Totally new to the AR-15, but got one last month and I think I'll want to reload some for it.

Got a bunch of .223 and 5.56 headstamped brass, but I've heard of some problems with stuck cases reloading 5.56 brass in 223 dies. What's the deal and any tips out there for the loads?

(I do know 5.56 brass is supposed to be a little thicker, and know I'll need to FL resize to avoid any feeding issues)

nothing different then loading for anything else.

One of the important things when loading for an AR-15 is to trim your cases.

They make a "small base" die for resizing for some 223 loads for autos....BUT I haven't needed it for any of my factory chambered autos....Just make sure you have the die all the way aganist the shell holder and I like to sort my brass into commerical and military and even to brand for best results ...some brass is heavier and on top loads can cause pressure spikes on the loads in the "heavy-thicker" brass and on hot days make pressure too high...I like Rem 7 1/2 for primers or CCI military spec primers for my Colt Match target....hth..good luck and good shooting-loading!

Have gotten good accuracy with decent velocity with BL(C)-2, 748 and AA DP2200 (no longer available).

748 is probably as good as any for 55 gr bullets.

Beware that Mil brass is thicker and requires less powder to achieve the same pressure ... thus, max load will be lower. Use good reloading practices and work up carefully.

Barrel length makes a huge difference in velocity with the AR. On one of my 55 gr loads I get 3133 fps in a 20" tube and 2605 in an 11.5" bbl (yes, it's registered). One would expect an M4 to be in between these.

I never load anything that would not be safe in the longest barrel I own. Maximizing performance for a short barrel might result in a load that is not safe in a longer barrel.

Just to clear up one false truth.

Unlike 7.62 NATO, the 5.56 NATO case is NOT thicker than it's commercial counterpart (.223 Rem).

There are several places that claim that it is thicker (WIKI for one), but it is just not true.

You will find more accurate information on the 5.56 NATO cartridge at the Ammo Oracle

Charlie,

Have heard this over the years ... and by weight of case I find that it seems to be true. Less so than the difference between .308 and 7.62, but still measureable. Is certainly not true of the case mouth ... could be a little added material in the web. But the same charges as in commercial cases do seem to exhibit slightly higher pressure in mil cases.

In the mid 80s I did compare identical loads on mil and commercial brass in a Clerke piezo pressure gun taking data at 50 khz. Pressures were higher in LC mil brass versus Win brass. Have long since lost the actual data but remember the outcome most vividly.

Military cartridge brass .308 , 5.56 , 7.62 X 63 are thicker cases . Don't kid yourselves .

LC match cases will not hold by volume the same amount a commercial case will . As with other military head stamped cases .

I've weighed 1000's of cases and they are indeed heavier .

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

I have 3 ARs and a bunch of 223 bolt guns. Rather than trying to keep the brass separated for each gun, I just full length size them in a standard RCBS 223 die. AR chambers are a bit larger than most bolt gun chambers, but I haven't had any problems in either.

I've used WW748 for years, but I'm trying TAC at the moment.

I would reccoment the purchase of an RCBS X die for your 223,,will cut down on the trimming chore considerably.

You might look here for lots of info -

http://www.6mmbr.com/223Rem.html

Weight differences between brands of brass are very noticable with 30-06 and 308. But not so with .223. I have weighed all sorts of surplus .223, (PMC, WCC, Malaysian, LC, Fed, BHA, god knows what else) and found that .223 brass has a very consistant weight regardless of who makes it.

Just load it and shoot it. It will shoot just great.

quote:

Originally posted by megalomaniac:
Totally new to the AR-15, but got one last month and I think I'll want to reload some for it.

Got a bunch of .223 and 5.56 headstamped brass, but I've heard of some problems with stuck cases reloading 5.56 brass in 223 dies. What's the deal and any tips out there for the loads?

(I do know 5.56 brass is supposed to be a little thicker, and know I'll need to FL resize to avoid any feeding issues)

There is a difference between .223 Remington and 5.56x45mm NATO. There is a good article in the NRA's American rifleman for the month of Sept. You should all get a copy. Chambers are different, ammo is different, pressures are different.NRA Also, 308Win. and 7.62NATO are also different.

