Went Shooting with some pals last week, all of us were supposed to be shooting 5.56. I kept all the brass to reload, but their are at least 4 different head stamps and I've found a few 223 in the mix! I only load 5.56, so is there a way I can make sure I'm not loading a 223 shell at 5.56 presure? Aside from the headstamp saying 223. All of the brass that don't say 223 have a crimp on the primer. Does the crimped primer pocket mean they are 5.56? Thanks for the help.

The following is from Federal/ATK's website. In a nutshell it is safe/fine to fire .223 in a 5.56 chamber but not 5.56 in a .223 chamber. Dimensionally the cases are the same, the loaded rounds for 5.56 are possibly longer than allowed for .223, just depends on the bullet.

The Difference Between 223 Rem and 5.56 Military Cartridges
There is a general misperception by the shooting public that the 223 Rem and 5.56 Military cartridges are identical – just different designations for commercial and military – and can routinely be interchanged. The fact however is that, although some what similar, they are not the same.
•The cartridge casings of each have basically the same length and exterior dimensions.
•Mil Spec 5.56 ammo typically has higher velocity and chamber pressure than the 223 Rem.
•The 5.56 cartridge case may have a thicker sidewall and a thicker head - to better withstand the stresses generated by the higher chamber pressures.This, however, reduces the powder capacity ofthe case - which is of concern to the reloader.
•The 5.56mm and 223 Rem. chambers are similar but not identical. The difference is in the “Leade”. Leade is defined as a portion of the barrel directly in front of the chamber where the rifling has been conically removed to allow room for the seated bullet. This portion of the chamber is more commonly known as the throat. Leade in a 223 Rem. chamber is usually .085”. In a 5.56mm chamber the leade is typically .162”, or almost twice as much as in the 223 Rem. chamber.
•You can fire 223 Rem. cartridges in 5.56mm chambers with this longer leade, but you will generally have a slight loss in accuracy and velocity – compared to firing the 223 round in the chamber with the shorter leade it was designed for.
•Problems may occur when firing the higher pressure 5.56mm cartridge in a 223 chamber with its much shorter leade. It is generally known that shortening the leade can dramatically increase chamber pressure. In some cases, this higher pressure could result in primer pocket gas leaks, blown cartridge case heads, and gun functioning issues.
•The 5.56mm military cartridge fired in a 223 Rem. chamber is considered by SAAMI (Small Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute) to be an unsafe ammunition combination and is listed in the “Unsafe Arms and Ammunition Combinations” Section of the SAAMI Technical Correspondent’s Handbook. It clearly states; “In firearms chambered for 223 Rem – do not use 5.56 Military cartridges.” Federal Cartridge is a member of SAAMI and supports this position.
•Federal’s XM193 packaging currently has a warning that states “For use instandard 5.56 Chambers.Do not use in non-standard 5.56 chambers.” This warning is also listed on the XM193 ProductSpecification Sheet. Winchester also has a similar warning on their USA brand 5.56 ammunition packaging: “Use only in firearms in good condition designed and chambered by firearm manufacturer specifically for this 5.56 ammunition and so marked on the firearm.”
•It is our understanding that commercially available AR15’s and M16’s – although some are stamped 5.56
Rem on the receiver – are manufactured with. 223 chambers. Our advice however should be thatit is the customer’s responsibility to know what their firearm is chambered for and choose their ammo accordingly.

You will not have any problems loading 223 brass with any loads. You will actually get lower pressure with them. All the warnings are about loaded ammo, and I won't get into any discussion about it except to say that I have fired lots of 556 ammo from 223 rifles over the past 40 years without issues.
To answer your question, yes, all crimped primer 5.56 brass means it is military and not .223. Don't think the 5.56 brass is stronger; it might be a bit thicker but with book load data, you won't find any difference.

So does that mean that the brass I've got with the primer pocket crimped is 5.56? I just don't want to screw up my AR.

Nevermind, you already answered me.. duhh sorry

quote:

Originally posted by Turner421:
So does that mean that the brass I've got with the primer pocket crimped is 5.56? I just don't want to screw up my AR.

You will find lots of .223 with a crimp it's not only in 5.56

The crimp is a mil-spec call out

Is your lower stamped 5.56 or is your barrel stamped 5.56?

Both, I have a Sig 516

You can't screw up your AR by using ;brass with crimped in primers; all you have to do is remove the crimp before you seat new primers. Either by reaming with a countersink or swaging it out.
I do stand corrected; there is 223 being made with crimped in primers; why I can't fathom. That process sneaked up on me in the commercial ammo world as I never buy it. So, here is your new answer; if the brass is marked .223; it is .223, crimped or not. If it has a military mark on it like LC, it was/is 5.56mm. Best to separate it and load for each type; military might be thicker, and have less powder capacity. But using crimped brass won't hurt your rifle at all.

The barrel stamp is the only one that matters

All of mine say nothing or multi and I use 5.56 NATO 7 or 8 twist barrels

I have yet to find much difference in 5.56 and .223 brass from weighing it or shooting it

I run loads as light as 24 grns of 844 all the way up to 27 grns of Varget and that dose gives me slight pressure signs but shoot very good from my wifes 18" Willson barreled varmint AR

I do however sort by headstamp, give 1000 count batches a lot# to track shot load numbers

My favorite brass to find is R-P .223 It's great brass and not only do I not have to swag the primmer pockets the pockets hold primmers for many many fireings........Cant say the same for Fed .223


I pick up ALL brass

It's like picking up $$$$$ that people throw away

The brass I am referring to has a head stamp that says tzz90,and lc69. Have you guys seen those before?

TZZ is Isreali made. LC is Lake city. Numbers are years. If you run across WCC it's Winchester. There are several headstamps you'll find from military production. The biggest difference is that the brass isn't all the same alloy so they may size slightly different. For a milspec chamber it isn't a problem, for a match chamber it may be.

The crimped primmer 223 is made with overruns from milspec production. Most cases stamped .223 are comercially marked and made on the same equipment and at the same time as 5.56.

The only difference you'll see reloading is that .223 max charge weights are lower than 5.56. There will be a corresponding velocity change as well. Your most accurate load may be below the .223 max.

quote:

Originally posted by Turner421:
The brass I am referring to has a head stamp that says tzz90,and lc69. Have you guys seen those before?

TZZ is Israel mil surplu5 1990

LC69 is Lake City 1969 made in Missouri

Google will tell you what all mil headstamps are

WE have civilian .223 Remington rifles - Sako, BRNO, Remington, Winchester, Ruger and others.

We have been shooting both civilian .223 and military 5.56 ammo, from many manufacturers, in all these rifles, and have never had any problem.

For reloading, however, we segregate all ammo by make and heradstamp.

What Saeed said is exactly my experience too. I keep ALL brass and load it all, separating the military from the commercial. But I load it all the same with no problems noted over thousands of rounds. In many rifles. And, I have fired much 5.56 ammo in .223 rifles. I personally think all the hype about the chamber differences, (and there are differences in throats) is just hype written by lawyers.

Actual brass/chamber size is the same

5.56 have a longer throat to allow for the extra presure5

Thanks for all the input guys, its nice haing a place to go to for all my newby questions!