Texas SOT

Have YOU ever had a .223/5.56 case-head seperation? How many reloadings, and were they really hot?

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  • Alpha.Geek

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    Just curious how many reloadings people go though, and how hot the reloads were (over SAAMI specs), to get case-head separation?

    I have some .223/5.56 brass that was reloaded hot and warm, at LEAST 10-12 times, but no case-head separation... so far...
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    Lonesome Dove

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    Never in a 223 but never saw a need to load them hot.
    30- 06 never figured out why just sold the gun.
    Ackley rounds several due to fire forming.
    7x57 two due to old brass.
    22-250 just cracked necks.
     

    dee

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    I've had several separations in various rounds. How "hot" of a load is only a partial factor. Things like chamber dimensions, amount of bump, quality of brass and or type rifle its shot in.

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    GreatMrPoo

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    Not in 223/556, but with 9mm. Rounds were loaded way to hot. Inheritied a few cases of unmarked boxes from a family member passing. Turns out they were reloads he picked up at swap meet. Ended up just recycling the lot.
     

    xdmikey

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    None and don’t plan to. I load under book because it gets the job done(six inch steel plate at 200 yds).
    On another forum a member was having issues with a load, overbook, and I had the same rifle setup he did so I ran the loads that he did and had issues too.
    He figured out the AUG doesn’t perform well with CFE223 due to bismuth.

    I don’t understand chasing velocity
     

    Deavis

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    Yes, a few times. No they weren't loaded hot and they were only loaded by me once. Brass fails, shoot enough and you become a statistic. I have a case remover in my tool bag and think everyone should with an AR.
     

    toddnjoyce

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    Yes, a few times. No they weren't loaded hot and they were only loaded by me once. Brass fails, shoot enough and you become a statistic. I have a case remover in my tool bag and think everyone should with an AR.

    Any specific brand of brass?

    I get failures are going to happen but with tens of thousands Lake City rounds shot in the military and who knows how many in .civ life I’ve never seem this. I know it happens, just curious if there’s a common denominator.
     

    Txhillbilly

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    The necks on a 223 / 5.56 case will usually crack long before you will get a case head separation. I still have a bunch of LC brass with a 1976 head stamp that I load, and there's no telling how many times I've reloaded them since they were new.
    That said, I have a bunch of 2009 / 2010 LC brass that splits the necks the very first firing, and I bought that brass new / unfired. I actually think that it was rejected brass that was then sold to the public. I bought it from Natchez Shooters Supply years ago.
     

    Deavis

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    Any specific brand of brass?

    I get failures are going to happen but with tens of thousands Lake City rounds shot in the military and who knows how many in .civ life I’ve never seem this. I know it happens, just curious if there’s a common denominator.

    As far as I know the military doesn't shoot reloads and neither do most casual shooters. Failure on new brass is fairly rare and catastrophic failure is even rarer but there is a reason good rifle kits have a broken case extractor just like reloaders have a stuck case remover.


    Range pickup or fired brass, you never know what you are going to get. I got unlucky with those, no big deal. The benefits of a locked breech. I dont remember the headstamps anymore but I've seen them in multiple brands. We find one every month or two in the brass sort. Find a case head and then a body later.
     

    dee

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    223ai my daughter had while at a kids shoot just recently. Winchester brass that was fired as 223 in a bolt gun for the first firing. After that it was fire formed into 6mm tcu (basically a 6mm version of the 223ai) and loaded several times. Necked it back down to 22 neck diameter and loaded it 4 more times before this. I run pretty mild loads so all it took was a bounce on the butt of the rifle so it just fell out and she was back to shooting.
    ba0d8957a764fe389d52f57495a79752.jpg


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    benenglish

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    I don’t understand chasing velocity
    On rare occasions, it's perfectly understandable.
    • It's common and OK in benchrest. Sometimes there's another accuracy node just out of reach, so you tip a bit more powder into the case. I have no problem with that. Those guys generally know what they're doing.
    • Back when the power factors were different, 9mm major loads were a real thing. Yes, it was possible to achieve major power factor with published data but the .45 ACP-centric fuddy-duddies who ran the sport back then went apoplectic at the prospect so they changed the rules. For a while there, though, chasing velocity was the smart thing to do.
    • Some pure hunting cartridges are designed around the notion that "speed kills." While it's possible to debate that (I'm not qualified to do so, btw.) it's clear that anyone who builds a rifle in .22-300WSM is clearly chasing velocity and probably justified in doing so. Personally, I can't imagine building a rifle that will wear out a barrel in 400 rounds but, hey, if you're just using it to kill a couple of deer every year, 400 rounds is a lifetime.
    Offhand, those are the only cases I can think of where chasing faster bullet speeds is, IMO, justifiable and maybe even a darn good idea.

    Otherwise, I feel the same way you do. Even if the firearm can take it, why wear out brass prematurely?
     

    dee

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    Personally, I can't imagine building a rifle that will wear out a barrel in 400 rounds but, hey, if you're just using it to kill a couple of deer every year, 400 rounds is a lifetime.


    I have friends running some 6mm saum or prc's that are a touch better than 400rds but only by about 100 or 200rds better. Their mentality is 500-600 shots is a lot of dead coyotes. There's also the fact that from near to out at 500yds you don't need to hold off the dog.

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    Axxe55

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    On rare occasions, it's perfectly understandable.
    • It's common and OK in benchrest. Sometimes there's another accuracy node just out of reach, so you tip a bit more powder into the case. I have no problem with that. Those guys generally know what they're doing.
    • Back when the power factors were different, 9mm major loads were a real thing. Yes, it was possible to achieve major power factor with published data but the .45 ACP-centric fuddy-duddies who ran the sport back then went apoplectic at the prospect so they changed the rules. For a while there, though, chasing velocity was the smart thing to do.
    • Some pure hunting cartridges are designed around the notion that "speed kills." While it's possible to debate that (I'm not qualified to do so, btw.) it's clear that anyone who builds a rifle in .22-300WSM is clearly chasing velocity and probably justified in doing so. Personally, I can't imagine building a rifle that will wear out a barrel in 400 rounds but, hey, if you're just using it to kill a couple of deer every year, 400 rounds is a lifetime.
    Offhand, those are the only cases I can think of where chasing faster bullet speeds is, IMO, justifiable and maybe even a darn good idea.

    Otherwise, I feel the same way you do. Even if the firearm can take it, why wear out brass prematurely?
    I can remember some years ago, chasing velocity was a thing. Many were chasing velocity for the simple reason of trying to be the fastest, and I would assume simply for bragging rights.

    For the most part, I just didn't see it being practical for most applications, whether target shooting or hunting.

    You did lay out some possible reasons where it might be practical in some cases to chase velocity though.
     
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