Are all of these .223 brass crimped primer pockets?

[Stopsign32v]

Got a large batch of range pickup a while back and was wanting to sort my true once fired for some precision handloads. But being somewhat new at rifle brass and .223 I want to understand what I'm looking at when it comes to the primer pocket.

[Winger Ed.]

Yep.

Any brass that doesn't have the common manufacturer's head stamp like say, a .30-30 or .243--
count on it being made to, or for GI specs. and have a crimped in primer.

Several of yours look like reloads that have already been processed to remove the crimp.
The ones with paint have not.

[Hannibal]

I only see one that doesn't appear to have a crimped primer to me but it also appears that a couple of those *might* have been reloaded before but it's hard to tell.

The one with the headstamp R P 223 Rem does not appear crimped to me but that's no guarantee.

[Tripplebeards]

Yep, only the 223 RP case is not crimped. I bought a Dillion super swage a few years back. What a process. I luckily bought a 1000 virgin LC cases since I have put aside for when SHTF so don’t have to swage anymore. It’s a good tool to have laying around though. Seems 99% of range pick up 5.56 and 223 are crimped. I have zip lock bags full.

[shell70634]

It's safer to assume they are all crimped and process accordingly. Then you can manage the brass for yourself. Also check for berdan. Have extra decap pins on hand.

[Dave W.]

To me, it looks like only three are crimped, the two with red around the primer, the heads are stamped 5.56.
The other one is stamped TZZ 20 88.

[trails4u]

To me, it looks like only three are crimped, the two with red around the primer, the heads are stamped 5.56.
The other one is stamped TZZ 20 88.

I agree with this.....some of the others may have been crimped in the past but they've been removed.

[45DUDE]

I find it easier to own a Dillon super swedge. I swedge all the 223 I pick up before I add to the stash. I don't pick up 223 anymore unless there's a hundred or so from the same gun. saves trimming.

[BLAHUT]

THINK ALL ARE CRIMPED AND PREP AS SUCH. I BOUGHT A Dillon swedge TREAT ALL AS SUCH UNTILL I KNOW?

[JimB..]

I’ll go another direction, throw all that crap in the bucket for making plinking ammo and go find yourself some once fired, or new, single headstamp brass for precision. That game is about eliminating variables, you’re starting with a million variables and hoping to reduce them through brass prep, better to eliminate them from the start.

[Stopsign32v]

go find yourself some once fired, or new, single headstamp brass for precision.

Any advice on where to find that? And what do you mean single headstamp brass?

[Hannibal]

If you check in the swappin' and sellin' area here or other forums you can find once fired brass most times. Finding new brass can be hit or miss but seems to be getting a bit better though some prices are still elevated. Best just to check web sites to see if it's in stock and order online for me. Watch out for smokin' deals and any place that won't take a credit card, probably a scam. Single headstamp means all stamped the same so the same manufacturer. Not necessarily from the same lot but still better than multiple stamps/manufacturers like what you have pictured. I use mixed lots of brass like that in my AR at a somewhat reduced load for occasions when brass retrieval would be difficult and accuracy isn't a big concern. Hope this helps.

Edit to add - if you buy used brass make sure it doesn't have crimped pockets. Usually it will not if it's stamped .223 AND it's stamped either RP. Win or FC which are Remington, Winchester and Federal. Make sure you ask the seller before purchasing and if the seller doesn't know then don't buy it.

[trails4u]

Stopsign32v... What's your plan and where in SC are you? Are you looking to make target grade stuff or just plinking stuff? PM me...maybe we're close and maybe I can help you?

[Ford SD]

the only 223 brass that I have NOT seen crimped is RP ( remington )

If you have range/ buy range pick ups, Just Put on your glasses and sort by headstamp

then do your reg Once fired brass prep on your different lots of brass .... then fix the primer pockets..

its then done

All 3 dot brass wil have crimped Primers

Fed might or might not

Win might or might not

RP Good to go and as a plus has a nice chamfer on the primer pocket edge


and some of that brass will be heaver or lighter than some other brass

[JimB..]

