Measuring and Trimming .223 Brass

[LostintheOzone]

Then does that mean that the 1.75" minimum is your spec? Did you read it somewhere or learn it somewhere or just select that as your minimum?

No insult intended, just curious, because you were the only one confusing the new guy by throwing out a "spec" that was at odds with what everyone else said. So I was just wondering exactly where it came from.

I just checked my Wilson gauge. It looks like the step is 0.01 so it would gauge 1.76 and 1.75. The 1.75 appears to be a trim length reference, not a minimum length. It looks like I was in error here so I learned something.

The old Sammi children's drawings had 1.74 as the minimum and now it's 1.73.

About 95% of the range brass that I pick up is once fired and it needs to be trimmed. I only load LC brass anyway and I always have to trim that stuff so never really paid much attention to a min length, just used the gauge. I don't like using calipers because they're slow. I use Wilson gauges on my pistol ammo also. I find they save a lot of time, but they are expensive.

 

[Nevada Ed]

With any of my new brass........
I check the neck for dents and the mouth to be round and not rough.
Some might need an expander to get rid of any flat spots but
I do not remove any metal unless it is a major bad spot on the lip.
You might need to smooth a few inside the neck or on the outside
if a rough spot is present, other wise it should be good to go
for loading as it came to you.

After the brass is "Fire formed" to your weapon...........
you can do your first "Light" trimming to any long cases, on the first loading.

I just try to not remove material unless it is causing a problem.
Have fun.

 

[otisrush]

Jeez. I'm beginning to wonder if I made a mistake getting into reloading rifle. Pistol is so much easier.

In my opinion, once you work through some of these items you're dealing with (thinking through), I predict you'll enjoy loading for your AR and you won't have regretted it.

I load mixed (scrounged) brass for my AR and it provides plinking ammo I'm more than happy with. On the "What is done with cases below the trim-to length?" topic I'd always heard people say "Load 'em and shoot 'em." I just make sure they're not over max length - and I trim the ones that are.

The overall downside I see to loading .223 for an AR is I believe there is a fundamental mismatch between the effort needed to load ammo and the ease of which an AR enables you to unload the loaded ammo. Yes - there clearly is more prep compared to pistol. And of all the things I do at the bench the step from "Deprimed and Cleaned" to "Ready to Prime" is the part of loading I hate the most. (That step involves checking length, trimming if needed, removing primer pocket if any, and checking for case head separation.) But even though I like it the least, I still do it because I like having my own ammo.

I believe you'll settle into a nice rhythym after you've internalized these various topics. That's what has happened to me.

OR

 

[BC38]

...I don't like using calipers because they're slow. I use Wilson gauges on my pistol ammo also. I find they save a lot of time, but they are expensive.

Yeah there's a saying in engineering circles.
You can have it better, faster, cheaper. Pick two.

 

[DWalt]

Short cases are no problem. Milspec minimum case length for the 5.56mm is 1.75", but a little shorter (say 1.74") will present no problem. It is generally better for the sake of consistency to trim all cases to the same length, so pick the shortest case in your batch and set the case trimmer up for it. Then trim every one to that same length. I always FL resize prior to trimming, not after. Some people also weight-match cases (i.e sort them into +/- 0.5 grain weight ranges), but unless you are a bench rest shooter trying for one-hole groups, that is not necessary. I do not bother with weight-matching either bullets or cases and have no problem getting 1 MOA or better 10-shot groups. But it is important to find the correct COAL that shoots best in your rifle for a given bullet.

 

[pasote]

digital calipers?

I avoid digital calipers because they always give me a different reading. I dont get consistent repeatable readings. I use the stainless steel dial calipers (they are all basically the same) as they give me a consistent reading. This will at least let you know what the "real" reading is and you can go on from there.

 

[Moe Mentum]

I use a case gauge, if its flush it's good, sticks out, needs trim... simple.

 

[tominboise]

To answer your first question, it's OK to use the brass that is shorter than your case trim to length.

