I have been reloading 223 ammo, appx. 100 rounds. It has been working fine, haven't noticed any problems. I had appx. 300 "once fired" casings on hand. Some were marked 223 Rem, and some marked 5.56. I had a suspicion the 5.56 casings were ex military. In line with earlier warnings, I tried to ream out the primer pockets, just in case there was the remains of a crimp. As best I could tell all was fine. As stated above, no problems. First of this week, I started reloading 223s again. With the same case prep, when I started repriming these casings, I noticed a very slight crinkle in the "face" of most primers. Hadn't seen this in the earlier reloads. The priming process being the same as in the earlier reloads, I am assuming the primer pockets were not reamed enough. Am I thinking straight, or have I completely missed something? HELP?????? Any ideas? BC
Top Ad
Collapse
Announcement
Collapse
No announcement yet.
I have been reloading 223 ammo, appx. 100 rounds. It has been working fine, haven't noticed any problems. I had appx. 300 "onc
Collapse
X
-
Somehow you are now getting a little extra force on seating the primer. If you are using your press, that adjustment could cause it. If the primer is seated too deep below the head, you could get a misfire. I have loaded once fired military 5.56 and not done anything to the primer pocket - they were not crimped.
Another caution, take both .223 and 5.56 to the range and try cycling them through the action. You may find some do not cycle properly. I have had that happen. I have stayed away from military brass as there are too many variables that depend on the gun they were fired in that affects the way they reload - i.e. full auto brass seems to be the worst. Not worth the effort. IMHO
-
Clay has the best solution but you can do an OK job just using a small primer pocket reamer too. It usually works on most cases and if I have a problem case once in a while, I just throw the case away. I pick these up at the range so they are quite expendable and I can pitch a lot of them for the price of a nice swager.
You won't have to worry about case dimensions for loading your chamber smoothly. After they are fired once, they are all blown out to be exactly the size of your specific chamber. When you full length size them, they will all have the exact same external dimension.
Like all brass, the internal dimension will vary from case to case and different head stamps may vary considerably on internal dimension because of changes in brass thickness. For target accuracy, I weight all my cases and sort them by weight. If you are seeking extreme accuracy, this really helps in these little cases. With .223s, you need to trim the cases to length every few shots so you don't have loading trouble. The Lee case trimmer is relatively inexpensive and it does a great job; especially if you chuck your case in a drill to turn it automatically. I also turn the necks after about 5 shots or so on AR15 fed .223s so the bolt closes right every time.
Comment
Welcome!
Collapse
Welcome to Field and Streams's Answers section. Here you will find hunting, fishing, and survival tips from the editors of Field and Stream, as well as recommendations from readers like yourself.
If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ for information on posting and navigating the forums.
And don't forget to check out the latest reviews on guns and outdoor gear on fieldandstream.com.
Right Rail 1
Collapse
Top Active Users
Collapse
There are no top active users.
Right Rail 2
Collapse
Latest Topics
Collapse
-
Reply to Stupid Is as Stupid Doesby 99explorerTucker Carlson on Fox News has been pushing to promote the ineffectiveness of the Covid vaccines because he was once informed that the vaccination would...
-
Channel: Other
Today, 12:46 AM -
-
by mnsolmenUnbeatable Prices: Wholesales Prices
Shop Esellibuy For Apple iPhone
Products Available: Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max 5G
...-
Channel: Bow Hunting
Yesterday, 11:36 PM -
-
Reply to The way to end the ammo crisis?by 99explorerThe comedian Chris Rock once said we could end a lot of the shootings if we raised the price of ammo to $1,000 per round.
He said it would eliminate...-
Channel: Gear
Yesterday, 10:04 PM -
Right Rail 3
Collapse
Footer Ad
Collapse
Comment