FC 20 Practical Brass

[bobcat1506]

I'm building up a 20 Practical for prairie dog hunting and do not quite have enough Remington brass. I have a whole bunch of FC range pickup brass but have read a lot of AR guys trashing it. Is this FC really as bad as they say?

My other option is a bunch of random headstamp military brass. I'm thinking the FC brass would be closer to the Remington brass than the military brass. Which is the better choice? (I'd like to know before I debur the primer pockets, swage the crimps out of the primer pockets, run it through 3 different bushings, and trim and chamfer all of it).

 

[5spd]

FC is as good as any other brand IMO. I didn't have any issues necking it to 20P and running them into p-dogs at least 10 x reloaded.
I did have them splitting necks and heads when reloaded over 10x though.
I use FC along with every other brand of brass in my .223/20P/6x45 so no crying from me, those who trash FC brass can send their empties to /me....

 

[1newmexkid]

Nothing concrete here but, what would be wrong for LC .223 brass? I see it for sale in large amounts for a very decent price. Some of it is even tumbled and swaged. My next build is going to be a 20 Practical and I'll be going with the LC brass.

 

[nmjwolf]

Nothing concrete here but, what would be wrong for LC .223 brass? I see it for sale in large amounts for a very decent price. Some of it is even tumbled and swaged. My next build is going to be a 20 Practical and I'll be going with the LC brass.

LC brass for 20 practical is perfect..all I use in mine.
Whitley recommends it as well.

 

[bobcat1506]

LC brass for 20 practical is perfect..all I use in mine.
Whitley recommends it as well.

I had read folks having accuracy issues with the LC brass due to the thicker brass. What bushing are you running with the LC brass?

 

[hogpatrol]

I never had any luck with reloaded FC brass in ANY .223 or .20 practicals. IMI's been the most consistent for accuracy with Remington coming in a close second. You can buy once fired Remington and IMI on here and some vendors have it. As an aside, all FC range brass goes in my scrap bucket.

 

[searcher]

I had purchased a few thousand once-fired Remington cases from BRASSMANBRASS for my .20 Practical a few years back and found that it was not a good brass choice due to the softness which created a lot of stretching in that little high-pressure cartridge. I still got reasonable case life out of it but decided against using it on my next batch of brass. I since switched to Lake City and have found it to be much better suited. I also had tried Federal because I had some and it is O.K. brass - surely no better or worse than Remington in my opinion. Brassmanbrass currently has once fired Remington brass in stock if you want to keep with Remington. You can get 2,500 cases for $185.00 - or get 1,00 fully prepped cases for $155.00 - which would then need to be necked down. If it were me - and you are just getting your new rig going, I'd invest in the Lake City from the start. It will save you a lot of time trimming and chamfering - assuming you are running in an A/R.

 

[nmjwolf]

I had read folks having accuracy issues with the LC brass due to the thicker brass. What bushing are you running with the LC brass?

I use a .226 bushing for normal re-sizing. On the first neck down I start out with a .230...or you will wreck some of your brass.

My .20 also likes N133 below are a few groups from a powder charge load development session.

 

[hogpatrol]

I use a .226 bushing for normal re-sizing. On the first neck down I start out with a .230...or you will wreck some of your brass.

My .20 also likes N133 below are a few groups from a powder charge load development session.

I use 133 also. Just curious are your using it in an AR or bolt action platform?

 

[nmjwolf]

I use 133 also. Just curious are your using it in an AR or bolt action platform?

18" AR platform.

 

[Fast14riot]

I use all LC brass in mine with good accuracy with IMR4198 at 4K. I'm shooting a 24" AR. I'm going to switch over to H335 and try it out though too.


-X

 

[hogpatrol]

I've used this vendor for reconditioned .223 brass and was satisfied with the product. I bought the already primed version. Don't have a progressive so the extra money spent was worth it for me.

http://www.topbrass-inc.com/reloading-supplies/products.php?category_id=2

 

[JohnD]

I have used WW, Lapua and LC brass in mine and it always turns in the best groups with WW brass. Same as my .223. Not sure why the WW outshoots the Lapua but after I got a concentricity gauge I know why the LC didn't shoot as well. Runout was all over the place even after neck turning. I use a .226 bushing with LC and WW and a .228 with Lapua. Also, the Lapua won't handle as much powder as the the other 2. If starting over I would go all WW.

John

 

[bobcat1506]

Mine will be a bolt platform - Bighorn action with a Criterion 11 twist barrel on a Manners T2 stock. I'm still compiling the parts but I just got a call that the action is ready for pickup.

I figured I'd start with the Remington brass I already have. I have about 600 cases of Remington and another 300 of FC brass on hand. I do have a bunch of Lake City but its all prepped and ready to go for my other varmint gun (bolt also).

 

[bobcat1506]

Thanks for the links on the once fired brass - that seems like a no brainer. Anyone ever try the Hornady headstamp brass?

 

[RonS]

++for LC in mine with 32's and depending on what powders are availible, I'll use IMR 4198, H335 or N133 in my 24" Savage

 

[Lenard]

I finally gave up on commercial brass and scrapped it all. I am using LC 223 brass to form 20 TAC brass along with 223. The weight is much closer with the LC brass. I note that velocity is very close, shot to shot and accuracy is extremely good. I quit getting fliers except for an occasional one. I simply pitch the brass that had the flier.

I absolutely detest fliers as other than segregating the brass, I have no control over.

 

[IA_shooter]

I have over 500 pcs of 20 Practical brass. It's all LC and has served me well.

 

[flatlander]

I've seen shooters here & on other sites talk about Lake City 5.56 brass being thicker than commercial 223, and after many years of shooting LC in my AR service & match rifles in conventional hi power bullseye matches, I don't know where that theory came from. I've bought over 10,000 pcs of once-fired LC brass over the years, and have yet to find any of it that's any heavier than WW, R-P, IMI, or other commercial 223 brass. Nor have I ever seen any more pressure signs when shooting loads developed in commercial 223 used in LC brass. I suppose this got started because LC 7.62 NATO brass is considerably heavier/thicker than commercial 308 brass, but it doesn't apply to LC 5.56.

 

[nmkid]

I built my 20P with no particular use in mind. REM 700 action, 28" barrel, Jewell trigger using H-335 with 40 gr Hornady pills. I've got hundreds of pcs. of LC brass all prepared but, using Lapua until it starts to go bad. What a fun caliber to shoot!!