wyobohunter
New member
Is it safe/adviseable to use .223 rem dies with 5.56mm NATO brass? My local gun shop will give me a good deal on some Lake City (match? I think that's what he said) brass, I'm pretty sure it's 5.56mm NATO.
.223 Rem dies and 5.56 NATO brass?
- Thread starter wyobohunter
- Start date
All dies for that caliber are 223 marked. I've never seen a 5.56 set of dies. There's no match brass in 5.56 however unless it might be some kind of commercial brand. Be advised you can buy Lake City 5.56 brass on AR15.com forums for $42 per 1000 plus shipping so watch what you pay your local dealer. Whatever you get, buy them and load them up. Have fun.
http://ee.ar15.com/ItemView.aspx?iid=67568
http://ee.ar15.com/ItemView.aspx?iid=67568
4runnerman
New member
No difference.I do militery brass all the time,never had a issue with it.As mentioned. You will need to do primer thought.
wyobohunter
New member
He didn't quote a price yet. I was in there picking a scope for my new AR and asked him about brass. He pulled out a bag od 2,000 new Lake City he intends to break up and sell. Now I know what I should be paying and the answer to my original question. Thanks guys.
c.robertson
New member
.223 Rem. and 5.56X45 refers to the chamber, NOT the cartridge itself. Both are the sam brass. There is some variance in thickness between brands and military brass is the thickist.
Lake City "Match" brass is anything but "match." I had over 1,000 rounds of 7.62X52 LC MATCH and even the flash holes were off center in 10% of the cases not to mention a wide variance in case mouth thickness. I sold it and use only Federal Match now. Got about 4,000 rounds. FREE, police range dumpster diving.
Lake City "Match" brass is anything but "match." I had over 1,000 rounds of 7.62X52 LC MATCH and even the flash holes were off center in 10% of the cases not to mention a wide variance in case mouth thickness. I sold it and use only Federal Match now. Got about 4,000 rounds. FREE, police range dumpster diving.
wyobohunter
New member
So is the general concensus that Lake City stuff isn't so great... even sub-standard and I'd be better off just buying some Remington (or other) brass? How about durability? I'd like the stuff I buy to last a while.
I'm not really after match grade accuracy as it is going to be a close to medium range predator rifle so shooting beyond about 350 yards probably isn't a concern... If it'll group somewhere in the neighborhood of 2" at 100 yards that's good enough for me, smaller groups would just be gravy. I'm putting a fairly low power scope on it (VX-3 1.5-5 x 20mm).
I'm not really after match grade accuracy as it is going to be a close to medium range predator rifle so shooting beyond about 350 yards probably isn't a concern... If it'll group somewhere in the neighborhood of 2" at 100 yards that's good enough for me, smaller groups would just be gravy. I'm putting a fairly low power scope on it (VX-3 1.5-5 x 20mm).
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riverwalker76
New member
First things first ....
What type of rifle are you firing them from, and what chamber ?
A 5.56 chambered rifle can reliably fire a .223 Remington cartridge, but it's not advisable to do the opposite. IN other words ... it's not advisable to fire a 5.56
cartridge from a .223 Remington chambered rifle.
There are warnings everywhere stating this. I think it has something to do with the pressures generated by the 5.56 cartridge under factory loads.
Furthermore, I've never heard of 5.56 LC Match brass. I have heard of 7.62 LC Match and 30.06 LC Match, but I've never heard of 5.56 Match. Lapua makes a good .223 Match brass, and Hornady may make a Match brass, but Lake City does not.
What type of rifle are you firing them from, and what chamber ?
A 5.56 chambered rifle can reliably fire a .223 Remington cartridge, but it's not advisable to do the opposite. IN other words ... it's not advisable to fire a 5.56
cartridge from a .223 Remington chambered rifle.
There are warnings everywhere stating this. I think it has something to do with the pressures generated by the 5.56 cartridge under factory loads.
Furthermore, I've never heard of 5.56 LC Match brass. I have heard of 7.62 LC Match and 30.06 LC Match, but I've never heard of 5.56 Match. Lapua makes a good .223 Match brass, and Hornady may make a Match brass, but Lake City does not.
wyobohunter
New member
It is a Stag 3L with 5.56 NATO chamber. I know it is safe to fire either. I was unsure about sizing 5.56 NATO brass in a .223 Rem die.
I wasn't sure about the match part. Thanks.
I suppose could sort by weight, uniform the primer pockets and deburr the flash holes... then it would basically be "match". I don't really care to spend the time on getting accuracy better than about 2 MOA so I doubt I'll go to the trouble. If I had a fat bbl and a fat scope I'd consider going to those lengths but with the setup I'm putting together the critters will never know the difference.
Understand what real "match" brass is first. It's brass that is very consistent in weight, length, etc. and is set aside for special loads. It's really no different from standard issue brass except for the fact that it's more consistent in its manufacture. Bullets are the same. A batch which is very consistent is used for match.
The exception to this is the special weights of bullets used for long distance shooting. I'm referring to older 30-06 and 7.62 match ammo with 150 gr bullets. I have never seen any match 5.56 brass. All the matches I've been in required the shooter to furnish his/her own ammo. Service matches in the past using M14 or M1 had ammo furnished and it was indeed match ammo.
So go ahead and buy Lake City brass. I have found it to be the best 5.56 around with the exception of Lapua brass. If you want to improve it, you can always uniform the primer pockets and clean the flash holes. That generally does help some.
The exception to this is the special weights of bullets used for long distance shooting. I'm referring to older 30-06 and 7.62 match ammo with 150 gr bullets. I have never seen any match 5.56 brass. All the matches I've been in required the shooter to furnish his/her own ammo. Service matches in the past using M14 or M1 had ammo furnished and it was indeed match ammo.
So go ahead and buy Lake City brass. I have found it to be the best 5.56 around with the exception of Lapua brass. If you want to improve it, you can always uniform the primer pockets and clean the flash holes. That generally does help some.
riverwalker76
New member
5.56 brass is fine to size in a .223 Remington die. I've done it for a long time.
Notice the case dimensions. There is almost no difference in the two cases. The only discrepancies are in the arc length on the shoulders of the .223 Remington. Otherwise they are the same cartridge. Someone, please correct me if I'm mistaken. (Courtesy of Wikipedia)
5.56 x 45mm Nato
.223 Remington
Notice the case dimensions. There is almost no difference in the two cases. The only discrepancies are in the arc length on the shoulders of the .223 Remington. Otherwise they are the same cartridge. Someone, please correct me if I'm mistaken. (Courtesy of Wikipedia)
5.56 x 45mm Nato
.223 Remington
Sorry, this is a popular myth. i've been weighing the brass for my .223 accuracy loads for well over 40 years and have weighed US military brass made by every plant. The heaviest US made brass is the American Eagle and Gold Medal.
Some Brit military brass is thick: The thickest brass of all is Lapua Match.
Go to brass weights at the link:
http://ar15barrels.com/tech.shtml