.223 brass...

[44Blam]

Wow, there is no reason at all to buy it... I've been to the range 3 times and have 7 or 800 cases!
I stopped picking them up on the last trip. :) But, I was next to a guy shooting .308 that wasn't reloading and I stayed a while to pick those puppies up... ;)

EDIT:
I always ignored it before I started reloading for it...

[Taterhead]

Yah, the only reason to buy 223 rifle brass is if you want a specific head stamp and a known history. Some like premium brass for high precision work. Me, I've never bought a 223 case. I can't remember even buying 223 factory ammo. So 100% of my 223 brass is from range pickups. I've noticed that more and more commercial cases have crimped primer pockets, so swaging is part of the deal. I use the RCBS press-mounted swager, and it works great.

[44Blam]

Yah, the only reason to buy 223 rifle brass is if you want a specific head stamp and a known history. Some like premium brass for high precision work. Me, I've never bought a 223 case. I can't remember even buying 223 factory ammo. So 100% of my 223 brass is from range pickups. I've noticed that more and more commercial cases have crimped primer pockets, so swaging is part of the deal. I use the RCBS press-mounted swager, and it works great.

Is that what that is??? I had two cases that just went wrong when I went to prime them. I just tossed them and cursed the loss of the primer...

How do you tell the crimped primer pocket from a normal one? And can you just trim it out?

[Grmps]

A crimped primer pocket generally has a "ring" around the primer

[44Blam]

Ah - just looked it up. Looks like you just use the chamfer tool to take off the crimp. One more step to make my hands stronger. :-/

[gpidaho]

The crimp can be trimmed out with a countersink. I prefer to swage them out. Gp

[Taterhead]

There are two methods of dealing with primer pocket crimps. They can look like 3 little stakes, or can be a circular ring. LC and most of the commercial crimps will be the latter.

1) ream them. Basically cut out the crimp

2) Swage them. Swaging essentially molds the brass back to where it came.

Swaging is my preference since it doesn't remove metal.

Here is an inexpensive tool that is quick and effective. Doesn't work on progressive presses. Dillon makes a nice Super Swage bench mounted tool too.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/235832/rcbs-primer-pocket-swager-combo-2

[FISH4BUGS]

I typically load 223 in lots of 1000. I have found, like the OP, that there is so much abandoned brass at the range, I stopped picking up 223. Believe me, it pains me to leave good brass behind, even 223 brass.
I shoot a lot of full auto , and I think I have some 10,000 223 brass.....probably a lifetime's worth.....but it HURTS to leave good brass behind. I'll go through the brass buckets and take everything BUT 223.
As for swaging, I run ALL the 223, regardless of type, through a Dillon swager. It doesn't take that long to do 1000......and besides, winters are LONG here in NH. What else is a poor boy to do?