Where do you guys get .223 brass?

fabsroman · Jul 13, 2014

rico903 said:
Finding the powder these days is the hard part. Luckily for you rifle powder is MUCH easier to come by than hand gun.

Unlucky for me, my favorite shotgun powder, Hodgdon Clays, is pretty much impossible to come by (thing it has something to do with problems at the factory). Fortunately for me, I have several flats of shotgun shells loaded up. All this shortage stuff is insane. First the firearms, now the reloading components. Either a bunch of noobs have taken up reloading after buying a couple firearms, or this entire thing has rekindled a hobby for the vast majority of us. I know it lit a fire under me as far as shooting goes. Never stopped hunting after the kids were born, but didn't shoot as much after they were born. Granted, don't hunt nearly as much as I used to either, and I still don't shoot as much as I did a decade ago, but a lot more than I was shooting the past 5 years. The ranges and retailers should be making a fortune.

yellowfin · Jul 14, 2014

fabsroman said:
The only way I could change that is if I were to use the rifles and pistols I currently have in 3 gun. No idea what other rifles and pistols could be more "exciting" than what I currently own.

Punching paper is extremely boring for me. Only reason I ever punch paper is to work up loads for my bolt guns or to just shoot handguns with my brothers. Thing is, we tend to prefer sporting clays, trap, and skeet in that order. One of my brothers has talked about 3 gun, but unless I make the effort to figure out how to get started with it, it is never going to happen. I think it has to do a lot more with finding a fun activity to do with the firearms, versus a fun firearm to shoot. Shooting a shotgun at paper is just as boring as shooting a rifle or pistol at paper. Now, if we start talking about long range shooting, which the same brother has mentioned, then that is a different ball game too.

Ah, now I understand. Well, the thing with that is to practice with your rifle and pistol then in ways similar to multigun stages and do more towards that direction. First question I should ask, then, is have you shot IDPA and/or USPSA with your pistol yet? That's the first component to it, getting some action type shooting in first--that completely takes the boredom out of it, and it is DEFINITELY recommended to shoot something action oriented with one gun first to get the feel of things rather than trying to coordinate doing it with 3 different guns all from scratch. Also do some practical rifle matches, for example USPSA does rifle also. It's almost entirely nothing like just shooting at paper because you're moving, thinking, fighting the inherent instability of having your body moving and working, paying attention to following the rules, etc. --much like ballroom dancing with a partner rather than just sitting down listening to the music, or like ice hockey versus soccer.

From that point then you tailor your practicing to be more like the competition and working on handling, speed, and movement skills WHILE you shoot. Range days get substantially less boring from that point and more like time at the gym training for boxing.

Pinecone · Jul 14, 2014

fabsroman said:
Hodgdon Clays, is pretty much impossible to come by (thing it has something to do with problems at the factory).

They had a fire that destroyed the equipment that made the Clays line of powders.

That was over a year ago, and still none hitting the market.

Pinecone · Jul 14, 2014

fabsroman said:
Thanks. $55 per 1,000 sure beats the $75 for 500 from Midway.

Do look at the prep level. Some of the places that are a bit more tumble the cases, may decap and ream the primer pocket.

There are other commercial used brass places that sell cheaper than Midway. Just Google .223 brass or 5.56 brass.

byf43 · Jul 14, 2014

fabsroman said:
Thanks for the offer. Going to start this on my RCBS rock chucker and if my wife likes shooting the AR and handguns, or my brothers and I start shooting more mettalic, then I'll look into a Dillon. I'll be another victim of Daemon's. lol

I'm assuming I can work something up for the .223 Rem with the powder, primers, and bullets that I have for the .222 Rem and maybe the .220 Swift, but won't know until I start digging. Probably going to order the dies from Midway in the next couple days. Then again, don't know if I want to use the bullets I have been using for hunting on paper punching and plinking. Hell, I still have to figure out small base die, or not. Always something more to figure out in life.

Figured I'd find some brass first and then work the other details out.

fab,

Look to W-748; H-335 or H-4895 for .223/5.56x45mm.
I've read that BLC-2 (I think that's how it's spelled) :shrug:

is very good for the caliber, also.

