Case? 5.56x45 vs. .223 PPU cases

[Daryl]

I got a nice batch of a few thousand once-fired PPU 5.56 x 45 cases. Must be military because there is a crimp.

I'm finding that many (did not count - maybe 5% to 10%) of the case heads do not fit standard .223 loading shell holders & plates. Most of them slip in and out. But the stubborn ones take some work. I filed and sanded my shell holders to at least get those stubborn ones in and out for case prep. then, even the Dillon RL550B wants to try to hang up once in awhile and I have to jiggle a bit to get the loaded case out. They seem to chamber and fire fine, however.

So, I'm curious if there is a difference in the case sizes? I see Sammi specs for 223 but not 556. I do know that for my bolt action 223, I can only used commercial 223 brass to successfully chamber easily - any military brass needs to have the bolt really hit hard to close. But the military brass feeds fine in the Mini-14 and AR.

[357 Voodoo]

I had about 500 like that trashed them all they were too much of an aggravation

[Daryl]

With the quantity, it seems worthwhile. Just hard with those stubborn ones. I used some valve grinding compound with the case in a drill to ream out the shell holder opening the final bit I did not get with the file and sandpaper.

[stubshaft]

I was at the range this morning sorting through some 223 brass to neck down to triple deuce. I was suprised to see Federal (FC) had crimped primers.

[Mk42gunner]

I got a nice batch of a few thousand once-fired PPU 5.56 x 45 cases. Must be military because there is a crimp.

I'm finding that many (did not count - maybe 5% to 10%) of the case heads do not fit standard .223 loading shell holders & plates. Most of them slip in and out. But the stubborn ones take some work. I filed and sanded my shell holders to at least get those stubborn ones in and out for case prep. then, even the Dillon RL550B wants to try to hang up once in awhile and I have to jiggle a bit to get the loaded case out. They seem to chamber and fire fine, however.

So, I'm curious if there is a difference in the case sizes? I see Sammi specs for 223 but not 556. I do know that for my bolt action 223, I can only used commercial 223 brass to successfully chamber easily - any military brass needs to have the bolt really hit hard to close. But the military brass feeds fine in the Mini-14 and AR.

Daryl,

Your PPU headstamped cases were probably made in one of the former Combloc countries, and then fired in something with a military type chamber.


I was at the range this morning sorting through some 223 brass to neck down to triple deuce. I was suprised to see Federal (FC) had crimped primers.

Stubshaft,

Your FC cases were probably sold as American Eagle, especially if there isn't a date code on the headstamp. Most of the 5.56mm that I remember was either WCC or LC when I was on active duty; I retired in April of 2004 and that may have changed since then.



Robert

[stubshaft]

Your probably right Robert. I was just suprised as I like to use the Federals to make 7 TCU brass and didn't want to mess with swaging the pockets.

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

Privi Partizan most likely. The various calibers I have used are good quality.

Rich

[MtGun44]

PPU is Prvi Partisan, in Serbia. Probably just a bit on the big side. May try an
different brand shellholder, some are very tight. I have used a lot of PPU brass, it
is quality brass, but may be a touch off on dimension occasionally.

Bill

[spqrzilla]

PPU is Prvi Partisan. In fact, its the headstamp they use for export ammunition. "nny" is the Cyrillic headstamp from the same factory.

There are no differences in external case dimensions between 5.56mm and .223 Remington except through differences in tolerances between the specs.

Odd experience because Prvi Partisan has been decent quality in my experience.

[Three44s]

Other than case wall thickness differences the chamber dimensions are the same ........... with one big exception:

The 5.56 chamber has a longer throat than the .223 ........ it's safe to fire a .223 in a military chamber but not the reverse.

A 5.56 round fired in a .223 can be hazzardous as it's loaded hotter to take advantage of the longer throat which in a .223 chamber does not exist.

I realize you did not ask that but it's less understood by many.

As for your hard chambering of the resized military cases in your bolt gun ........ it may well be that the military chambers it was fired in are a little more generous than the bolt gun you are attempting to use them in now. What I would consider is a small based sizer die in .223 for a "once over" on those mil. cases and then back to a standard die.

You may well want to keep those cases separate from the brass you cycle through your AR and Mini as they seem to have more generous chambers as you mention that the brass that chambers hard in your bolt gun does not have issues in your semi's.

Three 44s

[oneokie]

I'm finding that many (did not count - maybe 5% to 10%) of the case heads do not fit standard .223 loading shell holders & plates. Most of them slip in and out. But the stubborn ones take some work. I filed and sanded my shell holders to at least get those stubborn ones in and out for case prep. .

Have experienced that with LC brass. Seems like the cases with the swelled rim/head are softer than what they should be. I either toss them in the scrap bucket or chuck them in a drill and use a file to trim them down to where they will fit in the shell holder.

[GabbyM]

Your mil surplus brass just needs sized down more to fit your bolt gun.
Your size die may be worn a bit. I had to buy a new one after thirty years of use.

I’ve heard you can take a little off the top of your shell holder on a belt sander to allow your die to go farther down on the case.
Removing metal from the die bottom I’d think would be harder.

[frkelly74]

Sanding off the top of the shell holder will also change the head to shoulder dimension and could result in excess head space which could lead to head separation. Proceed with caution!!

[Three44s]

I did some more thinking on Daryl's problem and recall that I have some 9mm cases in the PPU and nny variety and THEY also give me grief!

I have many other brands in that caliber and just set them aside!

The rim of the cases were the problem in that case.

Three 44s

[higgins]

It seems too obvious, but the few that wouldn't fit the shellholder may have been very slightly dinged by feeding and ejecting in an autoloader. I've had LC .30/06 fired in Garands that wouldn't fit a shellholder until some very tiny burrs were filed off various places on the rim; the bent rims are obvious. The only Prvi brass I've reloaded is 6.5x55, and just the other day had the first split neck on a batch that had been FL sized and reloaded with moderate jacketed bullet loads 11 times without annealing. Overall, very good brass.

[spqrzilla]

Good point, higgins.