Is it me or the brass?

[Pharmseller]

I recently bought a thousand fully processed military .223/5.56 cases. The pockets were swaged, they claimed, to remove the crimp.

So I go to prime the cases with CCI 400 primers but the primers were really hard to seat. It felt like a two-step process, as if the primer had to get past an obstruction before seating. When I examined the seater, I found these:

Little crescents of brass shaved from the primer pockets.

I have no experience with military cases, but it seems to me the primer pockets haven't been swaged properly. I'm willing to accept that I'm doing something wrong, but when I swapped out the military cases for some of my prior brass the primers seated smoothly.

So is it me or the brass?




P

 

[thatguyshm]

As with all reloading, you have to trust yourself and your components. What I mean is you used the proper techniques, and have the information. When something doesn't work, you find out the problem. Your information is one new component is giving you problems, using the same methods you switched that one new thing out to what did work. Your problem went away.

Trust yourself. Now take your "processed" brass and run a chamfer tool in the primer pocket, and you're primer should slide right in.

I would most definitely say the crimp isn't completely removed. Good problem solving.

SHM

 

[6mm06guy]

I have ordered several thousand rounds from brass bombers and will find several that were not properly swaged, I just set them aside and swaged them myself later.

 

[Pharmseller]

I have ordered several thousand rounds from brass bombers and will find several that were not properly swaged, I just set them aside and swaged them myself later.

Three out of four don't seat well, or at all.





P

 

[MudRunner2005]

I repurpose A LOT of Lake City 5.56 range pickup brass for my 5.56's and to make cases for my .300 BLK. I've found a lot of times with heavily crimped primer pockets, simply swaging isn't enough for primers to seat properly. Same goes for Lake City 7.62x51 cases, as well.

Buy one of these, chuck it in a drill, spin it for a couple seconds while applying pressure on the case, you're ready for priming your cases...

RCBS Trim Mate Case Prep Center Straight Cone Military Crimp Remover

 

[Wado]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^What he said. I process 300 Blackout from Lake City also and swage and then cut a little lead angle on the mouth of the primer pocket with a chamfer tool. I chuck the tool in a drill press on the slowest speed and just touch each primer pocket for an instant and that's all it takes. I have three hand primer tools and the old Lee is my favorite. Don't like the new one, primers flip in the tray for some reason.

 

[rcoody]

is that brass that cheap that it makes all the work required worthwhile.

I shoot a lot of lake city ammo but leave the brass laying on the ground.

brass prep is my least favorite activity

 

[bigedp51]

is that brass that cheap that it makes all the work required worthwhile.

I shoot a lot of lake city ammo but leave the brass laying on the ground.

brass prep is my least favorite activity

Lake City 5.56 brass is harder and has a thicker flash hole web than commercial .223 brass.
Any why cheap bastards like me buy "processed" once fired brass at a fraction of the cost of new brass. (LC brass is built Ford Truck Tough)

.223/5.56 - Cleaned, Deprimed & Swaged - LC Only - 500 Pieces $54.00 Free Shipping.

.223/5.56 Cleaned, Deprimed & Swaged Lake City Brass 500 Pieces


How Hard is Your Brass? 5.56 and .223 Rem Base Hardness Tests

http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com...r-brass-5-56-and-223-rem-base-hardness-tests/

Lake City brass is more uniform in weight than Remington or Winchester brass.

 

[Buckskinner]

is that brass that cheap that it makes all the work required worthwhile.

I shoot a lot of lake city ammo but leave the brass laying on the ground.

brass prep is my least favorite activity

I think it is. When you can usually get 1,000 pieces of clean, swagged, sized brass for about $100, a lot better than buying new. I've had good luck with LC 5.56 brass and pick it up off the ground when feasible...

 

[rcoody]

I think it is. When you can usually get 1,000 pieces of clean, swagged, sized brass for about $100, a lot better than buying new. I've had good luck with LC 5.56 brass and pick it up off the ground when feasible...

Guess I am just in another world.

1000 pieces of brass for one cartridge? not me!

100 pieces of lapua per cartridge will last me years. I shoot several different rifles and I really only reload for precision.

 

[MudRunner2005]

is that brass that cheap that it makes all the work required worthwhile.

I shoot a lot of lake city ammo but leave the brass laying on the ground.

brass prep is my least favorite activity

It has one of the thickest webs available in 5.56. A thicker web means more base strength and less chance of a case/head separation. It can also handle pressures better. Plus the base doesn't stretch as bad with the thicker web.

 

[Buckskinner]

I shoot several different rifles and I really only reload for precision.

As do I. I sort by year and neck turn all of my LC 5.56. As soon as I have my annealer finished I will do that to it also... It really does shoot well.

 

[rcoody]

It has one of the thickest webs available in 5.56. A thicker web means more base strength and less chance of a case/head separation. It can also handle pressures better. Plus the base doesn't stretch as bad with the thicker web.

I think it.is great that lake city brass is so strong. Federal lake city ammo is.what i have in my stash.

But i don't shoot 5.56 very often and i don't reload it.at all.

I guess if you are a bulk reloader reloading.5.56 it.is a good.choice

But if you are trying to create precision ammo with that brass for.me the brass prep would be horrendous

First you have to sort them by weight or something
Crimped primers
Primer pocket uniforming
Flash hole uniforming
Uniform the brass neck thickness probably by neck turning
The list goes on and on

Or buy lapua

 

[Pharmseller]

I think it is. When you can usually get 1,000 pieces of clean, swagged, sized brass for about $100, a lot better than buying new. I've had good luck with LC 5.56 brass and pick it up off the ground when feasible...

Unless it ain't swaged, of course.

Back it goes tomorrow.




P