Just about any small rifle primer will suffice, too.

I've heard of a guy over in Indian Head, that uses small pistol primers, but, I wouldn't suggest using them. :innocent0

For .223/5.56 I use RCBS Competition dies. (Small base sizer.)
I don't know if it's necessary, but, I've never had any issues with either the AR platform or bolt gun.
(It's better to have it, and not need it...... as it is to need it, and not have it, I suppose.)

Hickory · Jul 14, 2014

.223 brass

My wife and I will be camping at Greenbriar State Park Tue. afternoon to Thursday morning. If we can arrange to hook-up I could bring along a few hundred pcs of .223 to get you started.
btaliaf@gmail.com

Traveler · Jul 14, 2014

Pinecone said:
They had a fire that destroyed the equipment that made the Clays line of powders.

That was over a year ago, and still none hitting the market.

This is an urban legend. Seems real, but isn't.

I couldn't find any "Hogdon" references to a fire.
I did find this, which may mean nothing:
http://nebraskafirearms.org/forum/index.php?topic=9450.0

Guns Unlimited got a powder order in yesterday

« Reply #2 on: June 19, 2013, 01:58:42 PM »

Quote from: GreyGeek on June 19, 2013, 11:07:07 AM

That's an Internet Myth that has been going around for almost 5 years. It first started in 2009. There was a tire salvage business in Hodgdon, Maine, that burned down in December of last year.

It has shown up again because an employee of Hodgdon apparently has been telling dealers/distributes that there has been a fire. Hodgdon only manufactures their black powder substitutes, the rest of their powders they import and relabel. Clays is made in Australia and there is some question if there has been a problem in the "Fluffing Room" (where the powder is dried) and that there may have been a possible fire. ADI (the manufacturer in Australia) has a note out about shipping issues causing delays in getting their powders out.

Since a lot of the shotgun powders are also used by handgunners because of the fast burn rates I can see this being a simple supply vs. demand problem, complicated by a shipping issue. But the rumor was started by a Hodgdon employee, and Chris Hodgdon's reply to questions has been less than enlightening.

Pinecone · Jul 14, 2014

From the ADI page (ADI is the Australian company that actually makes several Hodgdon and IMR powders, including Claysm, they call it AS30N):

After this was resolved, a propellant burn event at our flake (shotgun and pistol) powder drying building temporarily halted our production of these powders. Fortunately the building is operated by remote control, so none of our production personnel were injured.

They reference the event as having been in 2013.

Hmm, sounds like a FIRE to me.

As of 12 June 2014:

Please note that this building only processed flake powder, and our rifle powder production was not affected in any way.

We are now preparing to recommission the flake powder drying facility

So some pistol powders may be coming back this year.

ken792 · Jul 14, 2014

Haha, a "propellant burn event" is the most creative name for a fire I've heard so far. Either that, or the employees had a massive reloading and shooting event.

sgt23preston · Jul 14, 2014

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aag/main/ref=olp_merch_name_1?ie=UTF8&asin=B0038IYKQ6&isAmazonFulfilled=0&seller=A7K2XBCQXDMZS

Ships from Baltimore the next day...

Pick out the quantity of cases you want...

All the brass comes from FreeState...

Traveler · Jul 14, 2014

Well what do you know. Repeat a rumor long enough and it might come true. Even a stopped clock?

http://www.adi-powders.com.au/handloaders/news.asp

Pinecone said:
From the ADI page (ADI is the Australian company that actually makes several Hodgdon and IMR powders, including Claysm, they call it AS30N):

They reference the event as having been in 2013.

Hmm, sounds like a FIRE to me.

As of 12 June 2014:

So some pistol powders may be coming back this year.

fabsroman · Jul 21, 2014

byf43 said:
fab,

Look to W-748; H-335 or H-4895 for .223/5.56x45mm.
I've read that BLC-2 (I think that's how it's spelled) is very good for the caliber, also.

Just about any small rifle primer will suffice, too.

I've heard of a guy over in Indian Head, that uses small pistol primers, but, I wouldn't suggest using them.

