5.56 Brass

Striper69 · Apr 9, 2021

I picked up a bunch. Can they be reloaded as .223?

outrider58 · Apr 9, 2021

Striper69 said:
I picked up a bunch. Can they be reloaded as .223?

Yes

deerassassin22 · Apr 9, 2021

Yes, 5.56mm is essentially he same the casings are thicker on 5.56mm brass so make sure to reduce your load

outrider58 · Apr 9, 2021

deerassassin22 said:
Yes, 5.56mm is essentially he same the casings are thicker on 5.56mm brass so make sure to reduce your load

Generally true and .223 loads are generally lighter by nature, but yes, always work up when developing supersonic reloads.

Melnic · Apr 9, 2021

deerassassin22 said:
Yes, 5.56mm is essentially he same the casings are thicker on 5.56mm brass so make sure to reduce your load

This REALLY true?
I know with all the different cases I have when I set up my more accurate loads I use the same cases, but for plinking steel, I mix them up (loads are comfortably below max pressure).

I have in front of me LC and MM brass that is stamped 5.56. They are 96gr and the thickness at the neck is .001" thinner than the perfecta that is 102gr
GFL stamped 223 is 101gr neck slightly thicker than LC
Geco stamped 223 is 102gr neck slightly thicker than LC

85MikeTPI · Apr 9, 2021

Melnic said:
This REALLY true?
I know with all the different cases I have when I set up my more accurate loads I use the same cases, but for plinking steel, I mix them up (loads are comfortably below max pressure).

I have in front of me LC and MM brass that is stamped 5.56. They are 96gr and the thickness at the neck is .001" thinner than the perfecta that is 102gr
GFL stamped 223 is 101gr neck slightly thicker than LC
Geco stamped 223 is 102gr neck slightly thicker than LC

I don't think it is universally true.

Take the 300blackout brass conversion list, the NATO 5.56 are the preferred brass because so many other headstamps are too thick to create a 30cal neck with.

SavageShooter · Apr 9, 2021

Don't forget to have fun removing the military primer crimp, so you don't deform your primers when seating them. No wasting primers (like gold) now!!!

outrider58 · Apr 9, 2021

Melnic said:
This REALLY true?
I know with all the different cases I have when I set up my more accurate loads I use the same cases, but for plinking steel, I mix them up (loads are comfortably below max pressure).

I have in front of me LC and MM brass that is stamped 5.56. They are 96gr and the thickness at the neck is .001" thinner than the perfecta that is 102gr
GFL stamped 223 is 101gr neck slightly thicker than LC
Geco stamped 223 is 102gr neck slightly thicker than LC

No. Not universally true.

http://www.300blktalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=88599

Striper69 · Apr 11, 2021

savageShooter said:
Don't forget to have fun removing the military primer crimp, so you don't deform your primers when seating them. No wasting primers (like gold) now!!!

I've had no problems removing any of the primers. I do use the RCBS case machine to make the primer hole bigger after taking the primers out.

atblis · Apr 17, 2021

Melnic said:
This REALLY true?
I know with all the different cases I have when I set up my more accurate loads I use the same cases, but for plinking steel, I mix them up (loads are comfortably below max pressure).

I have in front of me LC and MM brass that is stamped 5.56. They are 96gr and the thickness at the neck is .001" thinner than the perfecta that is 102gr
GFL stamped 223 is 101gr neck slightly thicker than LC
Geco stamped 223 is 102gr neck slightly thicker than LC

It's not really true at all. LC tends to have one of the higher case capacities. Can't really go off of weight. PMP is the one to look out for. It has some seriously reduced capacity. Some Lapua. I think there's an old and new style Lapua with different capacities.

It's more true of 308 Win v. 7.62x51. I think that's why people keep repeating this wrong info about 5.56 being thicker than 223.

Rockzilla · Apr 18, 2021

atblis said:
It's not really true at all. LC tends to have one of the higher case capacities. Can't really go off of weight. PMP is the one to look out for. It has some seriously reduced capacity. Some Lapua. I think there's an old and new style Lapua with different capacities.

It's more true of 308 Win v. 7.62x51. I think that's why people keep repeating this wrong info about 5.56 being thicker than 223.

True 7.62 vs. 308 military has less case capacity
30.06 military has less
given 5.56 LC has more in most cases.
If you would compare different years of commerical brass capacities it would be
interesting and some "TW" headstamp 5.56
People get confused and get so wrapped up as it applies to "all" military brass
Also on a side note it depends who manufactures the brass as some "farm it out"
It may have their headstamp but is was made by someone else.
Also some reading here....
by unclenick on Shootersforum
https://www.shootersforum.com/threads/223-5-56-loading-data.94411/page-2#post-2254447

and..
https://www.accurateshooter.com/technical-articles/x-ray-spectrometry-of-cartridge-brass/

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