It is hard to USE UP an AI barrel, they just keep on ticking!
Fire forming with loads that are full pressure loads can leade to case stretching. If you use a 7mm ogive gage on your caliper, insert the 223 AI case neck into the ogive gage and measure....BINGO....you can measure the length of the cases in various lengths of fireforming.
I made a mistake in the above statement,I meant to say that if you don't use full pressure loads to fire form, it will leade to case stretching. I always fire form with full pressure loads, and Big Stick's statement on head spacing is dead nuts accurate and can not be stressed enough...crush fit on the case.
I did not elaborate on just what a pain the azz LC brass can be. Depending on how good a particular lot# of LC runs, the brass can be great, or poor which will drive you crazy. I run Lake City on my short range coyote hunting. I sort all Lake City brass by year.
If you want excellent results right out of the gate, don't go lake city, set up yourself for success by getting great components from the start. If you build a total custom rifle, then use Lake City, it May end up like wearing a three piece suit to your daughters wedding and wearing dirty tennis shoes with holes in them to save a few bucks on the rental fee of the tux.