For .223/5.56 I use RCBS Competition dies. (Small base sizer.)
I don't know if it's necessary, but, I've never had any issues with either the AR platform or bolt gun.
(It's better to have it, and not need it...... as it is to need it, and not have it, I suppose.)

Was just about to start a new thread about dies. I use the RCBS X-Dies for everything I reload in metallic.

Would this be the set of dies you are referring to?

http://www.brownells.com/reloading/...mpetition-full-length-die-sets-prod37672.aspx

The last sentence kills me because I am planning on getting a Dillon progressive. Maybe I need to start a new thread to figure out what dies I need for this endeavor. Guessing there are some carbide dies out there, but not too sure how those work with necked down rifle cartridges versus pistol cartridges.

Also took a look at my spreadsheet to see if I use any of those powders for my other loads, and of course I don't. DAMN. Looks like I am going to be searching for powder now.

Don't even get me started on SOMDSHOOT and the small pistol primers. There were plenty of issues with that guy, including "3% antimony" and his cast bullets from "3% antimony" outperforming a Barnes X bullet. Oh yeah, and then there were his classified sales. He listed some stuff for sale at a specific price. I told him I would take it at that price. Then he turned it into a bidding war. I knew it was time to stop dealing with him and I hardly had to deal with him to figure it out. Just a waste of my time.

fabsroman · Jul 21, 2014

Came back to this thread to say thank you to a member that sent me 250 pieces of .223. He knows who he is and I am not going to put his name out there without having asked him ahead of time.

Going to load them up, go to the range with my brothers and brother in-law, and come home with 500 pieces of brass. When I have enough of a collection of brass, I will be looking to pay it forward.

Thanks for everybody's replies and who knows, might end up looking for more brass in the future even though I am a pretty good scrounger (e.g., hulls, brass, firewood).

byf43 · Jul 22, 2014

fabsroman said:
Was just about to start a new thread about dies. I use the RCBS X-Dies for everything I reload in metallic.

Would this be the set of dies you are referring to?

http://www.brownells.com/reloading/...mpetition-full-length-die-sets-prod37672.aspx

The last sentence kills me because I am planning on getting a Dillon progressive. Maybe I need to start a new thread to figure out what dies I need for this endeavor. Guessing there are some carbide dies out there, but not too sure how those work with necked down rifle cartridges versus pistol cartridges.

Also took a look at my spreadsheet to see if I use any of those powders for my other loads, and of course I don't. DAMN. Looks like I am going to be searching for powder now.

Don't even get me started on SOMDSHOOT and the small pistol primers. There were plenty of issues with that guy, including "3% antimony" and his cast bullets from "3% antimony" outperforming a Barnes X bullet. Oh yeah, and then there were his classified sales. He listed some stuff for sale at a specific price. I told him I would take it at that price. Then he turned it into a bidding war. I knew it was time to stop dealing with him and I hardly had to deal with him to figure it out. Just a waste of my time.

fab,

Those are the dies that I use, but, on the Dillon RL-550B, the seater die won't work. (Well, at least it doesn't for me!)
As I mentioned in the other thread, I size on the RockChucker, the tumble the lube off, then trim, de-burr, then on to the Dillon and prime, charge, seat the boolit and a very mild crimp.

I do use the Competition Seater die when working up a load and obtaining the best bullet seating depth, or, doing a small batch of loads.

I didn't pay anywhere near the prices I saw in your link. Holy smokes they've gone up in price!!!!!!

I think IF "I" were starting out on .223/5.56, I'd get a small based sizer die, then buy Dillon Dies for the rest of the loading process.

I don't remember if Dillon's .223/5.56 sizer is small base, or not. :shrug:

Sorry, I couldn't help myself, when I tossed that blurb about primers in.
(I'll go stand in the corner for 10 minutes, on "Time Out".) :lol2:

IndispensableDestiny · Jul 22, 2014

I buy ammo. Shoot the ammo. Reload the brass. There are exceptions. For example I have never bought factory .44 Mag or .327 Fed Mag ammo. I've also bought some Lapua brass for .308 and may get a 100 for .223.

Where do you guys get .223 brass?

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