Lake City 5.56 brass life?
- Thread starter totaldla
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Best I can give you is at least 8.
I use LC brass (or Namo) for my 69 grain precision loads, 70 grain hunting loads, and a little 77 grain loads. I'll put 3 firings on it, fully process then swap it back to low powered 55 grain loads. Shooting matches, I eventually lose it, but I have some, in that manner, that I have managed to keep track of that has 8 firings on it and it is still perfectly fine.
I pulled some of the brass from the fully processed step and put it back into rotation with 69s. It has 6 firings on it and needs to be fully processed again, but otherwise, it still looks good. Folks I have talked to who have kept track of specific batches have said around 10 loadings...case cracks or loose primer pockets start to show up. It's not easy to recondition primer pockets, and since I anneal the warmer loads, that is the first thing I check in the processing. If the pockets easily release the spent primer, I'll just toss that case. But that is rare for me. I will assume that those are older cases that got picked up with others at the range.
I have 10 gallons of match pick up brass to sort in January. I've done it before, and I find a cracked case or one with a missing primer here and there when I do that.
I use LC brass (or Namo) for my 69 grain precision loads, 70 grain hunting loads, and a little 77 grain loads. I'll put 3 firings on it, fully process then swap it back to low powered 55 grain loads. Shooting matches, I eventually lose it, but I have some, in that manner, that I have managed to keep track of that has 8 firings on it and it is still perfectly fine.
I pulled some of the brass from the fully processed step and put it back into rotation with 69s. It has 6 firings on it and needs to be fully processed again, but otherwise, it still looks good. Folks I have talked to who have kept track of specific batches have said around 10 loadings...case cracks or loose primer pockets start to show up. It's not easy to recondition primer pockets, and since I anneal the warmer loads, that is the first thing I check in the processing. If the pockets easily release the spent primer, I'll just toss that case. But that is rare for me. I will assume that those are older cases that got picked up with others at the range.
I have 10 gallons of match pick up brass to sort in January. I've done it before, and I find a cracked case or one with a missing primer here and there when I do that.
Thank you.
I've only been loading this cartridge for a couple years. I doubt I've done much more than 2k rounds. I don't keep very good track of my brass and I use it until the primers loosen. I'm pretty sure I have over 7 load cycles on a bunch. Other than some hunting ammo, most of my loads are 55gr @2900fps, so I don't think I'm stressing the brass much. I read of folks having split necks, but I've never encountered that with cartridge -yet. I don't have any 223/5.56 brass that I love enough to anneal. I have purchased some Starline, but that all went into hunting loads.
Since once-fired LC brass is plentiful, there's probably no reason why I should keep brass past the initial trimming. I don't work it much and it doesn't stretch very fast.
On the Bell curve of reloaders, you've got to be 3 standard deviations to the right with your volumes
Marco Califo
New member
LC 556 is good brass. If you stick to loads you described 55gr <3000 fps you should be fine for 10 or more cycles. I have some beat up LC that I picked up in the desert and loaded 5 more times. No issues. But, when I got new LC & Starline, I am now culling that brass.
On the Bell curve of reloaders, you've got to be 3 standard deviations to the right with your volumes
I am in my December routine of loading 15K of 9mm for next years consumption. I've loaded a bit over 1M rounds total now, and while 2020 through 2022 were off years for me due to the "pandemic" and my pinched off spinal cord, I've been easing back into it this year. I'm not sure I will get back to my average of about 30K a year in 2024, but it will be better. I've been at the range at least every other week since May.
There are a few guys I know with a higher count on their presses, but not many.
I only hit 1290rnds this year, I have been slacking hard. Goal is to load at least 5k next year, will see how it goes.I am in my December routine of loading 15K of 9mm for next years consumption. I've loaded a bit over 1M rounds total now, and while 2020 through 2022 were off years for me due to the "pandemic" and my pinched off spinal cord, I've been easing back into it this year. I'm not sure I will get back to my average of about 30K a year in 2024, but it will be better. I've been at the range at least every other week since May.
There are a few guys I know with a higher count on their presses, but not many.
I handload about 20 different calibers. Routinely I have 20 loads or more, except 5.56 and .243 on AR platforms. The brass, LC or not, dies of split neck between 5 to 10 loads.
Some said it was caused by the scratch lines originated from the sharp corners of the AR lock lugs. But 6.5mm and up on AR seems fine. Only 6mm and smaller has that issue. I think neck in small calibers work hardens more. The early demise is probably caused by both factors.
I stopped monkeying with it. 5.56 brass is almost free. .243 hurt till I started converting from 7.62x51 with minimum efforts.
7-8 loads is about right.
-TL
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Some said it was caused by the scratch lines originated from the sharp corners of the AR lock lugs. But 6.5mm and up on AR seems fine. Only 6mm and smaller has that issue. I think neck in small calibers work hardens more. The early demise is probably caused by both factors.
I stopped monkeying with it. 5.56 brass is almost free. .243 hurt till I started converting from 7.62x51 with minimum efforts.
7-8 loads is about right.
