Finally sorted through it all....

[armed ferret]

...well, almost. Last load is in the tumbler now.

.223 on the left, 5.56 on the right. which one should I turn into .300BLK?


(those are the 100-round belted .50BMG cans, btw)

 

[protegeV]

so shiny.

 

[wilcam47]

Sweet Karma...I'm in

 

[BradMacc82]

FWIW - I had better case life using the 5.56 brass for supersonic loads, and the .223 for subsonic use. Although I guess for subsonic it wouldn't really matter.

 

[BenL]

FWIW - I had better case life using the 5.56 brass for supersonic loads, and the .223 for subsonic use. Although I guess for subsonic it wouldn't really matter.

Have you noticed a discernable difference in velocity loading .223 vs 5.56 converted brass?

 

[BradMacc82]

Have you noticed a discernable difference in velocity loading .223 vs 5.56 converted brass?

Not really. I'd been doing batches at first using mixed head-stamps (comm./mil.) and my readings were pretty consistent.

I noticed I had slightly better consistency with subs using comm. .223 brass, but I couldn't say for certain the brass is why.

 

[Bertfish]

Is there a dimensional difference between 5.56 and .223 brass? I'm just curious how you sorted it

 

[BenL]

Great, thanks. I have ~ 800 pieces of 300BLK headstamped brass, and have 5,000 pieces of 5.56LC, some of which I want to convert. Wanted to make sure I can just dump them all into one big pile.

 

[TxAggie]

Is there a dimensional difference between 5.56 and .223 brass? I'm just curious how you sorted it

Head stamps most likely.

 

[BradMacc82]

Great, thanks. I have ~ 800 pieces of 300BLK headstamped brass, and have 5,000 pieces of 5.56LC, some of which I want to convert. Wanted to make sure I can just dump them all into one big pile.

For supersonic use, I definitely had better luck/consistency with LC brass.

I was going beyond 2400fps with 110gr Vmax's, primers were starting to show signs, but the LC brass held up a lot better then Remington and PMC brass at those charge levels.

After 2 firings, the comm. brass had the primer pockets open up, the LC brass made it to 5 (IIRC) before they opened up.

 

[BenL]

Is there a dimensional difference between 5.56 and .223 brass? I'm just curious how you sorted it

Yes. 5.56 is thicker, which can give higher pressures with a given load.

 

[lx1x]

Is there a dimensional difference between 5.56 and .223 brass? I'm just curious how you sorted it

Thicker case for 556 since its for higher pressure.

The rest. Very little or no difference.

 

[BradMacc82]

Head stamps most likely.

It's how I sorted mine, and the annealing tends to grab your eyes as well.

 

[armed ferret]

Is there a dimensional difference between 5.56 and .223 brass? I'm just curious how you sorted it

.223 brass says .223 on the bottom. 5.56 brass doesn't.

 

[Bertfish]

.223 brass says .223 on the bottom. 5.56 brass doesn't.

Well now don't I feel silly. I guess I am used to looking at 5.56 brass that I pick up. I don't think I've ever seen it marked as 5.56

 

[John from MD]

After testing about 500 rounds, I have found that the .223 brass works better for the 300 AAC. The usual failure I get with supersonic loads is loose primers and the 5.56 cases stretch before the .223. These are not ridiculously high loads either, it is just the margins are narrower for the 300 BO.

John

 

[armed ferret]

Well now don't I feel silly. I guess I am used to looking at 5.56 brass that I pick up. I don't think I've ever seen it marked as 5.56

Typically it isn't (although I do have some PPU and some Privi brass that is). That's what gives it away. .223 is marked accordingly; most 5.56 is just the manufacturer's initials and a year code the majority of the time. There are exceptions of course, but if it doesn't say .223 I assume 5.56.

 

[BigDaddy]

Long time ago I bought once fired mil brass. There were at least 20 different headstamps or dates. Most were LC, WCC, R-P or Fed. I then started weighing them. Without primers the range was from mid 80 gr to 95 grs as best I recall. I threw away the light and heavy cases.
I do not recall if different years from the same manufacturer were similar in weight.

 

[Pinecone]

.223/5.56 brass has less difference in case capacity than other military rounds.

One way to see this is to weigh the different headstamps.

.308/7.62 is a fairly large difference in case capacities between different brass, enough to change charge weights by almost 1/2 grain.

 

[armed ferret]

i follow the advice of The Offspring with 7.62x51/.308 brass as well, and keep 'em separated.