 

[Mike0251]

Make darn sure you lube those cases before putting them in the resize die!

 

[andy52]

I'm working on a 1000 rounds right now and I've tried numerous methods to trim and prep the cases and this is what I've settled on.
I use a "Little Crow" trimmer in my drill press that indexes off the shoulder and is pre set to 1.750, if the case doesn't exceed that length it doesn't trim.
Then I move to a Lyman case prep to chamfer, deburr and remove primer crimp if necessary.

 

[Skyhunter]

Trimming, chamfering, etc. bottleneck cases has got to be the most onerous part of reloading rifle cases.
When I was shooting high-power, a friend introduced me to an RCBS die called an "X" Die. It's a full length sizing die that limits how much a case can "grow" when you FL size it.
You take a fired case, trim to minimum length (1.75" for the .223 it seems most are interested in here) and then lube and size it in the "X" Die. Load as usual.
Going forward, continue using the "X" Die to full length size those cases that were prepped as outlined above. In my experience, I trim a case ONCE before encountering loose primer pockets, cracked necks or shoulders, or any other issues that indicate an unsafe case.
I hate trimming brass and the "X" Die has greatly reduced the time I spend trimming brass. The dies are available in multiple calibers and I use them for every cartridge I load for that requires FL Sizing (If the die is available).
It's saved me a lot of time and effort over the past 20+ years. Check them out.

WYT-P
Skyhunter

 

[pasote]

In my opinion, once you work through some of these items you're dealing with (thinking through), I predict you'll enjoy loading for your AR and you won't have regretted it.

I load mixed (scrounged) brass for my AR and it provides plinking ammo I'm more than happy with. On the "What is done with cases below the trim-to length?" topic I'd always heard people say "Load 'em and shoot 'em." I just make sure they're not over max length - and I trim the ones that are.

The overall downside I see to loading .223 for an AR is I believe there is a fundamental mismatch between the effort needed to load ammo and the ease of which an AR enables you to unload the loaded ammo. Yes - there clearly is more prep compared to pistol. And of all the things I do at the bench the step from "Deprimed and Cleaned" to "Ready to Prime" is the part of loading I hate the most. (That step involves checking length, trimming if needed, removing primer pocket if any, and checking for case head separation.) But even though I like it the least, I still do it because I like having my own ammo.

I believe you'll settle into a nice rhythym after you've internalized these various topics. That's what has happened to me.

OR

What is your method for checking for head separation? Do you just eyeball them for the "ring" around the case head by the primer or do you use a tool like the rather expensive RCBS case master gauging tool which says it "can detect impending case head separation before obvious lines appear on the outside of the case". When I resize, I sometimes get a ring around the case head. How can I tell this from impending case head separation? Any help you can give me would be appreciated. Thanks. Ray

 

[pasote]

I never heard of the RCBS "X" die

Trimming, chamfering, etc. bottleneck cases has got to be the most onerous part of reloading rifle cases.
When I was shooting high-power, a friend introduced me to an RCBS die called an "X" Die. It's a full length sizing die that limits how much a case can "grow" when you FL size it.
You take a fired case, trim to minimum length (1.75" for the .223 it seems most are interested in here) and then lube and size it in the "X" Die. Load as usual.
Going forward, continue using the "X" Die to full length size those cases that were prepped as outlined above. In my experience, I trim a case ONCE before encountering loose primer pockets, cracked necks or shoulders, or any other issues that indicate an unsafe case.
I hate trimming brass and the "X" Die has greatly reduced the time I spend trimming brass. The dies are available in multiple calibers and I use them for every cartridge I load for that requires FL Sizing (If the die is available).
It's saved me a lot of time and effort over the past 20+ years. Check them out.

