New To Handloading...case inspection question (s) for AR-15 .223/5.56

[Oso]

Okay ... not often do you get a factory rifle that is just right. Sometimes you get Lucky!!! So long as it reliably ejects the spent cases and strips/chambers the next round off the magazine then don't mess with it.

 

[AuthenticShooter]

Right on! Don't need anything more to mess with! Haven't had a jam yet of any kind. I hear what you are sayin though. Took my friend to the ranger after he purchased his new AR...after 5 rounds it jams. The ranger came by an got it out. About 10 more and same. Ranger comes by clears and pulls the bolt back, scrunches face and says "Dry". In about 30 seconds he had that thing broke down and extracted the bolt. Gave the whole thing a quick rub down, and then very lightly oiled it. Re-assembled and fired off a couple and said "You're fine now", then look at us both and said "Always clean a a new gun and lubricate it." We shot that thing probably for 120 rounds not a miss. Guess what I did next day?

 

[Hohn]

Yeah what I meant was the barrel caliber stamp says "DUAL" meaning either .223 / 5.56 can be shot with it - and I have. But that begs another question(s). I am sorting my cases by .223 and 5.56 and removing the primer crimp. Inspection of the .223 cases show some of them look crimped also. So if they do, I have been removing / putting a slight bevel on them as well. What load are you guys using when handloading these cases....same whether it is .223 or 5.56 ?

I am not trying to to get crazy accurate....I am a new shooter and need technique to improve before I get to nuts. Sorta like a new golfer spending $2,000 on a set of irons. It's not worth it. I just want consistency out to about 100-150 yds to be able to hit center mass on an animal or in self defense. For example, my best groups with off the shelf cartridges in my 6.5 Creedmoor are about 2" at 100 yards shooting off my stand tri-pod - and I still managed to get my first deer on my first hunt.

Cases vary with the maker of the case. Generally a 5.56 case will have slightly less internal volume due to marginally thicker brass for the slightly higher pressures of 5.56.

But they vary a great deal from make to make as well. If you are using all kinds of brass mixed together, you might find it hard to get a consistent load because of that case volume variation. For best accuracy, you’ll need to work up a load within a particular make of brass (federal, Winchester, etc) and 223 vs 5.56. Sort your brass for best results.

You can use mixed brass safely, you’ll just be giving up accuracy potential and need to back off your charges slightly.

 

[Hohn]

Right on! Don't need anything more to mess with! Haven't had a jam yet of any kind. I hear what you are sayin though. Took my friend to the ranger after he purchased his new AR...after 5 rounds it jams. The ranger came by an got it out. About 10 more and same. Ranger comes by clears and pulls the bolt back, scrunches face and says "Dry". In about 30 seconds he had that thing broke down and extracted the bolt. Gave the whole thing a quick rub down, and then very lightly oiled it. Re-assembled and fired off a couple and said "You're fine now", then look at us both and said "Always clean a a new gun and lubricate it." We shot that thing probably for 120 rounds not a miss. Guess what I did next day?

Rifles vary too. My rifle came out of the box well oiled and went 200+ rounds without a cleaning nor any hiccups. My experience with ARs is that they don’t need frequent cleaning but they do need some oil after a couple magazines.
I’ve had the best luck with applying very generous oil amounts and then wiping the extra off with a lint free cloth. More oil doesn’t mean more lubricated, despite what seems intuitive.

 

[Hohn]

Okay ... not often do you get a factory rifle that is just right. Sometimes you get Lucky!!! So long as it reliably ejects the spent cases and strips/chambers the next round off the magazine then don't mess with it.

It depends on the factory rifle you buy. At a certain price point it dang sure better be perfect out of the box.

Almost any factory rifle can benefit from a heavier buffer weight. The H2 for carbine systems should be considered a worthwhile upgrade for almost every gun that doesn’t have it.

 

[Oso]

I have a friend who's approach was to clean his gun when it became iffy, and then before any 3-Gun matches he would simply drop his BCG into bottle with 30W motor oil.... fish it out.... shake it off... reinstall and shoot worry free for another 500-1000 rounds.

Not the way I would do it, but a good dose of lubricant can overcome a lot of poor machining and bad QC.

 

[AuthenticShooter]

I have a friend who's approach was to clean his gun when it became iffy, and then before any 3-Gun matches he would simply drop his BCG into bottle with 30W motor oil.... fish it out.... shake it off... reinstall and shoot worry free for another 500-1000 rounds.

Not the way I would do it, but a good dose of lubricant can overcome a lot of poor machining and bad QC.

Double wow

 

[nakneker]

Reply #9 has a lot of good advise among others. I just started loading for ARs a year ago. Prepping range brass will teach you a lot, no way around it. I’ve been buying mixed headstamped brass in bulk that is both 223/5.56, it’s cheap but it’s a lot of work. I won’t repeat much of what has been said but I will add that no matter how you swage your brass your gonna want to learn how to set the swagger properly. I used the RCBS Swage tool you use with your press and then switched to the Dillon, both take some adjustment. Too much swage and you’ll loosen your primer pockets too much, not enough and you’ll have trouble seating primers. I always swage a dozen or so and then seatEd some primers to confirm it’s properly adjusted.

A sizing die that I’ve been using that I really like is made by Mighty Armory, I’ll put a link. It doesn’t over size, smooth as butter and the case gauge likes it. I use a Wilson case gauge which has been a huge help. This die is finished exceptionally well, very smooth. The lee factory crimp die is easy to use too.

