How to I D Lake City Brass?

Hobie1

Hobie1

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A couple of months ago I bought LC 5.56 brass from Midway The first batch(500) from Midway looked to be made in '10 from the headstamp. The 2'nd(500) from Midway had a 11 headstamp. Okay, find out that Natchez had a 1000 of LC brass for the same price as Midway's 500.:rolleyes:

Received the Natchez, it also has the 11 head stamp. Perhaps are these 11's from the same batch as Midway's? What other markings on the headstamp should I look for if any to segregate the batches?

Thanks,
Hobie
 
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Year is the closest you can get. The only markings on the cases are LC for Lake City, the NATO symbol, and the year. The difference between batches of cases would be so small, sorting would be absolutely worthless. There is no need to sort or segregate any of your LC brass, even from different years.
 
Thanks!

Actually, I have been slowly but surely working with this brass now for a couple of months, and I've been absolutely happy with all of the consistency that I can measure. The 10's read the same with the 11's. Sure the weight samples that I've taken have measured +-.4-.5 grains(gasp) but damn the stuff is consistent.

That all being said I appreciate the reply. It helps settle my OCD!!:D

Hobie

P.S. Just got my Sport yesterday and can't wait to play.:)
 
Last edited:
LC is great brass. I have had cases split before, but I FL size every loading for reliable feeding, and shoot full power loads. This is very hard on cases, but even so I get 6-7 loadings out of a batch of LC before any splits. Usually if I get one split in a batch I replace that case and continue to use the batch. If I get a second split in the batch, I toss the whole batch and start fresh. A "batch" for me is 100 cases.

By comparison, FC brass (very soft) lasts about three reloads. Winchester 4-5.
 
Thank you! I think I've done okay by the purchases. Except for minimal f/l sizing effort(the only resistance I felt was the neck expander pulling gently), I believe if the need be, I could load this brass right out of the box. It's nice to catch a break now and then.:)

Hobie
 
Be careful with minimal FL sizing. You can push the shoulder out of spec doing this but not actually size the case, leading to chambering problems. Typically I run new brass through a neck sizer die only. This trues up the neck but leaves the body unchanged, as it is normally good from the factory.
 
Fortunately for me, I don't think I actually did much sizing but I'm going to take the un-touched new brass and do some measurements tomorrow and I'll tell it as I see it. Hopefully, I didn't "depreciate" the brass.

Time for bed.:)

Hobie
 
Dragon88 said:
Be careful with minimal FL sizing. You can push the shoulder out of spec doing this but not actually size the case, leading to chambering problems. Typically I run new brass through a neck sizer die only. This trues up the neck but leaves the body unchanged, as it is normally good from the factory.
Click to expand...

Yup, that's my procedure!!
 
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