WYT-P
Skyhunter

Wow. I was a high power service rifle shooter for many years and I never heard of the RCBS "X" die. I will have to look into it. Yes, prepping the brass before loading takes a lot of work!. I resize the brass, then I run all of the brass through my Sinclair Ultimate Trimmer which uses a micrometer with the LE Wilson trimmer. That way I have all the brass at the same length. Then I have to chamfer and debur the case mouth then clean out the primer pockets and then prime the cases. Then reload! Wow. What a lot of work. Then, my Colt shoots up all this ammo quite rapidly! Then back to work. Oh Well...

 

[DWalt]

What is your method for checking for head separation? Do you just eyeball them for the "ring" around the case head by the primer or do you use a tool like the rather expensive RCBS case master gauging tool which says it "can detect impending case head separation before obvious lines appear on the outside of the case". When I resize, I sometimes get a ring around the case head. How can I tell this from impending case head separation? Any help you can give me would be appreciated. Thanks. Ray

After the first firing, I normally neck size only as the case has been "Fire Formed" to the fit the chamber precisely. Head separation is generally the consequence of excessive headspace, and a neck-sized case eliminates any excessive headspace. Of course, you must always use such brass in only that single gun. I once had a rifle that had very excessive headspace, and often the "ring" showing incipient head separation appeared after the first or second reload. I always had to remember to neck size all cases used in that rifle before doing the first reload. But I never had a case head separation even after multiple reloads.

 

[pasote]

thank you

After the first firing, I normally neck size only as the case has been "Fire Formed" to the fit the chamber precisely. Head separation is generally the consequence of excessive headspace, and a neck-sized case eliminates any excessive headspace. Of course, you must always use such brass in only that single gun. I once had a rifle that had very excessive headspace, and often the "ring" showing incipient head separation appeared after the first or second reload. I always had to remember to neck size all cases used in that rifle before doing the first reload. But I never had a case head separation even after multiple reloads.

Thank You. Unfortunately, I dont neck size.

 

[Univibe]

Neck sizing doesn't work in a semi auto rifle. You need to full length resize, and set the die up to bump the shoulder back .002" or so. Use a comparator and calipers to measure.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Make darn sure you lube those cases before putting them in the resize die!

And if you don't want to STRETCH the case neck.........Lube the inside of the neck too before sizing.

 

[otisrush]

What is your method for checking for head separation? Do you just eyeball them for the "ring" around the case head by the primer or do you use a tool like the rather expensive RCBS case master gauging tool which says it "can detect impending case head separation before obvious lines appear on the outside of the case". When I resize, I sometimes get a ring around the case head. How can I tell this from impending case head separation? Any help you can give me would be appreciated. Thanks. Ray

I check for potential case head separation using the pick-inside-the-case method. You can straighten out a paperclip and bend the last 1/8" or so of the end to a 90 degree angle. Then you can use this tool to feel/scrape on the inside of the case down by the head. If separation is starting you'll feel a little ledge. At a local surplus store they were selling little packages of essentially dental picks. One of them in that set meets the case check task well. So that's what I use.

My loading log says I've loaded 3,300 rounds of .223. (These are AR rounds, not a bolt gun.) I haven't found one instances of potential case head separation. I thought for sure I did once. I was so intrigued I took a dremel to the case to look at the inside. Even though it seemed like I felt the gap of impending separation, nothing could be seen to verify it.

OR

 

[Drm50]

I've loaded thousands of 223. All mine is loaded for #3 Ruger and bolt actions. The first thing I do is try to keep it in lots. It's range brass in a way. The AR crowd gives it to me, It's 1x factory ammo. If it stays in tolerance uniformity is more important to me. The rifles I have in 223 are not capable of benefiting from the precision of a match rifle, most aren't.
Two things with 223/5.56, military brass is heavier and has less volume.
Original GI 55gr x 3250fs can't be loaded in military case with some of the
IMR powders. Second the beginners loading 223 are sticking cases left and right. Using range brass especially. It wouldn't hurt to run a brush in the necks. Half the dies they show up with they have already ruined the stem and sizer buttons trying to get case out.