resizing range pickup 5.56 brass

_ACGuy_ · Oct 4, 2024

I have tons of 5.56 brass de-primed and cleaned and annealed but not resized yet. It all comes from stuff I have shot and my friends and shot and stuff that me being a "loot goblin" has picked up over the years at the range. I have 7K or so brass in reserve.

My question is about resizing. I don't really care about brass life as much as I do for my precision guns but measuring an AR chamber seems to be harder then removing the firing pin and extractor and checking bolt lift like I do with my bolt rifles. The only metric I can see anything concrete on is fired brass size and the go/no go gauge. It is worth it to set a FL sizing die to be .003 smaller then the go gauge or something subtracted from the no go gauge for a length?

I'm looking for a set it and forget it sizing die setup for my XL750 tool head with the bullet feeder for bulk reloading.

Do must people just not really worry about it and i am overthinking it?

Jcarpenter223 · Oct 4, 2024

I set my die with a tiny bit of cam over on my 650 and got after it, haven’t had one not chamber yet

camocorvette · Oct 4, 2024

I'd grab a wilson case gauge for 223. Size them to fit that and let it rip

texastonk · Oct 4, 2024

camocorvette said:
I'd grab a wilson case gauge for 223. Size them to fit that and let it rip

This! Simple and effective.

supercorndogs · Oct 4, 2024

Post two was my thoughts. If you're not worried about brass life. Size it to the shell holder and if it fits it ships.

99mpower · Oct 4, 2024

Sheridan Engineering… cutout case gauge is what you want

and yes FL size for AR stuff

sinister · Oct 4, 2024

If you're a brasshole who can't pass up a case you find on the range here's a technique that will save you all kinds of ass-pain:

get a small-base sizing die and use a Sheridan case gage (especially in something like a 650 or 750, or equipped with an automatic case feeder).

Why?

You won't know if the cases you've picked up were fired in a GI-chambered Colt or some bargain-basement home-assembled gun with a barrel from one of a hundred different makers. Was the chamber reamed for 5.56, commercial .223 Remington, or maybe SAAMI-minimum Match dimensions? Was it short or long?

Sticking a fatter full-length resized case into a tight match chamber risks a slam-fire.

Some will say all you need is a generic full-length sized case set for cam-over. Or you can use a minimum-sized small base die and not worry about using the ammo you've loaded in ANYTHING -- from a Ruger Mini-14 or HK-53 to Remington 700 Varmint, GI Colt or FN barrel, or maybe even a SAW.

Devildog · Oct 4, 2024

Don’t forget to swag your primer pockets. Problem with range brass is some of it may have a military crimp and other brass doesn’t. You start loading on a progressive and unswagged brass with screw up the works.

You probably already know this but just a reminder!

camocorvette · Oct 5, 2024

sinister said:
If you're a brasshole who can't pass up a case you find on the range here's a technique that will save you all kinds of ass-pain:

get a small-base sizing die and use a Sheridan case gage (especially in something like a 650 or 750, or equipped with an automatic case feeder).

Why?

You won't know if the cases you've picked up were fired in a GI-chambered Colt or some bargain-basement home-assembled gun with a barrel from one of a hundred different makers. Was the chamber reamed for 5.56, commercial .223 Remington, or maybe SAAMI-minimum Match dimensions)? Was it short or long?

Sticking a fatter full-length resized case into a tight match chamber risks a slam-fire.

Some will say all you need is a generic full-length sized case set for cam-over. Or you can use a minimum-sized small base die and not worry about using the ammo you've loaded in ANYTHING -- from a Ruger Mini-14 or HK-53 to Remington 700 Varmint, GI Colt or FN barrel, or maybe even a SAW.

I get maybe a dozen or so out of a k of brass that won't quite fit the wilson gauge. I just chuck them in a bag. Thanks for the advice, I'll take that. I'm guessing that's the case with my case's.

FatBoy · Oct 5, 2024

sinister said:
Or you can use a minimum-sized small base die and not worry about using the ammo you've loaded in ANYTHING -- from a Ruger Mini-14 or HK-53 to Remington 700 Varmint, GI Colt or FN barrel, or maybe even a SAW.

This is where I have landed over the last few years. I run all the cases through a Redding small base to cam over on a Rock Chucker and that shit runs in everything. I forget who said it now, but I want my shit to fit the chamber like a rat turd in a violin case.

I literally started loading on a 550 yesterday so I reserved the right for my opinion to change as I learn.

The last 2-3000 rounds I’ve loaded have been new, primed Norma brass. Talk about fast and easy

.

