fired.
 
mike in co said:
too long on a single firing, and no criimp ?

sorry sounds like twice fired brass...not once fired.
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Very possible. There are those that tell me all LC brass has crimp and those that tell me some can find it that doesn't. I am new to this stuff. If it is true mil spec 5.56 Nato, it should have a longer case length that the 223 Rem right? Even as 2nd fired cases, it is a bargain at $60/1000 delivered.

Mike your a brass guy if I read right, doesn't LC sell stuff without a crimp? I know I have seen LC over runs on Midway without the crimp as virgin brass.

tiny
 
yes i have seen the odd lots of lc sold as new brass......my question on that stuff...why did the government let it go ???( lake city is a goverment facility, run by a contractor, lowest contract bid wins(rem, win, fed)

the other lc brass with no crimp is black hills remanufactures current once fired brass for its reloaded ammo.....so by the time you get it it's twice fired...but i consider it more like once.

and there are commercial brass shops that have equiptment to "remanufacture" brass.and lots of once fired mil brass is sold at auction.

mike in co
 
Lapua OR Nosler Custom Competition

I use both Lapua and Nosler Custom Competition brass for target work (2 different 223 Rem rifles). I've reloaded them over and over and just keep a check on the overall length. I will admit I did full length resize some Lapua because I wanted to use them in a different rifle. Other than that, the only "MUSTS" is to tumble clean after each shoot and match them by weight.

I can only suggest people try and see what works for them.
 
mike in co said:
yes i have seen the odd lots of lc sold as new brass......my question on that stuff...why did the government let it go ???( lake city is a goverment facility, run by a contractor, lowest contract bid wins(rem, win, fed)

the other lc brass with no crimp is black hills remanufactures current once fired brass for its reloaded ammo.....so by the time you get it it's twice fired...but i consider it more like once.

and there are commercial brass shops that have equiptment to "remanufacture" brass.and lots of once fired mil brass is sold at auction.

mike in co
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Mike, I don't know why the LC 06 cases I recently got weren't loaded and used by the government. Aside from not being polished to within an inch of its life like most commercial brass I found it to be good for my purposes, loading for an AR. Since the .223 isn't a BR round anyway, and since the prairie dogs can't tell if a live varmint rifle is shooting 3's or 5's, I have a little trouble justifying the price of Lapua brass for varmint shooting. My "thrifty" Scots ancestry coming through I guess. :eek::D:D
 
I live just down the road from Scharch Manufacturing and have used their brass for years.

It is mil spec brass. All of what i currently have is headstamped LC 06. It has been resized,trimmed, and the crimp removed. It is also chemically polished,and ready to go.

If I were gonna load it for EXTREME accuracy I would, and have, run it thru the neck sizer to eliminate the few that seem to be kinda SOFT in the neck and do not present the same neck tension as the rest. That seems to be around 2 to 3%. I have also weighed them and sorted into approximately 3 batches by weight.

If I were gonna shoot them in an AR I would feel very good about doing none of the above and just loading them right out of the box.

Hope that helps. BTW to those who say there is no difference in Lapua and other brass, good for you just keep thinkin that way. It helps keep the price of the good stuff down. LOL
 
AR BR rifle

Mike, I remember you discussing this a while back. How do the rules go? Can you load up a clip and pop off 5 rapidly to keep up with conditions or do you have to shoot as a single shot? There are multiple producers of ARs that sell rifles with a 0.5 MOA or better guarantee with proper ammo. Have fun with it.

tiny
 
I do remember seeing that both nosler and weatherby uses norma brass. maybe nosler being made in the USA is about like my chevy truck- their office is in the USA at least:(
 
Now that brian mentions it I do recall reading on a forum that Nosler is made by Norma. Or was it made by Hornady?

Either way in 204R Nosler comes trimmed and chamferred while the more expensive Norma does not.
I like to trim and chamfer after the first firing. Nosler makes that easier on me by not needing to do any prep beforehand. Just load and shoot.

Besides that both "N" brands are weight sorted and primer pocket deburred. Thats a real help since I discovered my .20 cal primer pocket deburrer can not be used as a pry bar:eek:
 
tiny68 said:
Mike, I remember you discussing this a while back. How do the rules go? Can you load up a clip and pop off 5 rapidly to keep up with conditions or do you have to shoot as a single shot? There are multiple producers of ARs that sell rifles with a 0.5 MOA or better guarantee with proper ammo. Have fun with it.

tiny
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i comply with the rules....single shot, no gas operation, no "magazine".. still a work in progress after al this time. the big last step was going from a .2xx agg to a sub .2 agg.
all in little steps.....

mike in co
 
Yup!

AVanGorder said:
A quick spin with a deburring tool, after the primer has been punched out, will remove the crimp.

Back when we could buy brass on eBay, I bought boxes of primer crimped brass, to include IMI. I would simply full length size it then give it about a half second with the inside deburring tool connected to a drill.
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After many many reloads with pick-up brass and gun show brass spinning with the Hornady Small rifle primer pocket reamer, I found the same secret. Use a deburring tool, chucked in a variable speed drill, for 1 second and crimp is gone forever. You can get through 500 cases in short order. No better way. I found that the Lyman case prop tool (the thing that looks like an orange cigar) works great since the deburring tool is removable and is sharp and the angle of cut is steeper than normal deburring tools. The primers guide and slide right into the pocket snugly. Now I don't hesitate to buy high quality crimped brass, in fact, I seek it out.

1. Lapua, RWS
2. Norma
3. LC, WCC, RP, GFL, IMI
4. RP (remington)
5. All others. (I have not had any problems with FC, yet)

Ultimately, If your full-Length sizing die is in close agreement with your chamber, you can reload brass almost infinitely. Just be sure that the primer is snug, cases trimmed, etc.
 
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