Warning

 

Close
Confirm Action

Are you sure you wish to do this?

Cancel Confirm
AR15.COM
Armory Sponsor
6/27/2012 5:00:54 AM EDT
loading for 556 i have noticed a HUGE difference in how different brands of once fired brass resize.
this has caused me to only buy once fired military brass as it is 99% of the time all the same brand.

what i do not understand is that the resizing process is the same, on a single stage, yet one brass can resize within spec and another be under-spec and another over spec(only happens with different brands of brass).

I assume this is due to different brass thicknesses and hardness?
6/27/2012 5:19:29 AM EDT
[#1]
Another reason for the difference in sizing effort might be due to the chamber dimension of the firearm that the cartridge was fired in. For example, a cartridge fired in a tight chambered .223 match barrel will likely not expand as much as a round fired in a 5.56 military chamber.
6/27/2012 5:32:26 AM EDT
[#2]
Not all cartridge brass is the same composition, so it is all going to be a little different. I've even noticed the changes over the years from the same manufacturer.... a perfect example is Federal .223 brass from the last 8 ( ? ) years ago... it was too thin in the primer webbing. That stuff resized wonderfully for me... but would get loose primer pockets after one or two heavy loadings.
6/27/2012 8:57:58 AM EDT
[#3]
I have also noticed the difference between different brands of brass.



One of the reasons I sort by headstamp. OCD is the other reason.
6/27/2012 9:33:01 AM EDT
[#4]
The only brand case I notice that requires more effort to resize is Prvi Partizan, PPU.  The only brass I segregate for short line use is PMP b/c it is much heavier.  I also remove "large letter) (older thin-webbed) Federal, S&B, and anything Chinese from the reloading pile.  Those get scrapped.
6/27/2012 9:47:38 AM EDT
[#5]
In my experience this type of thing is more noticeable with rifle brass , pretty much you don't see it with pistol stuff.

Before I ever started loading for the AR I had stacked up a pretty good sized supply of brass so the simple solutition

was to sort by headstamp/brand and to deal with one type of brass at a time. only brand of brass I have ever reloaded is lake city


With pistol brass there are a couple odd brands that cause problems and if I notice I just scrap them but other than that it all goes into or comes out of one bucket for each caliber
Armory Sponsor