Which head stamps are crimped for .223 brass

[1911jerry]

I have about 12K of .223 brass to reload over the winter.

I have hand sorted out about 6K of Lake City brass.The balance is mixed. Most of this brass is 1x fired.

What other head stamps have crimped primer pockets that will need to be swagged?

Thanks

Jerry

 

[Victor N TN]

Re: Which head stamps are crimped for .223 brass

Almost all military brass without "MATCH" or other "SPECIAL" notation on the head is crimped. Look around the primer pocket and you should see a small ring indented around it. Foreign military sometimes has 3 stake marks instead of the ring.

 

[John L]

Re: Which head stamps are crimped for .223 brass

All of the military brass should be crimped. Look for the NATO stamp and that should tell you Mil. production from commercial. Many commercial companies made military ammo. In the case of Winchester their military contract ammo should be stamped WCC. Also if it has the year of production stamped on it that is a good indicator of military production.Hope this helps a bit.

 

[kingtiger88]

Re: Which head stamps are crimped for .223 brass

I have sorted countless rounds of military brass . Sort all your brass by head stamp . You will find most military brass also has a sealer around the primer and upon looking closer you notice the crimp .Lake city , Federl , PMC , Winchester also RORG brass just to name a few . It's a pain to process but the one advantage of the crimp is that it ensures the case is once fire eliminating the possibility of using an already loaded case . Look for the primer sealer it helps immensely .

 

[Hink]

Re: Which head stamps are crimped for .223 brass

I've happened upon Lake City, Federal, and Winchester 223/5.56 brass with the crimped primer pockets. With your several thousand to process, you'll quickly learn the difference between a brass that's crimped and one that's not.

As far as removing the crimps, I've used the RCBS primer pocket swage, and it works great. Get it set and removing the crimp is just the same as the sizing process. One drawback...the RCBS pocket swage kit won't work with the Ammomaster press. The spacer used on the ram of a smaller press meant to dislodge the freshly swaged case from the press ram will not fit around the large diameter of the Ammomaster press ram.