case length in .223/5.56 reloads

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10-22-11, 12:40
aalmcc4

case length in .223/5.56 reloads

I made a small mistake and trimmed a bunch of my .223 brass a little shorter than the minimum. About .002-.004 shorter than minimum.

Do I have to trash the brass, or can I use it safetly? If all it does is reduce accuaracy, thats fine. They're for fun plinking loads anyway.

By the way, they would be fired in a COLT M-4 clone.

Thanks
10-22-11, 14:50
zacii

It'll be fine. Just make sure you don't exceed your max OAL when you seat the bullet.
10-22-11, 14:58
redhands

I have some mixed brass that I have been reloading for a while. Some of it was a little agressively trimmed, maybe .005 below the trim to legnth and I haven't had any problems with it. The cannelures stand out but for range use it shouldn't make a difference. As with everything else start low and work up.
10-24-11, 10:38
markm

Not a problem at all. Some of the FC brass on the 223AE ammo was way shorter than that from the factory.

Just means you don't have to trim as much or at all next time.
11-03-11, 01:03
900ss

This will not cause any problems at all. Good shooting!
11-03-11, 15:46
TomMcC

My personal minimum is 1.743 for blasting ammo (plinking, 3gun under 250 yds etc.). Never had a prob.
11-05-11, 15:29
skyugo

Quote:

Originally Posted by markm

Not a problem at all. Some of the FC brass on the 223AE ammo was way shorter than that from the factory.

Just means you don't have to trim as much or at all next time.

hey mark are you still on the no trimming kick? 1.760 is where most of my brass is running; without trimming... Seems to function well... I thought you had been dabbling in 1.770+ with no issues in a 5.56 chamber. what do you consider max OAL?
11-16-11, 15:10
Silent

Good

I would say you are fine, I did the same thing awhile back and have had 0 problems with them.
11-16-11, 15:47
NWPilgrim

Not a problem. I trimmed some .223 back to 1.740" a while back on no problems at all. I saw no real difference in velocities compared to my usualy trim length of 1.750".

It will shorten the COL if you crimp on cannelured bullets but I don't think .01" in COL makes any difference pressure wise when the bullet is nowhere close to the lands and you are not at max pressures anyway (I'm usually at least 0.5 gr below max loads).
12-15-11, 14:21
Jonzer831

Quote:

Originally Posted by markm

Not a problem at all. Some of the FC brass on the 223AE ammo was way shorter than that from the factory.

Just means you don't have to trim as much or at all next time.

I was wondering this as well because I measured the FC brass @ 1.738 which seems really short. So as long as I keep the OAL correct with this brass and start low I should be fine?
12-15-11, 14:33
markm

I load to OAL no matter what the brass length is. Yeah... you'll be fine. No need to go overboard on light loading. I load a stout .223 load.... 1/10th of a grain under max for .223.
12-15-11, 14:37
Jonzer831

Awesome because I have A LOT of it from picking it up at my local range. I have been loading handgun ammo for a while but I am still fairly new to loading for my AR. I have to say it freaked me out a little bit when I would seat the bullet and hear the crunch sound of it making contact with the powder lol.
12-15-11, 14:47
markm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonzer831

Awesome because I have A LOT of it from picking it up at my local range. I have been loading handgun ammo for a while but I am still fairly new to loading for my AR. I have to say it freaked me out a little bit when I would seat the bullet and hear the crunch sound of it making contact with the powder lol.

What powder? That compression of the load is ok for some powders... but if you're loading a ball powder, I'd be concerned.

I hope you're talking about Varget....
12-15-11, 15:02
Jonzer831

Yeah 26 grains of Varget. My Uncle told me that would happen but it was a little different then loading 38 super and 45. They shot just fine and I was amazed at the accuracy. I didn't measure the moa but I had never seen the holes so close to each other :)
12-15-11, 17:40
markm

You can get one of those drop funnels and reduce the compression.

There's much more user friendly options for .223 than Varget. H322 and Benchmark flow really well. They're short cut extruded powders.

I love Varget for 308, but I'm hand scaling every load.
12-15-11, 18:19
Jonzer831

Quote:

Originally Posted by markm

You can get one of those drop funnels and reduce the compression.

There's much more user friendly options for .223 than Varget. H322 and Benchmark flow really well. They're short cut extruded powders.

I love Varget for 308, but I'm hand scaling every load.

I have been hand scaling as well which is fine because I shoot pistols competitively at my local club and rifle is more for fun. I am waiting for my 10 days to be up so I can start making loads for my new 6920.
12-15-11, 21:36
30 cal slut

Quote:

Originally Posted by markm

Not a problem at all. Some of the FC brass on the 223AE ammo was way shorter than that from the factory.

Just means you don't have to trim as much or at all next time.

Yup. FC/Eagle comes up consistently short - as short as 1.74 and that's after firing.
12-19-11, 19:18
Snake Plissken

Quote:

Originally Posted by markm

You can get one of those drop funnels and reduce the compression.

There's much more user friendly options for .223 than Varget. H322 and Benchmark flow really well. They're short cut extruded powders.

I love Varget for 308, but I'm hand scaling every load.

Same here. H335 is a current favorite also. If it isn't ball powder it's really necessary to hand meter it if you're looking for repeat-ability. My Hornady powder measure will not throw consistently with anything but ball.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 30 cal slut

Yup. FC/Eagle comes up consistently short - as short as 1.74 and that's after firing.

Same in my experiences. When loading practice ammo (bulk m193 projectiles with cannelure) you can tell if I've missed a case during sorting when the cannelure is above the rim of the mouth after seating.