99mpower · Oct 5, 2024

no SB did for me, and i process 60-75k pieces of 223 a year, and have never had a problem with any customers or myself

MarshallDodge · Oct 5, 2024

99mpower said:
no SB did for me, and i process 60-75k pieces of 223 a year, and have never had a problem with any customers or myself

Is all the brass the same headstamp? Do you use a case headspace gauge?

I've only had issues when using brass with a variety of headstamps. Most brass is fine but once in a while I will get an odd one, or one that has been fired in what must be a huge chamber, and the headspace is long, even after sizing.

If the brass is going to get fired in an AR, I just tumble it and run it through a 1050 - size, decap, swage, and then use a Redding headspace die with gauge at the last station to make sure the brass is in spec.

99mpower · Oct 5, 2024

MarshallDodge said:
Is all the brass the same headstamp? Do you use a case headspace gauge?

I've only had issues when using brass with a variety of headstamps. Most brass is fine but once in a while I will get an odd one, or one that has been fired in what must be a huge chamber, and the headspace is long, even after sizing.

If the brass is going to get fired in an AR, I just tumble it and run it through a 1050 - size, decap, swage, and then use a Redding headspace die with gauge at the last station to make sure the brass is in spec.

no.. mixed HS, range pickup..

i use 3 different case gauges to verify.. but getting a headspace gauge might not be a bad idea..

jimsair · Oct 8, 2024

I’ve sized thousands of LC mil brass fired through a SAW using a standard RCBS 223Remington FL die set to cam over. Every single one headspaced in a Wilson case gauge. The necks were a little long but I trimmed.

I’ll never do it again, but I’ve not seen a need for a small base die in 223.

MO Fugga · Oct 29, 2024

Devildog said:
Don’t forget to swag your primer pockets. Problem with range brass is some of it may have a military crimp and other brass doesn’t. You start loading on a progressive and unswagged brass with screw up the works.

You probably already know this but just a reminder!

I hooked up a spring to my Dillon swager and turned it into a speedy little catapult.

Juma · Nov 30, 2024

Anneal, swage with Dillon,[if required],small base die and you are good to go. Annealing every time makes ALL brass effectively the same. Before commencing SSM all brass. Cleanliness is next to Godliness.

sinister · Nov 30, 2024

jimsair said:
I’ve sized thousands of LC mil brass fired through a SAW using a standard RCBS 223Remington FL die set to cam over. Every single one headspaced in a Wilson case gauge. The necks were a little long but I trimmed.

I’ll never do it again, but I’ve not seen a need for a small base die in 223.

Headspace is simple -- it's the body diameter that can bite you (approximately 1/4" above the base).

I used a Dillon die to size once-fired brass from GI M4s, trimming-to-length with a Giraud.

During slow fire pair-fire standing practice on Quantico Range 4 I dropped my first round loaded with a Sierra 77-grain Match King into a tight Krieger/Marine Corps match chamber and hit the bolt catch. The whole bolt carrier group went forward and I got a slam-fire with the muzzle pointed downrange. Number 1 shooter was surprised, I was shocked, and our coach was speechless. The hand-seated primer was at proper depth below the base.

Coach had me ditch those loads and strongly recommended I use a small base die. I was able to salvage them by running them through a small base body-only die.

I've used an RCBS small base die ever since because I have access to GI once-fired out of M4s.

FatBoy · Nov 30, 2024

sinister said:
ning them through a small base body-only die.

Been there. For some reason I always feel a bit uneasy resizing loses rounds but the Redding die makes it easy.

Had a non -SB die reload bite me at the Multi-gun match earlier this month. Fat round failed to go into battery but BCG falling felt normal . Didn’t cost me much, and would not have changed my standing but it always surprises me.

memilanuk · Nov 30, 2024

It's also possible to have a case be properly F/L sized, in a small base die, and still not chamber properly.

Had some once-fired LC brass that was giving me fits that way... smacking the FA on my Service Rifle *usually* got 'em in there, but not always. Finally plunked the offending brass in a case gauge; every one stood well proud of the top of the gauge.

Turned out the *rims* had gotten chewed up by whatever they were shot through originally. The headspace and 0.200 line were fine / in spec, but they wouldn't go all the way into the gauge - or chamber.

FatBoy · Nov 30, 2024

memilanuk said:
It's also possible to have a case be properly F/L sized, in a small base die, and still not chamber properly.

Had some once-fired LC brass that was giving me fits that way... smacking the FA on my Service Rifle *usually* got 'em in there, but not always. Finally plunked the offending brass in a case gauge; every one stood well proud of the top of the gauge.

Turned out the *rims* had gotten chewed up by whatever they were shot through originally. The headspace and 0.200 line were fine / in spec, but they wouldn't go all the way into the gauge - or chamber.

I put my chips in M249 brass

memilanuk · Nov 30, 2024

Yeah... IIRC that batch felt more like I was sizing .30-06 than .223!

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