[Gpruitt54]

I just received and I’ve starting cleaning 100 pieces of .223 and 5.56 brass. I have not taken a count, but many seem to have crimped primers. I will be better able to make this call after they are cleaned. Some of the cases have .223 stamped, but many others have markings that I am not familiar with. So far, I have not seen 5.56 stamped in any of them. I have not yet gone through them all.

How do I identify brass that are not labeled with .223 markings?
It is an assumption that if it is not marked .223, it is by default 5.56?
Are there any online resources that can help?

I‘ve looked through my reloading manuals, and there is nothing there that helps. This will be my first rifle reloading. I am starting with learning how to identify the brass.

 

[Zombie Steve]

This page will help identify the manufacturer:

http://cartridgecollectors.org/?page=headstampcodes

...but I'm not sure that's what you're asking. Ultimately, it's going through your die, so they'll all be the same externally. The only difference will be internal volume. That's why you separate by headstamp (you can use mixed brass, just don't push max).

If it's got the NATO circle cross:

You know it was 5.56mm and it's a good bet the primer pocket will need to be swaged or reamed out.

 

[Gpruitt54]

This page will help identify the manufacturer:

http://cartridgecollectors.org/?page=headstampcodes

...but I'm not sure that's what you're asking. Ultimately, it's going through your die, so they'll all be the same externally. The only difference will be internal volume. That's why you separate by headstamp (you can use mixed brass, just don't push max).

If it's got the NATO circle cross:

You know it was 5.56mm and it's a good bet the primer pocket will need to be swaged or reamed out.

You guessed right. I want to know what the codes mean. And yes, I did see some cases with the crosshair symbols.

 

[F106 Fan]

Just be aware that Federal .223 may be crimped. The stuff I bought at Wally World was crimped.

You might as well assume that it is all crimped until you have loaded it for the first time. That way you don't risk overlooking some.

Richard

 

[Gpruitt54]

Yeah, I am making that assumption. What do you use to remove the crimp?

First a point of clarification, the crimp is not a ring that is pressed into the pocket, right? It is a deformation of the brass around the pocket, right?

 

[Steel Head]

Lately I've found that 80% or better of the 223 marked brass is crimped.
I separate out the LC and Hornandy brass and the rest I toss into the AR feed bag ammo brass bucket.

 

[F106 Fan]

Yeah, I am making that assumption. What do you use to remove the crimp?

I use a Dillon 1050 to reload .223 since it has a swaging station. I size and trim on a 650 because it is fast to set up. That is not a practical approach but it works really well.

The Dillon Super Swager is my choice for manual swaging. There is a spring return modification on YouTube that is worth considering.

I don't want to remove metal so using a reamer is not my first choice.

First a point of clarification, the crimp is not a ring that is pressed into the pocket, right? It is a deformation of the brass around the pocket, right?

Actually, I have seen it done both ways. I always doubted that Federal .223 crimps were actually 'crimped'. It seemed more like they were trying to correct the pocket diameter by pressing a ring alongside the primer. Nevertheless, a new primer won't seat very well.

Richard

 

[Zombie Steve]

Different types of crimps (one already posted above...)

I've seen a few others, but these are the most common (and I couldn't find good pics on a quick image search).

 

[Zombie Steve]

I use an RCBS Swaging die set... takes some fiddling, but so does everything else.

The Dillon Swager is really nice if you have the money and space on your bench...

 

[F106 Fan]

I use an RCBS Swaging die set... takes some fiddling, but so does everything else.

The Dillon Swager is really nice if you have the money and space on your bench...

But due to the motion of the handle, I think it takes less space than the RCBS bench swager.

I have the swaging die set and I never really grew to like it. It will do the job but it seems to be a good deal slower than the Dillon Super Swager. Maybe it's just me...

Richard

 

[Zombie Steve]

But due to the motion of the handle, I think it takes less space than the RCBS bench swager.

I have the swaging die set and I never really grew to like it. It will do the job but it seems to be a good deal slower than the Dillon Super Swager. Maybe it's just me...

Richard

I didn't know RCBS had a bench swager.