Any advice on where to find that? And what do you mean single headstamp brass?

I’ll help you get started, send me a pm with a mailing address.

[Three44s]

You have non-crimped, previously crimped and still crimped cases.

The two cases with the red primer sealer are crimped without a doubt.

The case with the “88” stamped on it may still be crimped but I am not sure.

As you deprime, the crimped primers will offer more resistance and often the primer punch will distort the cup because of the added resistance required due to the crimp.

If you catch each primer in question as you deprime them you can get a better idea on identifying the crimped from the non-crimped.

Three44s

[bedbugbilly]

You mention good handholds - what are you using it in?

I went thru the same thing you are experiencing - "frustration land". I'm not an AR person, but shot a friend
s and fell in love with the 223 cartridge and bought a bolt action for target and fun. 223 brass seemed to be everywhere - just had to bend over and pick it up. Hah!

Mixed headstamps, how many times fired?, crimped and un-crimped primers and a wide variety of case lengths - so . . . added a primer pocket swaging die, case length trimmer and after processing about 500 +, began to ask myself if it was really worth it time-wise for the type of shooting I wanted to do?

I ordered 500 223 casings from Starline and never picked up another piece of 223 range brass - and for the shooting I do with my bolt rifle - it saves a world of frustration.

Sage advice to sort by headstamps and then process, etc. A lot of guys enjoy processing it - and lf you are shooting a lot of it up in an AR or similar, I certainly understand the "why" of doing it.

I load a number of different rifle bottleneck calibers as well as pistol . . . . but I have never gotten frustrated like I have with the 223 - not the actual loading process - I love that p but because of the urge we all have to save some $$ and use range pick-ups - especially a cartridge that has such a high % of military brass with crimped primers.

Hang in there Stopsign - you'll get it figured out. It is a neat and fun cartridge and the nice thing is that there are so many on here familiar with it - especially the processing of the brass, that a person can get answers to things that pop up.

Almost forgot . . . the one thing I found to be really helpful to have when I did proceed the range brass was a slide in cartridge gauge to check the processed casing. Every once in a while I would encounter one that the base was enough oversize that it would not pass the gauge . . . those went into the scrap can.

Good luck and have fun.

[lar45]

I bought the Dillon Super Swage tool years ago and really like it. Once you get it set up, it goes pretty quick.

[pertnear]

I’ll go another direction, throw all that crap in the bucket for making plinking ammo and go find yourself some once fired, or new, single headstamp brass for precision. That game is about eliminating variables, you’re starting with a million variables and hoping to reduce them through brass prep, better to eliminate them from the start.

^^^^ This ^^^^

For range brass, I decap & run ALL of it through a crimp swager & put it in a separate marked container.

[MUSTANG]

ALL Rifle Brass I pick up or am given (No matter Military, Commercial, Foreign head stamps) receive an initial preparation of:

(1) Deprime with Lee Deprimer Die.
(2) Swage ALL primer pockets with either the Dillon or RCBS Primer Pocket Swage.
(3) Use RCBS Deburring Tool to slightly relieve the edges of the Primer Pocket to improve ability to seat primers.
(4) Full Length Case Resizing.
(5) Trim cases to Factory Spec (I use Lee Trimmers/Lyman Trimmers/WFT Trimmers).
(6) Use RCBS Deburring Tool to slightly relieve the inside and outside of the Brass Neck (particularly for cast boolits).
(7) Segregate Brass into Plastic Tubs/Containers/Boxes with Labels to ensure that unprocessed Brass is not used.

This allows me to always have a good selection of "Properly Prepped" brass when I decide to reload. Range Pickups can be all over the place when "Prep Status" is considered. I also NEVER Mix my prepped brass I shoot at the Range with Range Pick Ups. That way I can dump Range Brass into a Big bucket for caliber and other sorting at a later date before "Initial Case Preparation" occurs when the bucket begins to get full.