I am waiting on a new Sako 75 223 Varmint rifle to replace a Savage 110. I used 60 grain partitions over IMR 4895 to shoot deer in Texas. I got a bad batch of Winchester brass and while trying to pull some bullets that I was not going to use I tore the rims off 9 shells in a row with a kinetic bullet puller before trashing the whole lot. I am trying to find the best brand of brass to buy to attempt to avoid this in the future.

Nosler or Hornady (but I don't recall if Hornady is making .223) Both these are pricey compared to Remchester, but they are head and shoulders better and worth the $$$ in the long run.

LWD

Lapua still makes .223 brass.

- mike

Buy some once fired Lake City brass. It can be found online for about $30-35 per 500.

I use UMC brass loaded to 5.56 levels. No issues as of yet.
.223 level loads aren't stressing the UMC brass much at all. This is out of two AR-15's. Probably 5 or 6 reloadings so far.

I have some LC brass I use for really precise loads. It's really good brass if you deal with removing the crimp. Sometimes it can be found already processed.

ZM

I would agree Laupa RWS Lake City Remington are the best as far as the ones I've used . I don't know about Nosler or Hornady brass as I've never used them .

Shoot Straight Know Your Target . ...

LC just works. Run it 5 times through an M16 then send them to the pile to be used in an AR15.

+1 Lapua

Thanks everyone, 3 out of 7 for Lapua.

Let us know how your new Sako 75 compares to the Savage 110. What trigger on the Savage.

So far I have pulled bullets from several different vendors of brass. I have yet to rip off the head with my kenetic bullet puller. I think you got a bad batch of brass. I would contact the vendor. If it is soft enough that you are ripping off the heads, it is probably not safe to shoot.

quote:

Originally posted by Snowwolfe:
Buy some once fired Lake City brass. It can be found online for about $30-35 per 500.

Although I like LC, I don't like buying once fired.
The biggest issue is when the brass has been shot in a SAW and the shoulder is pushed too far forward to be 223 ever again.

Remington is OK.
LC is good when i shot the ammo.
If you can find 1990 Chinese, it is soft but very accurate. I couldn't push the load as hot as I wanted.
Surplus Guatemalan 55gr M193 is pretty good ammo and brass is very consistant.

It should be noted that I am using a ARs and have not found a tack driving load that works in both ARs.

Based on my gel tests:
If I was going after deer, I would look at the Winchester 64gr PP and Speer 70gr RN.

quote:

It should be noted that I am using a ARs and have not found a tack driving load that works in both ARs.

Is the twist same in both rifles?

Have you tried H335 behind 55 gr. Nosler BT's? Shoots in the .3's in my Bushy Predator and Savage FP10.

Regards,
hm

quote:

Originally posted by hm1996:

quote:

It should be noted that I am using a ARs and have not found a tack driving load that works in both ARs.

Is the twist same in both rifles?

Have you tried H335 behind 55 gr. Nosler BT's? Shoots in the .3's in my Bushy Predator and Savage FP10.

Regards,
hm

No, they do not have the same twist.

I had a load that was a tack driver in the HBAR, using Chinese brass, CCI primers, 2015BR, 68gr? SMK, but it was over pressurized in hot weather. When the new reloading manual came out, it was over book also. I love the fact that my AR ate this and didn't have any issues.

Since then I built a light barreled AR. It eats all the military ammo and is accurate enough for military purposes, but I need to take the time, change the config, and see how accurate it can be.

I am working on heavier bullets. I like the way they gel test.

I am thinking Varget, Russian primers.

quote:

Originally posted by Rine Everett:
...I got a bad batch of Winchester brass and while trying to pull some bullets that I was not going to use I tore the rims off 9 shells in a row with a kinetic bullet puller before trashing the whole lot. ...

Hey Rine, If you can fish the Cartridges out of the trash, I may be able to help you with that problem. Try Seating the Bullet just slightly deeper before using the Puller. Sometimes the Caseneck residue gets a very tenacious grip on the Bullets after they set for awhile. Seating them slightly deeper breaks the grip and allows them to come out of the Case easier.

Just can't imagine Deer so small that deserve Hunting with a 22cal though. However, my "opinion" does not seem to be real popular concerning that issue on this Board.

Interesting, I have loaded and shot 500-1000 223s per year in Win cases for more than 15 years. Pulled a few bullets and never had one problem.
I have a Sako 75 stainless varmint. It came with a 1:8 twist. I did not know it was a fast twist. It did not shoot my preferred 40 grain bullets that well, about 1". So it has a 1:14 shlen and it shoots fantastic.
Good luck

Lake City works for me. I've also used Winchester and WCC (winchester commercial).

Lapua is the best....

but I still get real decent service life out of Win, Rem and LC...

There is nothing wrong with Winchester 223 brass.
My son, and I both use Win brass in 223. He shoots High Power Rifle competetively, and uses far more Win brass than I do, with no problems.
If you are tearing the heads off cases, by all means switch to a collet puller and stop the head pulling.
Were you trying to pull bullets that were factory crimped with the inertia puller? If so, that's the reason for the pulled heads. I've never had a head pull off a case using an inertia puller, for my reloads, which aren't crimped.

