Case analysis

[tabascoz28]

Shooting with a group today, all 223/556 were from ARs

Top to bottom brass make:
1 LC
2 pmc
3 LC
4 LC
5 FC REM

This is making rethink picking up range brass.

So case head separation on 1
2 was pushed in and jammed, probably took the head and shoulder back out with it (lucky)
3 same lot of reloads
4 once fired
5 once fired

You can see 1-3 have the same brass color and consistency. It looks old and tarnished. The bullets are all very dark copper compared to new FMJ tips.

Do you think this is a correct analysis?
https://imgur.com/5jnElxK (bigger picture?)

case.jpg

[jsanch03]

[tabascoz28]

The lacquer is the safest if you didn't fire it. I guess I do the same thing. When I think a batch is old I use it up at the range and don't pick it up. But others have said they put it in a recycle pile, for cash.

[JackEllis]

I've fired probably a thousand or more .223 rounds that were made using range brass I picked up. I've sold probably ten thousand rounds of range brass I picked up to other people. I haven't had a problem and no one has complained that they've had problems.

When I sort and clean range brass, cases that look dodgy get tossed in the recycle bucket.

The only time I've had to deal with split necks is .243 brass that had likely been fired several times before I got it.

I track how many times I've fired .223 brass. After load number 5, it gets sent to the recycle bucket.

My take on range brass is, I get to use it for free five times, and then I get paid about a penny and a half for the case when I'm done with it. I use only LC brass (for no particular reason) and so five reloads makes me feel better about the intitial effort I have to put forth to clean, swage and trim the stuff.

[jsanch03]

[AandO]

My rule is to only load range brass in 5.56 that has has a crimped in primer.
FC brass that has the blue sealant is good to go as well.

I've noticed over the last year or so that 223/5.56 has supplanted 9mm as being the most common brass to be found. That said, why bother taking brass to its limits?

[divingin]

What's the story with #2? Did someone leave the shoulder and neck of a case in the chamber and beat that round in with a hammer?

[tabascoz28]

That's my guess as to what happened exactly. The broken case head went out, loaded the next one in automatically. When it jammed, he probably either extracted again taking the neck and shoulder with it or full stop. I wasn't there to see it, just found the remains on the tarp.