-TL
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
mikejonestkd
New member
For AR15 reloads only :
I am fortunate that I get once fired brass regularly from a good friend that does not reload.
I process batches of 100 cases at a time, and typically get 5 reloads before I find a cracked neck in one of them. I'll pitch the bad one, anneal the remainder and can get another 3 or 4 loads before I discard the whole lot. I never get to 10 reloads as brass is free and I have plenty to spare.
my typical loads are LC brass, 55 gr Hornady FMJBT and 25.2 gr of Varget. it yields about 3100 fps out of a 20" barrel
I am fortunate that I get once fired brass regularly from a good friend that does not reload.
I process batches of 100 cases at a time, and typically get 5 reloads before I find a cracked neck in one of them. I'll pitch the bad one, anneal the remainder and can get another 3 or 4 loads before I discard the whole lot. I never get to 10 reloads as brass is free and I have plenty to spare.
my typical loads are LC brass, 55 gr Hornady FMJBT and 25.2 gr of Varget. it yields about 3100 fps out of a 20" barrel
I don't shoot with MarkCO's volume (who does?
). But that's about where I am with LC Brass too. I have one group that I have been loading over n over (for AR-15 platform), and I'm somewhere in the "8" neighborhood too. They seem fine. I'm new to 223/556/AR-15 ammo loading. Been loading for pistol for 39 years though. For what it's worth, I don't load hot. I charge the rounds to where they seem to run consistent according to my chronograph, and that's plenty good for me. I don't anneal and I'm not going to. I FL size w/ small base dies every cycle. I trim to 1.750" every cycle; although, they usually need very little trimming - if any - after the original trim. I'll collet crimp if the bullet has a cannelure; otherwise, I don't crimp at all. . . . In case you wanted to know all that.
I'm in a cold climate, so I'm rather shut down for the winter. I'll no more after next summer
.I’ve got about 5K pieces of LC brass that I’ve collected over the years. Up to my third firing for that brass. Necks usually split before the pockets get loose. Good brass. Hopefully I’ll make it to 8 firings with my brass. Will probably start annealing the brass next go around to get more life out of it.
I have found that annealing, at about 3 firings, regardless of cartridge, keeps my case neck tension more consistent, which helps keep the SDs low and the case necks from cracking. It's basically more brass life per case. Whether it is worth it for .223 is probably a good topic for debate and discussion with many factors, but for most, I will assert that it is probably not worth the time and expense to do so.
I agree in general with the eight or more reloads . I will add , that also will be dependent on your sizing process . Cases consistently sized with to much head clearance when chambered will fail at the web sooner then 8 firings . You will get cracks in the necks sooner if your standard sizing die squeezes the necks way down only to have the expander ball size them again back out . I had one 308 die that sized the neck down .012 below the final loaded case mouth diameter which required my expander button to size the mouth back out .010 to get my desired .002 bullet hold . I personally like to tightly control that aspect of sizing and don't like to size more then .002 more either way .
That said , good case prep skills and you should get plenty of reloads with LC brass . Even with auto loaders .
That said , good case prep skills and you should get plenty of reloads with LC brass . Even with auto loaders .
Average Joe
New member
I do 5 reloads, then toss the brass.
How "hot" are you loading the brass?
The higher pressures of near-maximum loading stress the brass more and can diminish its life.
Most of my loads are around 92-94% of the consensus maximum among published figures. I normally shoot "in the wild", so I inevitably fail to recover some of my brass. Statistically, speaking, my the 6th loading, I have lost essentially all the brass from that batch "to the weeds".
So, to answer your question, my number for reloading LC (or any other headstamp, for that matter) is 6.
The higher pressures of near-maximum loading stress the brass more and can diminish its life.
Most of my loads are around 92-94% of the consensus maximum among published figures. I normally shoot "in the wild", so I inevitably fail to recover some of my brass. Statistically, speaking, my the 6th loading, I have lost essentially all the brass from that batch "to the weeds".
So, to answer your question, my number for reloading LC (or any other headstamp, for that matter) is 6.
The most I have ever seen was in the 1990’s. A friend used a single batch out of the same rifle and kept meticulous records. He only neck sized, never full length sized when using out of the same rifle. He also never ran “hot” or near maximum loads. He was on his 27th reload with that batch! I never heard when it did give out.
Without annealing, very unlikely one gets past 10 even with starting loads.
I think so too. Calibers smaller than 6.5mm have much higher tendency of split neck. Sharp edges on AR's lock lugs make it even worse. I have yet to see a 5.56 brass with head separation. They all die of split necks.
-TL
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603Country
New member
Metal God made a good point, one that many folks never consider when considering case life. The point is…how much are you working the brass when resizing, firing, resizing, and so on. I have a 6.5 Grendel that was splitting necks on the first reload. It was Hornady brass, so take that into consideration, but my resizing die was sizing the neck well below necessary, then the expander ball brought it back to proper size. Then, shooting the round in the rather loose chamber expanded the neck more than needed. The solution was to go to a bushing die and significantly reduce the amount of metal working to a minimum. That appears to have solved the problem.