Brass Sorting Question

[gary2232]

New guy here. I will be reloading 9mm and 223. I shoot IDPA and three gun stuff. I am sorting brass. Will I need to sort brass by manufacture?? I read that some brass has thicker walls and will effect powder charges. If I stay in the middle with my powder amounts will I need to separate brass by manufacture?

[XDRoX]

I don't sort any of my brass and I shoot it all until it splits.
You may want to keep track of how many times you've fired your 223 so you can dispose of it after 5 or 6 loads, but I shoot it all until it splits.

[joelogic]

Local matches are 50 yards and in. Sorting wont make a difference.

[gary2232]

Thats good news. I do keep track of how many times fired but to sort and load by manufacture would be a hard thing to do. Thanks

[jp1911]

I don't sort 9mm by head stamp. I just keep them sorted by times fired. For 223 I check to make sure there is no 5.56 mixed in. 5.56 is different from 223.

I copied this from Wikipedi.

The .223 Remington is a sporting cartridge with the same external dimensions as the 5.56x45mm NATO military cartridge. It is loaded with a .224" diameter, jacketed bullet, with weights ranging from 40 up to 90 grains, though the most common loadings by far are 55 grains.

The primary difference between .223 Remington and 5.56 x 45 mm is that .223 is loaded to lower pressures and velocities compared to 5.56 mm. .223 Remington ammunition can be safely fired in a 5.56 mm chambered gun, but the reverse can be an unsafe combination. The additional pressure created by 5.56 mm ammo will frequently cause over-pressure problems such as difficult extraction, flowing brass, or popped primers, but in extreme cases, could damage or destroy the rifle. Chambers cut to .223 Remington specifications have a shorter leade (throat) area as well as slightly shorter headspace dimensions compared to 5.56 mm "military" chamber specs, which contributes to the pressure issues.

While the 5.56 mm and .223 cartridges are very similar, they are not identical. Military cases are made from thicker brass than commercial cases, which reduces the powder capacity (an important consideration for handloaders), and the NATO specification allows a higher chamber pressure. Test barrels made for 5.56mm NATO measure chamber pressure at the case mouth, as opposed to the SAAMI location. This difference accounts for upwards of 20,000+ psi difference in pressure measurements. That means that advertised pressure of 58,000 psi for 5.56mm NATO, is around 78,000 psi tested in .223 Rem test barrels (SAAMI .223 Rem Proof MAP is 78,500 psi so every 5.56mm round fired is a proof load, very dangerous). The 5.56 mm chambering, known as a NATO or mil-spec chambers, have a longer leade, which is the distance between the mouth of the cartridge and the point at which the rifling engages the bullet. The .223 chambering, known as the "SAAMI chamber", is allowed to have a shorter leade, and is only required to be proof tested to the lower SAAMI chamber pressure. To address these issues, various proprietary chambers exist, such as the Wylde chamber[2] or the Armalite chamber, which are designed to handle both 5.56 mm and .223 equally well.

Using commercial .223 cartridges in a 5.56-chambered rifle should work reliably, but generally will not be as accurate as when fired from a .223-chambered gun due to the excessive leade. [3] Using 5.56 mil-spec cartridges (such as the M855) in a .223-chambered rifle can lead to excessive wear and stress on the rifle and even be unsafe, and the SAAMI recommends against the practice.[4] Some commercial rifles marked as ".223 Remington" are in fact suited for 5.56 mm, such as many commercial AR-15 variants and the Ruger Mini-14, but the manufacturer should always be consulted to verify that this is acceptable before attempting it, and signs of excessive pressure (such as flattening or gas staining of the primers) should be looked for in the initial testing with 5.56 mm ammunition

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5.56%C3%9745mm_NATO

[joelogic]

There is no such thing as a 5.56 die, everything comes out as .223. Mil brass may be thicker and hold less powder though.

[gary2232]

There is no such thing as a 5.56 die, everything comes out as .223. Mil brass may be thicker and hold less powder though.

I take my 5.56 out but I have some 223 F C (Federal Cartridge) That looks like a red ring around primer and swedged? Thats Mil spec? I thought Military was only 5.56

[Quinc]

There is no such thing as a 5.56 die, everything comes out as .223. Mil brass may be thicker and hold less powder though.

Lake City (5.56) holds more then any other brass.

http://www.6mmbr.com/223rem.html

.223 Rem Case Weight vs. Capacity
Case Manufacturer Case Weight* H20 Capacity**
Lake City 06 92.0 30.6

[level 10]

sorting military brass is a good idea because the primers are usually crimped and that will have to be removed to reprime.I sort by weight you will find the military brass is heavier some 180 gr when winchester is more like 156 gr the heavier case will have higher pressure with the same powder load . like joelogic said after sizing it is all 223

[Bug Splat]

I never sort unless its one of my bench guns then obviously the cases stay with the rifle. Sorting pistol case is a huge waste of time. You will never be able to see the accuracy differences even with a ransom rest. 9mm is 9mm. 45acp is 45acp. Just sort by cal and load up. If you have brass that is crimped just remove it. You should be doing that no matter what the brand. Either use a deburring tool or a swagger.

When a case splits that's when I junk it. I anneal my rifle brass that starts to feel hard and it brings it back to life. I have some 223 case going on 20 loads I think. If you take care of your brass and watch for signs of damage they can last a long time.

[ireload]

I take my 5.56 out but I have some 223 F C (Federal Cartridge) That looks like a red ring around primer and swedged? Thats Mil spec? I thought Military was only 5.56

That's a sign of a crimped and sealed primer. It's not mil-spec if it's stamped .223 Rem. Normally mil-spec has a bit more bark when fired and has the 5.56 marking or 5.56 with a NATO cross. Just FYI with FC brass in .223 rem, they are shorter than the minimum lenght. I've measured them anywhere from 1.745" to 1.740" even at times 1.735".

[ns3v3n]

Instead of sorting headstamps, you should just check if the brass is in good shape, no splits, damages and you're good to go. for 223, like they say above, keep track of how many times you load it.

[Gunsrruss]

Sorting Brass

different brass means different pressures which affect accuracy. I always sort my military brass from the commercial. Commercial is thinner so the burn of powder will be different than a thick case like military. Do it right ,or pay the price. Accuracy requires doing things the right way....Always the same powder..Ball always meters better....Bullet length...bullet points are not always the same..get yourself some competition seating dies...If your shooting an AR then try to get one with a 1 X 8 twist. That way you can use the heavier bullets. 75gr 80gr. If you reload then try to afford a Giraud trimmer. Better than toast.

When I put 50 rounds together I always make sure there all the same brass and always the same powder.

[GeoffLinder]

If you don't push charge level near max unsorted brass will be just fine for most shooting.

Things to look for are crimped primers, case mouth splits or deep case dents and really beat up case heads. Crimped primers require a swaging or bevel cutting operation to fix or seating new primers properly will be problematic.

Additionally, rifle brass needs to trimmed after re-using it more than 1 or 2 times. For .223 check case length AFTER re-sizing and if any are longer than 1.760" then you need to trim them before using them. Trim to length is 1.750" when you do trim cases. Trimming is always done after re-sizing.

When you get good at reloading .223 and want to create extremely accurate reloads, sorting by brand/batch AND weight will be helpful, but for now all you need to do is look for defects, crimped primers and over-length cases.