The difference in 5.56 and .223 is only one of semantics. The case dimensions are identical. The specifications of things like chamber leade and tolerances may differ, but those differences vary with the source of "standardization", i.e., the military or SAAMI. A slightly different set of chamber specs is used for machine guns as opposed to shoulder rifles, etc., and a slightly different set of specs for a commercial chamber.

Military cases are made to a specification that allows them to function at a slightly higher pressure, which typically is met by making the web area slightly thicker, thus the origin of the traditional difference in military and commercial brass.

Military loads are typically speced to reach a maximum of 55,000 C.U.P. (I'm unfamiliar with what the spec is under the newer piezo-electric PSI scale). Commercial ammunition is loaded more conservatively (matching the slightly less pressure-resistant case).

The bottom line is that it is irrelevant what you call the cartridge. You will be loading it and thus you will be using whatever specs you damn well choose, whether those more closely match the military or the commercial ones.

Contending that the 5.56 and the .223 are "different" cartridges is like asserting that the .280 and 7mm Express Remington are different, or that the .244 and 6mm Remignton are different, or that the 7mm Mauser and .275 Rigby are unrelated.

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:
The difference in 5.56 and .223 is only one of semantics. The case dimensions are identical. The specifications of things like chamber leade and tolerances may differ, but those differences vary with the source of "standardization", i.e., the military or SAAMI. A slightly different set of chamber specs is used for machine guns as opposed to shoulder rifles, etc., and a slightly different set of specs for a commercial chamber.

Military cases are made to a specification that allows them to function at a slightly higher pressure, which typically is met by making the web area slightly thicker, thus the origin of the traditional difference in military and commercial brass.

Military loads are typically speced to reach a maximum of 55,000 C.U.P. (I'm unfamiliar with what the spec is under the newer piezo-electric PSI scale). Commercial ammunition is loaded more conservatively (matching the slightly less pressure-resistant case).

The bottom line is that it is irrelevant what you call the cartridge. You will be loading it and thus you will be using whatever specs you damn well choose, whether those more closely match the military or the commercial ones.

Contending that the 5.56 and the .223 are "different" cartridges is like asserting that the .280 and 7mm Express Remington are different, or that the .244 and 6mm Remignton are different, or that the 7mm Mauser and .275 Rigby are unrelated.

SAAMI 5.56 unsafe in 223rem If you go to this page and scroll down to 223rem, you will see that military 5.56 ammo should not be fired in a 223. So SAAMI said. Just for everones info. This is factory loaded ammo . A carefull reloader should have no problems

There is some good and some not so good information above. I am sure it is confusing for a new reloader. Perhaps it is notable that "headspace was not even mentioned, despite its criticality. One fellow even said one of the the most important things was to trim your cases. That's BS. This is not against anyone because all were replying to you in good faith and what you seek is not transmissable to a newcomer if a few hundred words. Get the Feamster book and the Zeddiker book on ARs. These men are acknowledged true expert shooters and reloaders of the AR rifles. For less than $50 you can have enough information to start your reloading hobby in a first class organized manner under the guidance of successful experts. Then you can go to Accurate, 6BR, AR-15 dot Com. or elsewhere and get and be able to evaluate what you find with understanding.(Not to squabble on the trim issue for example, but for me while I occasionally measure case length, I never trim because I know by use of tooling I use to measure chamber length, that I will discard several times fired cases before they grow too long for the gun they are used in. Clearance is clearance. I also have purchased and used a dozen 223 die sets and shellholders and my experience is that if I just cranked the die to the shellholder following manufactures directions, I'd find about 6 thousands case headspace variation in those sets. That's a bit much for my gas guns.Don't believe it? Go buy 5 223 shell holders alone and measure them. There is 3 or 4 K for sure right there.) Good luck on your reloading.

Link Follow this link to learn about the AR-15 and M16 and there ammo.

quote:

Originally posted by Bullet94:
You might look here for lots of info -

http://www.6mmbr.com/223Rem.html

I was going to post that too. Excellent resource IMHO.