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5.56 and .223
buddyb
Member Posts: 5,249 ✭✭✭✭
From what I understand there is a slight difference in military 5.56 and regular 223 brass.I have about 25 pounds of military 5.56 brass.If I run it through a 223 die and cut the primer crimp out will it be good for a 223? Due to thicker brass,do I need to reduce the powder charge compared to 223 loads? Thanks
Comments
Depending on your weapon, an AR with normal chamber I start 5% below. Any bolt or tight chambered AR start 10% below minimum. So you will start out about 2.0 to 1.0 below minimums and work your way up.
To see the difference in volume, fill each case with water and weigh the water,you may be surprised.
As one of our more astute members says"Your mileage may vary"!!!
I load for .223 bolt & single-shot rifles, both perhaps with a wider range of allowable pressures than AR. Years ago, my first batch of military brass was slightly thicker at the base, but there was not much difference in water capacity. I can only surmise that, early on, there was little difference between 5.56 and .223 brass. Still, for 55 gr. bullets, with 2230 powder, I dropped powder charges 1 gr. (from 27.7 gr. to 26.7 gr.).
Some years later (well, I'm an old guy), the mil-spec brass appears to be considerably different, and while we can easily convert it to .223, the cautions above are applicable. In fact, when sampling various mil-spec head-stamps found at our local range, I've found such significant differences in capacity that I've gradually phased out mil-spec brass from my .223 loads.
Hopefully your 25 lbs. of brass has only one or two head-stamps so your reloading process will be less complicated.