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Posted: 12/31/2009 1:03:28 AM EDT
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I just got a valu-batch of .223 brass from Brassmanbrass.com. It was something like $50/K shipped. Almost all of the brass was once fired with crimped and sealed primers. The headstamp is 95% Speer 08, Federal 08 & 07. After sizing the brass on my press using an RCBS SB die, most of the brass lengths are 1.730" to 1.736". The small quantity of Winchester was 1.757" before trim. Now, I have always trimmed brass to 1.747" (due to the fixed length set by the Lee trimmer) and most reloading manuals recommend 1.750".
Why is the Federal/Speer brass so short? Is there any safety issues using brass shorter than 1.740"? Finally, what is the normal length of brand new .223 brass? |
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Quoted:
I just got a valu-batch of .223 brass from Brassmanbrass.com. It was something like $50/K shipped. Almost all of the brass was once fired with crimped and sealed primers. The headstamp is 95% Speer 08, Federal 08 & 07. After sizing the brass on my press using an RCBS SB die, most of the brass lengths are 1.730" to 1.736". The small quantity of Winchester was 1.757" before trim. Now, I have always trimmed brass to 1.747" (due to the fixed length set by the Lee trimmer) and most reloading manuals recommend 1.750". Why is the Federal/Speer brass so short? Is there any safety issues using brass shorter than 1.740"? Finally, what is the normal length of brand new .223 brass? There is no safety issue. There is still plenty of neck to hold the bullet securely. There isn't a normal length. The way that cases are manufactured does not lend itself to a normal length. There is a min an max tolerance, and the cases will generally fall in between. Once the brass is fired, there is no way to control how much the case will stretch. Variations in the brass, the load and bullet, chamber dimensions, and the type of firearm are all variable factors and all of them will influence what shape and length the brass has after firing. |
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Quoted:
Speer and Federal are my two favorite brass flavors to reload. They just start out a little short. This is why I love them. I do almost no trimming. I can get 3 or more loads out of either of those without trimming. So from your experience, has the modern Federal - FC 0X brass - eliminated the problems of 1990's era Federal brass? |
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