How many relaods with 223 brass?

[chkunz]

I am on my fourth reload of Remington 223 brass and notice that some of the primers are going in with significantly less force. I was expecting the necks to eventually split but it may be that the primer pockets go first. If so, how do I know when to stop loading this brass? Is this an unsafe condition?

I am shooting this brass in a White Oak Armament barrel with XTC match loads that are not max or over max. I am loading ~23 grains of Reloader 15 or Accurate 2520 with 77 SMK, 75 Hornady BTHP at magazine length and 80 SMK and 75 A MAX with significant jump, nothing jammed.

 

[retired]

go ask on the comp board so you are comparing apples to apples not to obs.

 

[ranger3]

What primers?

 

[chkunz]

What primers?

CCI 400

 

[Ned Ludd]

The number of firings you get will be directly related to the pressure of your loads, which we have no way of knowing without a little more information. In the .223 Rem, shooting heavies (i.e. 80 gr or more) in medium to hot loads can wreck primer pockets pretty quickly (i.e. 1 to 2 firings). Don't guess, get yourself one of these:

Ballistic Tools "Swage Gage" Small Primer Pocket Gauge
//www.brownells.com/reloading/measuring-tools/case-gauges-headspace-tools/small-primer-pocket-swage-gauge-sku100015613-71030-150244.aspx?cm_mmc=cse-_-Itwine-_-shopzilla-_-100-015-613&utm_medium=cse&utm_source=connexity&utm_campaign=itwine&utm_content=100-015-613

Use it to check your primer pockets after cleaning/annealing. If the pin gauge goes in, the case is done, and you don't waste any more time with it. You won't regret having this tool in your kit.

 

[tenring]

I use the swage guage also, but usually feel for loose primers as I seat them. IMO, as long as the primer does not fall out it is useable.

 

[nmkid]

For me, if the primers seats real easy...I chuck the case. especially .223 brass.

 

[hogpatrol]

I use Remington brass for a couple 20Ps, a .223 AR and a .17 Fireball. It all seems to give up the primer pocket ghost quicker than other brands. I have the fireball brass go after one load. Only consolation is brass is now at $1.75 a pound.

 

[Rsadams]

I use Remington brass for a couple 20Ps, a .223 AR and a .17 Fireball. It all seems to give up the primer pocket ghost quicker than other brands. I have the fireball brass go after one load. Only consolation is brass is now at $1.75 a pound.

Yes sir , I took a 5 gallon bucket the other day myself....

 

[CoyoteTan]

I use the swage guage also, but usually feel for loose primers as I seat them. IMO, as long as the primer does not fall out it is useable.

I use the swage gauge too, take the guess work out of it

 

[Damon555]

I've been rotating through 2,500 pieces of once fired LC brass since i got into the 223/223AI game 20+ years ago.....I've been through the brass 3 times now. Counting the initial firing they've lasted 4 firings.....all of which have been at the upper end of the pressure scale. Granted it's not a lot of shooting but I've got other calibers that see more action than the 223 based rounds.

LC is a good way to accumulate 223 and 308 brass at reasonable prices. I've not used their match offerings but have read decent things about it.....but for my needs the regular bulk LC, once fired brass works just fine and apparently will get 6+ firings before the cases give up the ghost.

 

[yotehater]

I use Remington brass for a couple 20Ps, a .223 AR and a .17 Fireball. It all seems to give up the primer pocket ghost quicker than other brands. I have the fireball brass go after one load. Only consolation is brass is now at $1.75 a pound.

I just bought 18 pounds of 9mm for $36 this morning from my neighbor. He doesn't reload so I get first shot at his once fired brass. Giving him $2 lb and saves him a trip to the brass stealer.

 

[searcher]

My experience is that the Remington brass is a bit soft and I usually get no more than 6 or loads, using loads that are not hot - and with lighter bullets than you are using. The combination of heavier bullets and those 400 primers will likely result in a few less loadings. Check for signs of case separation and if all is good - just the primer pockets giving a problem, you could find that you can extend the life of the brass by a loading just switching to a primer that requires more force to seat - such as a Tula or Wolf - but of course - that will change your load a bit. I switched over to using these full-time in most of my A/R's for this reason - and because they provide good accuracy. if you switch to Lake City (or any U.S. Military brass), you will find extended life over the commercial Remington brass as well.

 

[spife7980]

Ive got probably 15 firing at least on my 223 RP brass, I stopped tracking it at 10 figuring the next would be the last. It still holds primers just fine numerous reloads later. Ive lost a few to split necks, most the primer pockets are significantly looser than when new but they still hold the primer well enough. Once they go in with no appreciable resistance Ill toss them.

 

[Bart B.]

Probably the same range across all users as its smaller relative, the 222 Rem, got in its heyday as a hunting and target cartridge. 3 to over 30 depending on all the details.

Case life goes up with anything that lowers peak pressure, smaller fired case dimension reduction, number of times fired case dimensions change before firing again, clearance from case to chamber is reduced, malleability of case metal increases.

Comparing one person's long case life to another's short case life for the same component suite should include the details and use of their reloading tools, barrel bore and chamber details and component specifics. To say nothing regarding how they assess case condition.

 

[searcher]

I'm under the assumption (possibly incorrectly?) that his White Oak barrel is on an A/R. If you guys are getting 15 to 30 loadings on full-length resized brass in an A/R - I'm absolutely amazed.

 

[jepp2]

If you guys are getting 15 to 30 loadings on full-length resized brass in an A/R - I'm absolutely amazed.

I ran a case life test a while back on some range pickup LC brass. Just didn't know how long it would last with the way an AR abuses the brass, and the extra shoulder setback during sizing. I wasn't loading them hot, but from the initial firing some had loose primer pockets.

I got up to 35 loadings, and none were rejected due to case stretching (incipient case head separation). After about the 10'th cycle, even though I trimmed every cycle, never cut anything. The loose pockets didn't fix themselves, but the others never loosened any more. It was more loading's than I thought I would get. I did anneal every 5'th firing.

 

[spife7980]

I'm under the assumption (possibly incorrectly?) that his White Oak barrel is on an A/R. If you guys are getting 15 to 30 loadings on full-length resized brass in an A/R - I'm absolutely amazed.

Well, no, but it is in a sloppy factory remington chamber but Im not exactly running them lightly. I would also assume by his use of a good quality barrel that he has his gas system tuned to not be ripping rims off cases and out of the chamber prematurely like a shitty off the shelf dpms. Im also using 8208 xbr and not rl15 or aa2520 so theres another assumption that the powder itself doesnt matter in any of these comparisons. I was just trying to say that while my primer pockets have loosened up a bunch compared to new they are still serviceable for a good bit longer than one might incorrectly assume.

 

[searcher]

You just can't compare brass life of bolt guns with A/R's, with each having properly prepared ammo. I too have gotten over 30 to 40 loadings in bolt guns. I think most shooters would discard brass after the pockets get loose. Shooting anywhere near full-power loads with L/C brass - especially with 77's - and most guys will be replacing brass in about 6 to eight loadings - and much less if "full powered" loads. There will be variations in chambers, dies, etc. - but what chkunz is running into is perfectly the norm for Remington commercial brass, running full-powered - but not excessive loads - in my experience. I know a lot of guys will say "this brand of brass works great in my rifle - and therefor it is great". When not comparing it to something better - it is always great.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

the correct answer is 17