LC brass

[mrgaf]

Got me a load of nice LC brass. I deprimed and sized to .223 and trimmed to specs. Getting ready to reload em but I've heard that LC brass is thicker and as a result a reduced charge is required. If, true bout how much should I reduced the powder charge? 2%? Will be using H335. Thanks!

 

[Precision32]

When I load a new caliber, I start at mid range and work up to maximum. 10 rounds of each loading. I then run everything across a chrony and see which loading gives the least deviation.

 

[DGW1949]

I'm real-big on sticking to what can be found in "the manual"...but...neither of my two manuals show .223 loads which were developed/tested while using LC .556 brass, so they were of no help in the matter.
On the other hand...yep, conventional wisdom say's that military brass is known to be thicker than commercial brass, so yep, you'll need to reduce the powder charge accordingly.
Me personaly, I'd be inclined to begin with whatever charge the "starting load" shows relative to the powder/bullet/primer that I was going to use, and go up a half-grain at a time while keeping in mind the need to stay well away of whatever my manual(s) show as a "maximum charge".

Point is.....you aint going to safely duplicate "factory ballistics" while using LC brass anyway, so why tempt fate?

DGW

 

[Twoboxer]

Got me a load of nice LC brass. I deprimed and sized to .223 and trimmed to specs. Getting ready to reload em but I've heard that LC brass is thicker and as a result a reduced charge is required. If, true bout how much should I reduced the powder charge? 2%? Will be using H335. Thanks!

Don't know your current brass, powder charge, rifle, and chamber. So it's not possible to say whether your LC brass has thicker walls or whether you'd want to adjust your load up or down.

If you want to find out if your LC brass has thicker walls that will increase pressure, grab a piece of your current brass and an LC. Both should be either fired from the same gun and cleaned (preferred), or resized with the same die. Trim both to the same length, put a spent primer in both cases, and weigh each one. Then fill both with water to overflowing and weigh both. Subtract to get the weight of the water they hold and compare.

If the LC brass held less water, start low and work up. If the same, ignore. If LC held more water, you'd theoretically need to add more powder, or ignore it.

Bottom line - if you really care about small differences in pressure, you're already separating your brass by headstamp. So unless you are already at max load/pressure for your chamber, it's probably fine to ignore it.

 

[Mobuck]

Here's what I found using WC 844(H335) in LC brass with CCI #41 primers: Target velocity( I load using a chronograph to achieve a chosen velocity within the range in the manual) came one full grain(of powder)below what was expected using commercial brass. In other words, it took 1 grain less powder to reach similar velocity in LC vs commercial(Rem/Win) brass. One grain in a 25 grain load would be about 4%.
As with ANY deviation from posted manual data, don't take anything for granted. Always start low and work up (unless the manual says not to reduce).
There's a lot of contention over the "thicker military brass" issue. Keep in mind that there's a lot of overlap especially in the .223/5.56 brass specifications. Some "civilian" brass is the same(or very similar) to military production simply because it's easier and cheaper to make all the brass the same and change the headstamp for production runs. I'm not going to enter that arena as I don't find it such a big problem. Most of my .223 loads are close to 5% under max load as a consolation to the chance of a misplaced/misread headstamp case-I don't miss that amount and have 22/250's if I need more performance.

 

[mrgaf]

Great info and guidance. Reloaded some using the tables from Hodgdon. 223, 62gr FMJ, H335 and I used CCI primers. Per their data, load range is 19.3 - 21.4. Taking Into consideration the military brass, I loaded at 19.8, sat the bullet to the cannalure, very slight crimp. Then made 15 more at 20.4gr. My AR ate them up without any problems, MOA @ 100 and the spent cases and primers showed zero pressure problems. Wish I had a chrono but that will be reserved for the future. Gonna try the water volume test using resized Winchester, Remington and LC brass. Sounds like fun! Thanks!

 

[mikld]

What's wrong with the starting loads listed in your manual? Yep, the military brass may be thicker walled thus reducing case capacity, but you want to reduce your load from what? Maximun listed charge? Just start at the "book" starting load, as you would do with any new load/component, work up if you feel the need and watch for high pressure signs...

K.I.S.S.

 

[Mobuck]

"Gonna try the water volume test using resized Winchester, Remington and LC brass"

You'll have to reseat the old primers if you resize(otherwise case won't hold water).

 

[427mach1]

I've weighed LC brass and compared it to commercial brass - they are very close to identical.

If you are loading for an AR-15, most of them (all?) are designed and rated for 5.56 pressures, which is 62,350 psi. Most reloading manuals show loads for 223, which has a maximum SAAMI pressure of 55,000. If you are loading to max loads for 223, you are well below 5.56 pressures. Any increase in pressure due to a smaller volume case should still fall below the maximum for 5.56.

 

[hard nose street cop]

Got me a load of nice LC brass. I deprimed and sized to .223 and trimmed to specs. Getting ready to reload em but I've heard that LC brass is thicker and as a result a reduced charge is required. If, true bout how much should I reduced the powder charge? 2%? Will be using H335. Thanks!

Since Mil Spec brass (LC, WCC) has less internal Capacity than commercial brass, just keep your max load 5% under what the data call for as their max load.

 

[daveg.inkc]

I use and reload LC brass. Lake City Ammunition is right here in beautiful, historical Independence, MO. Son-in-law is a firefighter there. I just finished sizing, trimming, priming 1500 pcs. of this brass. Trimmed very few. I have a Mini and an AR 556. I load 24.2 grs. CFE 223 with a 77 gr. hpbt Sierra Very accurate.

 

[Rick Courtright]

I've weighed LC brass and compared it to commercial brass - they are very close to identical.

Hi,

A buddy gave me a bunch of LC 5.56 and Federal .223 to process and eventually teach him to load. I weighed 'em both, wondering how much difference there'd be. For all intents and purposes, they were identical. So I didn't bother with the water test... There are some other brands mixed in the box, but I haven't weighed them yet.

I also loaded a few of each, to .223 specs, from starting to max per Hodgdons, and the guys who shot 'em (I don't own a .223) didn't notice any real difference in performance.

Rick C