As far as the swaging die, I think it's you. You set it up, and load brass in one at a time. On the Dillon, you set it up and load brass in one at a time. One is on your press, one is in its own housing bolted to your bench.

:dunno:

 

[Steel Head]

I didn't know RCBS had a bench swager.

As far as the swaging die, I think it's you. You set it up, and load brass in one at a time. On the Dillon, you set it up and load brass in one at a time. One is on your press, one is in its own housing bolted to your bench.

:dunno:

I have the RCBS bench swager, it works pretty well but I must admit from the vids I've seen the Dillon unit looks like a better setup.

I like swaging better than reaming out the crimp myself.
Reaming works pretty well on the stab crimps but ring crimps can be stubborn to ream as it seems a lot more material has to be removed than I like.

 

[TX Archer]

The Dillon Swager is really nice if you have the money and space on your bench...

The Dillon swager doesn't have to take up a lot of space. I mounted mine to a board that I clamp to my bench when I need to use the swager. It lives somewhere else when it's not being used.

 

[Steel Head]

The Dillon swager doesn't have to take up a lot of space. I mounted mine to a board that I clamp to my bench when I need to use the swager. It lives somewhere else when it's not being used.

I have my RCBS mounted to a lee bench plate.

 

[unclebob]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C34sRku4ASY"]Dillon Super Swage 600 AUTO EJECT Mod - YouTube[/ame]
This is sort of what I did except I drilled a hole in the top of the thumb lever and install a cotter key. Then ran a spring back to an L hook.

 

[F106 Fan]

I didn't know RCBS had a bench swager.

As far as the swaging die, I think it's you. You set it up, and load brass in one at a time. On the Dillon, you set it up and load brass in one at a time. One is on your press, one is in its own housing bolted to your bench.

:dunno:

Somehow I got the idea that the Dillon approach was less fiddly and that the arm motion (moving the handle) was considerably less. I also thought the Dillon was just plain faster.

It's all moot! I converted my 1050 to .223 so swaging is free. Well, except for having to buy the conversion to .45 ACP for my 650. I guess nothing is really 'free'.

Richard

 

[Gpruitt54]

Has anyong used this device?:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/RCBS-Primer-Pocket-Swager-Combo-2/dp/B0063IDAX2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1387389852&sr=8-1&keywords=reloading+swager"]Amazon.com: RCBS Primer Pocket Swager Combo-2: Sports & [email protected]@[email protected]@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/[email protected]@[email protected]@31IPX8ycfRL[/ame]

I think I would prefer something that I could install to my press, like this item seems to work.

Any comments on the functioning of this item? Sadly, it looks like this requires a single or turret press in order to use this tool. So maybe I cannot use it after all. I have a Lee Loadmaster.

 

[unclebob]

Has anyong used this device?:

Amazon.com: RCBS Primer Pocket Swager Combo-2: Sports & Outdoors

I think I would prefer something that I could install to my press, like this item seems to work.

Any comments on the functioning of this item? Sadly, it looks like this requires a single or turret press in order to use this tool. So maybe I cannot use it after all. I have a Lee Loadmaster.

Yes used them a long time ago. Works okay if you only have 100 or so. And you need a SS press. Dillon works 100% better.

 

[fredj338]

I didn't know RCBS had a bench swager.

As far as the swaging die, I think it's you. You set it up, and load brass in one at a time. On the Dillon, you set it up and load brass in one at a time. One is on your press, one is in its own housing bolted to your bench.

:dunno:

You gotta get out more ZOmbie. I have the RCBS, works fine, sometimes it still leaves a little of the crimp behind. So either swage, turn the case 180gr & swage again or I just clean them with a VLD style deburring tool. I had the RCBS die set, painfully slow. I just mounted my RCBS swager to a chunk of 2x2 & clamp it in my bench vise, remove it when done.

 

[Gpruitt54]

Different types of crimps (one already posted above...)

I've seen a few others, but these are the most common (and I couldn't find good pics on a quick image search).

WTF! Glad I don't have any of these in my small pile of brass.