prepping .223 brass

[LJUnaTic]

While I wait for primers and powder to arrive, I thought I might get schooled a bit on brass prep.

SO far I have tumbled, decapped, reamed primer crimp. FL resize with Redding Dies, trimmed to 1.750"
One of my questions is about headspacing.

I am reloading for 3 AR15's. 2 with 5.56 chambers and 1 with a Wylde chamber.

As I see it there is not much point in trying to minimize the shoulder setback if you are reloading for multiple firearms, so I am just FL sizing using the standard setup for Redding using a Redding standard shell holder.

If I understand the information that should give me ammo that will easily chamber in most rifles, at the cost a some brass longevity.

I do not own a case gauge yet, a Dillon is on the list to be aquired.

Should I wait for the case gauge before I continue?
Is there a CRB method I don't know of?

[Brass Nazi]

The CRB method is to check the loaded round in the chamber of the weapon. It is easy to check headspace with a removable pistol barrel but it is difficult to impossible to check in an AR. You could verify that they are sized enough and that OAL is ok but you will not be able to check headspace.

[AdamN]

Get a case gauge for 223, it lets you set the dies just right. The Dillon is nice since it has the max/min steps on the gauge.

its good piece of mind for feeding an AR

[Glock G20]

I reload for an AR15 with a Wylde chamber in.223

I use a a case guage for peace of mind and check every 10th case or so and haven't had any problems. I use the Lee Pacesetter dies and their FC die on a LCT. I do trim to 1.740 though and when it's time to re-size em again, I'll use the RCBS X die.

[LJUnaTic]

1.740? wow many of my TW73 headstamped 5.56 cases measure 1.763 once fired and all are over 1.760...

If I use a case gauge to get the dies just right, whick rifle should I get it Just right for?

My scoped AR is Wylde Chambered Rifle length gas 18". The others are 5.56 middys

[Brass Nazi]

If the cartridge fits in a .223 case gauge it should fit in all of the rifles.

[LJUnaTic]

If the cartridge fits in a .223 case gauge it should fit in all of the rifles.

I had the impression that using a headspace gauge to set the amount of shoulder bump was specific to a chamber dimension. That is what I am referring to.

I know that I need to gauge all cartridges I make for fit into their respective chambers for proper feeding.

But I am wondering more about the practice of minimizing case shoulder bump to extend brass life.

[Glock G20]

I had the impression that using a headspace gauge to set the amount of shoulder bump was specific to a chamber dimension. That is what I am referring to.

I know that I need to gauge all cartridges I make for fit into their respective chambers for proper feeding.

But I am wondering more about the practice of minimizing case shoulder bump to extend brass life.

I cut them down from 1.760+. they also were once fired, but by cutting them down to 1.740, I can get a few more reloading outa them before having to trim again, plus when using the RCBS X die, it is recommended to cut them to 1.740.

I end up with an ave of 2.215-2.220 OAL with 55's and 2.230-2.235 with 62's.. the rifle is a Bushy A1M4 with a 16" barrel.

I'm waiting to see how they shoot in my new Savage 11FCNS .223 with a 22" barrel. that Accu stock & trigger are sweet setups. Muzzle Vel outa be a bit higher. I figure approx 150FPS more

[AdamN]

The gauge should set the shoulder to the sammi spec, The chambers should be at the sammi spec as well.

Now if you want "perfect" fit you would end up with different ammo for each gun, also you would have a very picky setup, no tolerence for any built up fouling or any other issues. Ammo for one gun may or may not work in your other guns.

You want reliability load up the ammo to the gauge, The gauge will allow you to hit the spec and not go to far.

You can measure to the shoulder of the fired brass for each gun and see if there is a large difference between guns.
Compare that to a piece of brass that fits the gauge and you can get a good feel on if you are excessivly sizing.

You may be able to hit some happy medium/compromise

[LJUnaTic]

The gauge should set the shoulder to the sammi spec, The chambers should be at the sammi spec as well.

Now if you want "perfect" fit you would end up with different ammo for each gun, also you would have a very picky setup, no tolerence for any built up fouling or any other issues. Ammo for one gun may or may not work in your other guns.

You want reliability load up the ammo to the gauge, The gauge will allow you to hit the spec and not go to far.

You can measure to the shoulder of the fired brass for each gun and see if there is a large difference between guns.
Compare that to a piece of brass that fits the gauge and you can get a good feel on if you are excessivly sizing.

You may be able to hit some happy medium/compromise

I would think that the Redding FL sizer , used with a Redding case holder, would result in saami headspace specs with the ram touching the base of the die. Not that it shouldn't be checked, but isn't that the goal?

And with the Redding stuff , you can buy shell holders in +.002., +.004 etc , up to +.010 to adjust the shoulder bump

[AdamN]

I would guess that they cut the die to allow a little bit of adjustment on either side of the spec.

You never know what shellholder or shellplate a guy may be running the dies with.

Lee turret, Dillon 1050, 550, Hornady, etc, etc. They need to make sure it works across the board

[LJUnaTic]

That makes sense... but I am using all Redding tools on a single stage right now.

[Brass Nazi]

In theory if you use a shellholder from the same manafacturer as the die the headspace SHOULD be correct. That is an assumption that you should take as being fiction until proven otherwise.


As posted above when you start talking about different progressive presses and various shellplates the need for checking headspace is crictical.

FWIW I partial full length resize all of my bottleneck carrtidges with the exception of .223 which I full length resize. If you make ammunition to tightly fit a .223 case gauge it is likely to be a little undersized when compared to the sloppy AR chambers.

[LJUnaTic]

Well, I finally got my hands on some SR primers, so I have a Dillon .223 gauge enroute, and I decided to upgrade to a Lee Classic Turret for my rifle loads.

[Gashira]

+1 on a case gauge. I run each and every 223 round through one before it's used. If anything, it forces you to visually inspect each round while you're tossing it in the gauge. I've spotted a few different problems that way.

On top of that, the one time I didn't use a gauge, I had an incorrectly sized round that got jammed half-way in the chamber. Totally ruined my shooting day since I ended up having to use a dowel and hammer to whack it out, with said dowel and hammer being 1.5 hours away at home.