What size do you guys trim too? I’ve been trimming a bit shorter than the book, 1.750 is what memory recalls which I think is .010 under what the book calls out. Even then I still get some 223 in every batch that doesn’t reach cutter.

Here’s that die. Their decapping stem is a huge improvement in design IMO.

.223 Rem / 5.56 NATO Sizing Decapping Die | Mighty Armory

The .223, 5.56 Full Length Sizing Die offers concentricity and consistency. Built to last over a million cycles. Mighty Armory Reloading Dies for Precision.

www.mightyarmory.com

 

[Oso]

Mighty Armory makes great tools for reloaders. They may have the best decapping/depriming die out there with its spring loaded system to kick out spent primers. This is the go to for progressive and automated presses, but just as good for single stage.

I set my trim length at 1.750". SAAMI spec for .223 is 1.760", but seldom will you fin a case at that length, including new virgin brass (Lapua comes at 1.750"). With Range Brass (aka "Once Fired" Brass), after resizing it you will find the OAL to range from 1.740" - 1.750". There will even be brass in the 1.730's, which I toss.

I started out with a Lee Trimmer with the hand crank used in your press (now there is the adapter so use a power rill), and then I discovered the Little Crow's WFT. I really like the WFT for bulk brass because of its speed... it can be attached to any variable speed rotary power tool (drill press, wood lathe, metal lathe, or hand drill.... not router). The only downside to the WFT is it only trims to length, no chamfering. This means either an additional step. Since I was making bulk ammo, I would simply do a 2nd rotation through the wet tumbler to clean off the case lube, clean the primer pockets, and also allow the steel pins to knock off any burs on the case necks. Again, this is Bulk Ammo, not precision, so I was willing to make a compromise in favor of speed versus a crisp chamfer. Ammo still shot sub MOA... plenty good for AR15.

After setting up/locking down my desired trim length, I set up 2 buckets and started trimming cases. All the cases that made contact with the trimmer went into one bucket, all cases that didn't get a trim because they were shorter then my trimmer setting got tossed into the second "short" bucket. Afterwards I would sit down with the bucket of "short" brass and my Wilson Case Gage. If the case fell within the permitted length I would keep it, and all cases that didn't would get tossed into a recycling bucket.

Comment:
What is most important is getting the Shoulder setting right with just enough bump. OAL is of secondary concern. Yes, a longer neck is better, but lots of tests have proven that you only need a short length of neck to hold the bullet.

 

[nakneker]

Mighty Armory makes great tools for reloaders. They may have the best decapping/depriming die out there with its spring loaded system to kick out spent primers. This is the go to for progressive and automated presses, but just as good for single stage.

I set my trim length at 1.750". SAAMI spec for .223 is 1.760", but seldom will you fin a case at that length, including new virgin brass (Lapua comes at 1.750"). With Range Brass (aka "Once Fired" Brass), after resizing it you will find the OAL to range from 1.740" - 1.750". There will even be brass in the 1.730's, which I toss.

I started out with a Lee Trimmer with the hand crank used in your press (now there is the adapter so use a power rill), and then I discovered the Little Crow's WFT. I really like the WFT for bulk brass because of its speed... it can be attached to any variable speed rotary power tool (drill press, wood lathe, metal lathe, or hand drill.... not router). The only downside to the WFT is it only trims to length, no chamfering. This means either an additional step. Since I was making bulk ammo, I would simply do a 2nd rotation through the wet tumbler to clean off the case lube, clean the primer pockets, and also allow the steel pins to knock off any burs on the case necks. Again, this is Bulk Ammo, not precision, so I was willing to make a compromise in favor of speed versus a crisp chamfer. Ammo still shot sub MOA... plenty good for AR15.

After setting up/locking down my desired trim length, I set up 2 buckets and started trimming cases. All the cases that made contact with the trimmer went into one bucket, all cases that didn't get a trim because they were shorter then my trimmer setting got tossed into the second "short" bucket. Afterwards I would sit down with the bucket of "short" brass and my Wilson Case Gage. If the case fell within the permitted length I would keep it, and all cases that didn't would get tossed into a recycling bucket.

Comment:
What is most important is getting the Shoulder setting right with just enough bump. OAL is of secondary concern. Yes, a longer neck is better, but lots of tests have proven that you only need a short length of neck to hold the bullet.

Good stuff. What wet tumbler do you use. I’m using dry media now which has always worked ok but bulk range brass dirties things up fast, more than a dryer sheet can handle.

 

[Oso]

There are a bunch of threads of best wet tumblers. I actually am using a Loretone (Rock Tumbler) that has two 6qt canisters. I can run multiple mixed batches while keeping them separated. My friend has the Franklin Arsenol tumbler and really likes it.

Once you start handling any volume of semi-auto brass (AR's & AK's) then there is no better option then Wet Tumbling. The dirties, filthiest suppressor fired cases turn white gold within 45min-60min. Pistol brass and bolt rifle brass is a 25 minute tumble. In the same time it would take me to do 1 load in vibrating tumbler (4-5 hours), I can now crank out 6x-8x the volume and they're so much cleaner.

There is only one pitfall to Wet Tumbling - Steel Cases. You will Want/Need to run a MAGNET over the entire batch of dirty brass before loading into the tumbler. Heavily smoked 5.56 (shot through suppressor) and Russian Steel Cases look identical... the magnet is the Divining Staff. You want to capture and remove any steel cases.

 

[SG4247]

These work really well to keep your brass from being banged up. Promise!

Deflector Brake

Deflector Brake Product Page

www.amazon.com