Sort 223 by headstamp

[saintsandlsufan@yahoo.com]

Anyone out there sorting 223 by headstamp? Wanted to do a feeler before I made an ad. I'm looking for RP or PMC ( without crimp) .223 brass.

[lightman]

I sort them if I'm loading them. All of those cripped cases are a pain aren't they? Oh yeah, Welcome Aboard!

[SafetyJoe]

I sort them, but I keep the RP and a few others for myself. The PMC I don't keep though. Mainly because it doesn't work good for converting into 300 blk. Swaging crimps isn't very hard on other types like Lake City.

[DukeInFlorida]

All of my ARs are < 100 yard rifles, and so sorting never really makes a difference. I get .5 MOA with my developed load, no matter which head stamp.
However, when I make 300 Blackouts, the ONLY brass that yields a correct neck thickness are the LC head stamped brass. So, I sort those out, but just so I an chop em up.

[WarEagleEd]

I sort by headstamp before converting to .300 blackout as some manufacturers' case walls are thicker than others. When converted to .300 BO the case neck ends up being too thick and require neck turning to be useable. LC (5.56 X 45) case walls are thin enough to use for conversions as are Fiocchi (.223 Remington, G.F.L. headstamp, I think (not at home currently to verify)). Nosler .223 Rem. case walls are too thick to be useable without turning down the neck slightly.

[DukeInFlorida]

Here is the SAAMI spec drawing for 300 Blackout:
SAAMI SPEC FOR 300 BLACKOUT (https://reloading.cc/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=7430&d=1414034879)

If you do the math on the neck thickness, the Lake City brass is the only brass that hits the thickness reliably (.015")

[SafetyJoe]

I copied this list from the 300 blk forum (http://www.300blktalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=141&t=88599).

In general, the wall thickness around 1.360 inches from the base will determine success or failure. As a rule of thumb, if the wall thickness is greater than 0.014, there may be problems with the loaded diameter of the neck being too large to chamber easily.

Neck thickness data:

Factory Blackout brass

Gemtech (factory 300 BLK) - 0.011"
PNW Arms - 0.011"
RP - 0.010"

Converted brass

Good:
ADI - 0.012"
Aguila - 0.012"
A USA - 0.012"
FC - 0.013/0.014" [Note 1]
GFL - 0.012" (Fiocchi) Some GFL may have different thickness
HB - 0.013"
Hornady (223 headstamp) - 0.011"
Hornady (nickel 223) - 0.012"
IK03 - 0.012" [Note 4]
IMI - 0.012" [Note 4] Listed on both lists, but seems like more often good than bad.
IVI - 0.013"
IVI ('85) - 0.012" (runs great)
LC - 0.011"
LC (converted blank) - 0.012"
M193 - 0.011/0.012"
Norinco 223 - 0.010"
NOSLER - 0.012”
PERFECTA 223 rem. - 0.012"
PMC - modern "bronze" and "X-tac" are good, older PMC with small letters may have problems
PS - 0.011/0.012"
PSD - 0.011"
RA - 0.013"
RA ('69) - 0.012"
RP .223 - 0.011"
SSA - 0.012"
TAA - 0.013-0.014" [Note 4]
Tula - 0.0115"
TW 67 - 0.012”
TZZ - 0.012"
WCC - 0.010/0.011" (Some less common WCC headstamps run thicker, but the majority are good to go)
Winchester - 0.011"
WIN NT - 0.011"
WMA 15 - 0.011"


Thick neck wall, bad without neck turning:

AB 556 - .015" to .016"
ATI - 0.015" [Note 3]
CBC - 0.014/0.015"
CJ6 - 0.015"
CJ 8 - .014"
DNL - 0.016"
FNM - 0.016" [Note 3]
FRONTIER - 0.015"
GECO - 0.015/0.016"
Hot Shot - 0.014" [Note 3]
HRTRS ( Herters?) - 0.017"
ICC - Reported as bad
IK03 - 0.015" [Note 4]
IMI - 0.015" [Note 4]
IVI - 0.015"
KFA .223 REM - 0.015"-0.019"
L2A2 - Reported as bad
MKE13 - Anecdotally reported as troublesome
MPA - 0.015"
Norma - 0.015"
NPA - [Note 3]
PMC (old headstamp) - 0.015"
PMP - 0.015"
PPU - 0.014/0.015" [Note 3]
RAM 223 - .014"
RORG - 0.015"
RWS - 0.014-0.015"
S&B - 0.015/0.017"
SADU - 0.014/0.015”
TAA - 0.013-0.014" [Note 4]
SADU 5.56 - 0.014-0.015"
Wolf Brass .223 - 0.014"

General notes:

There's no consistent difference between "5.56" and "223" when it comes to brass.

Many manufacturers may use different sources for casings at different times. This means that even within the same headstamp, it is possible that a particular batch was from a different source and may be different. Treat this list as a rule of thumb, and double check before processing a large quantity.


Note 1:
"FC" brass includes several types of brass that don't seem to come from the same factory. Most of them are good to go, but the "thin web" FC that turned up a few years back tends to have thicker walls and will cause neck thickness problems. Some FC that runs thicker is the newer stuff. Has beautiful annealing marks on it. Has FC @ 12:00, numbers @ 3:00 and/or 9:00 (May have both, could just have one), and the year @ 6:00


Note 2:
NPA is very low quality brass, with a super small flash hole, and is likely to cause broken or stuck decapping pins, or other problems.

Note 3:
The brass marked with this note may require extra sizing force, and machine flex may cause them to headspace too large if the machine is not set up specifically to do this "harder sizing" brass. This is due to thicker brass, alloy variations, or variations in factory anneal. This isn't always universal within a headstamp, for example, some older PPU had the problem and others did not.

Note 4:
This brass is included in both the good and the bad list based on differing user reports. It is important to keep in mind that sometimes a single headstamp can be made at multiple factories on multiple differing manufacturing processes. Other times a manufacturer that has their own brass factory might bring in brass from another manufacturer during times of high demand or to fulfill a large contract.

[Pacomdiver]

fiocchi had a recent bad batch of brass with the 55g FMJ, me and my cousin bought 500 rounds at a gunshow in the summer for because it was pretty cheap and had 87 neck splits on factory loaded ammo,so almost 1 in 5, so beware and toss that crap in the scrap bucket. when i contacted fiocchi, they said " dont shoot any you have left" , this experience and the 300 blackout i bought in 2016 that was backing out primers , madce my mind up to never buy anything fiocchi again, they just suck