Don

My all around accurate load for about any AR or bolt .223 is HORNADY #22492 A-MAX 52gr Boattail, 23.5gr VV N-133, Remmy 7.5BR primer.
Not the hottest load, but it is one of the most accurate loads I have used in about any 223. Lake City Brass

Well, I got to the range with it. The old Savage with a 1:9 twist would do 69 BH match in 1 inch at 200 yds. The Sako would do 8" at 100. Switched to a 55 gr varmint bullet I had and got 1.5". I will see if I can get a load worked up with the 60 partitions. I dunno about the brass, I have used Win brass in the 223 for 3 years with no issues until this paticulal batch.

Hot Core: darn, I never thought of that, that might have worked but the shell are long gone. I will file that trick away, thanks. As for the 223 on deer threads, those are some nasty fights sometimes. Most of the deer I shoot are 100lbs or less and the partition will leave an exit most of the time. I really dont like exit wounds on the 223, I want all the heat/energy used up in the deer. If (IF) I am with my uncles (farmers who ONLY take neck shots) then I am forced to take a neck shot so I can continue hunting on their ranch. I also have a 300 RUM that I will pull out if I am hunting horns, but I havn't done that in awhile.

Burlington Rd: it was an old school Savage 2 years befotre the accutrigger. The 75 has a larger extractor, and a heavier barrel along with a slicker action. I don't like the Sako bases though.

df06: it seems to be that the Sako likes light bullets for the twist??? I figured the faster twist the heavier bullets it would like? I dunno...

Lake City brass is the way to go if you can find it.

If you think that the Winchester brass failed in your operation I would send some of the cases back to Winchester and see if they will send you a coupon for some replacements. I had some problems with the flash holes on new Winchester brass for a 243, sent them back around 5-8 of the cases and they sent me coupons to replace the damaged ones plus a few extra for my trouble. Give them a try.

HotCore ; I agree as I've never used .224 " on a deer either .

Mule Deer like to bolt after being hit , I use a 7mm RM , although that's way more than one needs !. As I've seen .243 do the job , but a .308 pass through and it required two shots .

So I like em bang dead drop . I hunted with a friend he used his 30/30 and it bolted up over a rise down into a canyon . Took us 4.5 hrs of near vertical scaling to get that dam thing out !.

That's why I use the 7mmRM or 6.5 Swede or 06 .308 . I'm not packing out uphill any more !.

I'll pass on the shot .

Didn't mean to hijack the thread !.

Shoot Straight Know Your Target. ...

I picked up (literally) two five gallon buckets of .223 brass from a range used by law enforcement officers (most was LC Black Hills "reman" ammo).

I never had any problems with this brass.
The guy could not believe I wanted it and was happy to have me "help him out."

quote:

Originally posted by Flippy:
I picked up (literally) two five gallon buckets of .223 brass from a range used by law enforcement officers (most was LC Black Hills "reman" ammo).

I never had any problems with this brass.
The guy could not believe I wanted it and was happy to have me "help him out."

Okay Flippy,

you and I have to 'hang' together... or just let me know where this range might be, and I'll got help them out sometime soon...

not like I need anymore 223 brass.. but one the other hand, we know 'too much 223 brass' is an oxymoron...

The Oregon Guard was training at my range recently with their M16s and CAR-4s...
they had to pick up and turn in ALL of their brass...

just what those guys shot that one day, I could have varmint hunted the rest of my natural life and never ran out of 223 brass.. I bet they blew out 30 to 40 thousand rounds out there...

quote:

Originally posted by Rine Everett:
...As for the 223 on deer threads, those are some nasty fights sometimes.

I've heard rumors about that.

quote:

Most of the deer I shoot are 100lbs or less and the partition will leave an exit most of the time. I really dont like exit wounds on the 223, I want all the heat/energy used up in the deer.

I know what you mean. There was one particular Stand I hunted that had about 100yds of dense brush and trees close together, but beyond that was a house about 200yds farther. Always felt more comfortable using a Revolver from that Stand. It was close-up Killing, so a 357Mag or a 44Mag did fine and Hollow Points stayed inside the hide.

quote:

If (IF) I am with my uncles (farmers who ONLY take neck shots) then I am forced to take a neck shot so I can continue hunting on their ranch.

I'm not a fan of Neck or Head shots either. Had to track down a lot of very poorly shot Deer where that kind of shot just didn't go as expected for the Nimrod. Even resorted to using a Decoy to show folks where to shoot.

quote:

I also have a 300 RUM that I will pull out if I am hunting horns, but I havn't done that in awhile.

I'd guess I've seen 24-26 of them at the Range and all of them were shooting excellent groups. Don't have one myself, but I can see where it would be an excellent long range Cartridge.

By the way, over the years I've typically had great accuracy with Partitions. They always Killed well for me(in an Appropriate Cartridge ) and I do not remember recovering one.

Most of the Hunting I do, having an Exit is a huge advantage for Tracking "if" Tracking is needed. And small holes tend to clog easier with innards, so that is why I lean to slightly larger diameter Bullets for Deer.

Best of luck to you.

I had a scary kaboom using sized and trimmed LC .223 brass.

To assure prevention of an out of battery fire, re-size using small or narrow based dies.

+1 Lapua
oe Black Hills Match