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Author Topic: Reloading .223 VS 5.56  (Read 11618 times)

super_b AK

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Reloading .223 VS 5.56
« on: February 18, 2012, 09:21:25 pm »
A press is on the list this year and I have been saving brass. I know you can shoot .223 out of a 5.56 but not the other way around. I have been buying ammo so I can shoot it and save the brass, along with picking up brass. I have been buying 5.56, but .223 ammo is cheaper where I am at.

The question is if you shoot .223 out of a 5.56 does that effectively resize the brass, and can you just trim the cases and load it as 5.56? Can you load .223 and 5.56 with the same set of dies? Am I going to be wasting my time picking up the .223 brass? I have a SIG 556, and any AR's I pick up will be 5.56 as well, so I was just planning on 5.56 dies when the time came.

I'm just thinking for general use ammo.
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Alaska

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    THE NORSEMAN

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    Re: Reloading .223 VS 5.56
    « Reply #1 on: February 18, 2012, 11:59:09 pm »
    Just load to 223 specs and be done with it.  That's the easiest way.

    Official chamber dimensions are sloppier for the 5.56, and the 5.56 runs a bit higher pressure, along with the dedicated 5.56 brass being a bit more robust in construction.

    They are loaded on the same dies as well, unless you special order a set to an exact preferred dimension.
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    mwcoleburn

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    Re: Reloading .223 VS 5.56
    « Reply #2 on: February 19, 2012, 12:00:28 am »
    The case size between the two are exactly the same. The difference between the two is the thickness that the military cases are made too. They have slightly lower capacity and a higher sami rating. Feel free to reload both cases, just don't put a not 5.56 load into. 223 case or you risk case failure.
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    Eric H

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    Re: Reloading .223 VS 5.56
    « Reply #3 on: February 19, 2012, 12:01:50 am »
    I just started for my M-4 as well.  RCBS  has a die listed as for both 223 and 5.56. I payed about 45.00 . Havnt used it yet. so I cant give any more info than that. 

      Happy shooting.
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    Re: Reloading .223 VS 5.56
    « Reply #4 on: February 19, 2012, 12:22:22 am »
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    This may be considered as the true palladium of liberty. . . . The right of self defence is the first law of nature: in most governments it has been the study of rulers to confine this right within the narrowest limits possible. Wherever standing armies are kept up, and the right of the people to keep and bear arms is, under any colour or pretext whatsoever, prohibited, liberty, if not already annihilated, is on the brink of destruction- St. George Tucker, Blackstone's Commentaries

    cpaspr

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    Re: Reloading .223 VS 5.56
    « Reply #5 on: February 19, 2012, 12:26:19 am »
    Like Norseman said, just run all the brass through a .223 sizing die, and regardless of what the headstamp says, they're now sized to .223 chambers.  Trim as necessary after sizing.  I separated mine at first, but only because I wanted to maintain similar headstamps for load development/sighting in.  Once that's done, I probably won't keep them separate.

    But as has been said, load all of them as though they are .223 brass.  If you load .223 brass to 5.56mm specs, you may seriously regret it.
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    super_b AK

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    Re: Reloading .223 VS 5.56
    « Reply #6 on: February 19, 2012, 02:06:26 am »
    Sounds like a plan

    Thanks
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    JD

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    Re: Reloading .223 VS 5.56
    « Reply #7 on: February 19, 2012, 02:13:14 am »
    Great info. Everyone is spot on. Plus, saving brass from your gun is a 'plus' since the empties have been fireformed to your particular weapon. BR/accuracy shooters are more concerned about this kind of thing, but I consider it a benefit too.   
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    Outbreak

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    Re: Reloading .223 VS 5.56
    « Reply #8 on: February 19, 2012, 02:35:52 pm »
    The only difference you'll find is the primer pocket crimp. And I've been finding a lot of ammo on the shelves marked .223 that have crimps. You'll wreck a lot of primers if you start mixing in crimped primer pockets without removing the crimps.
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    TexasOutbreak

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    cpaspr

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    Re: Reloading .223 VS 5.56
    « Reply #9 on: February 19, 2012, 03:23:02 pm »
    Quote from: Outbreak on February 19, 2012, 02:35:52 pm
    The only difference you'll find is the primer pocket crimp. And I've been finding a lot of ammo on the shelves marked .223 that have crimps. You'll wreck a lot of primers if you start mixing in crimped primer pockets without removing the crimps.

    Which is a reason why I run a marker over the base of all of my rounds while their in the box.  That way, when I pick up the empties, I know those particular ones have already been deswaged.
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