5.56 headstamp question

[KCcactus]

Does anyone know what brand these are? These were in some range brass I bought. The first one broke my lee decapper pin. They look like they have a single flash hole, but it looks small. I only found 4 so far, but I can't deprime any of them. I'm curious about the brand.
137943

[trails4u]

Igman..... I've not used it, but have heard reports that it's good brass, after initial prep. Some rumors that flash holes are undersized.....I guess we could call those rumors confirmed now. Hate to hear about the broken pin....PITA.

[GRUMPA]

I believe those are from the U.K. and frankly I would just stick with domestic brass.....

[Akheloce]

They're Igman Zavod- Yugoslavian.

[MUSTANG]

Try using a Lee Universal Deprimming/Decapping die as a separate case prep step. I've had success in other cases with under size primer holes. Need to use a small drill bit to open the primer hole afterwards if you want to by pass the extra step on future case reloading.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/136543/lee-universal-depriming-and-decapping-die

You might also try the Lee Decapper Base and Punch in 22 cal for a less costly solution for just a few cases. Once again, you need to use a small drill bit to open the primer hole afterwards if you want to by pass the extra step on future case reloading.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/297408/lee-decapper-and-base-22-caliber?cm_vc=ProductFinding

[higgins]

I tried to decap some Igman 6.5x55 with a different headstamp with a Lee hammer-style decapper. I didn't break the decapping pin, but did manage to pull the pin out of the rod trying to remove a stuck pin from the undersized flash holes. I finally set them aside until I figure out an easier way to decap them to drill out the flash holes to normal size. Maybe hydraulic decapping would work, but that's too much trouble for plentiful .223 brass.

[KCcactus]

I was using the universal decapping die. I expected the pin to pop up instead of breaking. I guess I had it in too tight. Fortunately, I had a spare pin. Hopefully, there won't be much more of it in the rest of the box of range brass.

[Bzcraig]

I recently got some from the range also and it is Yugo brass. The flash holes are real small and will continue to break pins in the universal decapping die. I even tried the sizing die as suggested by Lee and managed to punch out the first primer but the pin stuck in the flash hole separating from the sizing rod. Lee graciously replaced every broken part. I put all of the brass in the recycle bin.

[94Doug]

Wow. This explains the issue I was having. I had some of these in a lot of brass I bought. Kept breaking pins then bent one, then borrowed and broke another. Finally used the Lee set up, no problem. Actually, found that system to be pretty slick, as I drilled a 1/4" hole through my bench top, then another shallow hole with a forester bit the diameter of the Lee base, now the primers drop into a coffee can on the shelf below.

[DW475]

Thanks for posting this info. I've got 2400 lbs of brass i'm sorting which is turning out to be a chore and have filled up several 5 gallon buckets of 5.56/223 brass. I separated the military head stamps from the commercial but now looks like i should separate the lake city brass from the foreign.

[Ken in Iowa]

Thanks for posting this info. I've got 2400 lbs of brass i'm sorting which is turning out to be a chore and have filled up several 5 gallon buckets of 5.56/223 brass. I separated the military head stamps from the commercial but now looks like i should separate the lake city brass from the foreign.

That is a wise choice brother.

You might encounter 5.56 with TW (date) head stamps from the 60s. This is the Twin Cities Arsenal in Minnesota. It should be comparable to Lake City. I used a ton of it years ago.