Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles Quesion on .223 brass

I have a couple thousand .223 casings that I got from shooting the Federal "white box" 55gr FMJ loads. I can see that the primers are crimped and with the bullet type that they are likely military ammo. The headstamp is simply "FC", just like any other Federal ammo.

Any experience with this brass?

I'm guessing the best way to see if it the internal capacity is less than typical commercial brass is to weight it.

Ideas?

Federal has quite a few LE contracts and is producing for the military as well.

Dunno about capacity...

I do know that it is the typical heavy, yet soft Federal brass a handloader throws away after a few firings an is apt never to pay for.

The good news is that they are short without the "Lake City neck" that needs a trim from the outset....

I've got one of those Dillon trimmers that makes short work of trimming, it's just the unsupported neck expansion that I dread. I guess that is what coated tapered expanders are for.

Not a very favorable impression I take it?

They're Federals...

They work fine, they just have a shorter life than just about any other case and have an annoying tendency to look like hot loads when they're not close.

Running them through an AR-type? They ding on the rims easier too, or so it seems.

If I had thousands (yep, I do), I'd just check them close on the heads to make sure they function easily, pay attention to primer seating and burn 'em up at will.

My centerfire rifle experience with Federal casings are nickle plated stuff from factory loads for the .280 and .270 Roy, never had a problem with those.

As an aside, Federal .270 Weatherby ammo runs about as fast as a good .270 Win load...don't waste your money.

I hate to have to get rid of the primer crimp....but after that..I load and shoot them...

got one batch of them that I am on about the 40th reload right now...

anneal every 4th firing.... and use a Lee Collet Die and a Redding Body Die for bumping the shoulder back when needed..

If you don't want em, I can 'dispose' of them for you..

Thanks for the offer.

I wasn't aware that FC brass was held in low esteem. The stuff I have usually gets some hunting loads worked up in it and is used for that...not an overly rigorous life.

I think it's mostly Federal 223 brass that people are suspect of. I have some from the 90's that appears to be good brass and I've shot my most accurate groups using it. Since I haven't loaded it over 2X yet, the jury is still out on it. I also have some Gold Medal 308 and 30-06 brass that has been good brass for me and seen many reloads.

You can check capacity by filling the case with water and comparing with another mfr.

I had a batch of that Fed. brass and once the primer crimp was removed it loaded and shot fine. Never bothered to check the capacity I just worked up a good load in that brass and stayed with it. Case life seemed to be on par with Win. and Rem. brass. First time I loaded it I thought the primer pockets seemed a little loose but they never got any worse and that condition may have occured when the primer crimp was removed. An RCBS primer pocket swage tool was used to remove the crimp.

In my experience the federal brass has been a bit softer than the other .223 cases I've used, so I've gotten in the habbit of tossing them.

That said, if I had a couple thousand of them, I'd fl size, remove the primer crimp, and work up loads in those cases. Even if you have to load them a grain or so lower than other cases, it's not a big deal, especially with todays brass availability.

I just use the little primer pocket reamer and do it whilst I'm watching TV. Goes pretty fast.