Salvaging .223 Cases

[Panfisher]

I have a few questions regarding attemting to salvage some .223 cases. I ordered a lot of 500 .22 cases from Midway, as near as I can tell their process involved scooping them up with a shovel and then firing them at a concrete wall or something, there are a lot of damaged case mouths, but so far only a few that I am not sure I can salvage.

1. Is there a simplest way to remove any primer crimp from the military brass, can I just use my chamfer/deburring tool and cut it out without a problem?

2. The ones that have the case mouth severely damaged I will try to save by using a pair of smal needle nosed pliers to get the case mouth back to a semblance of useability, would I benefit from annealing the case mouths before hand. (i.e. basically I would just heat them with a propane torch to maybe soften the mouth?)

3. Many of the cases are so dirty I plan to tumber them for a couple hours with sandblasting media (very fine white sand) to rough clean them, any reason that would damage them?

I have essentially all winter to take my time and do a batch at a time to clean, resize/deprime and trim them and put into boxes or bags for later loading so time isn't an issue really, rather mess with the cases than watch most TV shows.

[zxcvbob]

It wouldn't hurt to anneal them before opening up the mouths.

You probably have enough there to justify getting a Dillon Super Swage. You can also remove the crimps w/ a drill and a countersink bit.

The sand sounds like a bad idea to me; not sure why. It just seems like a good way to scratch your dies.

[rg1]

Wouldn't want sand anywhere near my cases or rifle. Probably would damage the surface of the brass and would definitely scratch your sizing dies if one spec of sand was left. Straighten just enough that they will go into the sizing die and the die will do the rest. Any case with a sharp crease in the neck I wouldn't use. Annealing once fired brass shouldn't be necessary.

[Panfisher]

Well, I have to admit that I actually threw some old .30-06 cases (very bad shape) into the tumbler with the sandblasting media, couple hours and they really look better, finish is a little rough in a well sand blased looking way, but with no lube or anything on the cases, and the media runs off cleanly, and I wiped them down afterward I can't feel any grit on them, I realize that it would only take a tiny bit to permanently scratch my dies though.

After the .223 cases get sized and cleaned I will give them a go/no go inspection as to whether or not I think they are safe to reload, i.e. no creases or cracks, I know some will not make the cut to the load pile still the price was cheap enough I guess.

I have learned the dryer sheet pieces in the tumbler media to help keep the media clean, been loading since I was a kid and never heard that one till I read it on this very forum the other day. Always good to learn something.

[loademwell]

Stainless Steel Pin Media. I have put some real rough casings in this stuff and just let them tumble over night. Came out looking almost new.

[zxcvbob]

What was the price, if you don't mind my asking? I have a few hundred .223 cases, but could use another thousand. I never thought to look at Midway for fired brass...

[Panfisher]

Price was $47.00/500, listed as once fired but I think some are not once fired, headstamps are all over the place. I did go through about 100 cases and rounded the case mouths back enough to go though the resizing die, will still probably lose some that have a crimp/crease but most rounded out fine.

Will look into the stainless pin media, will it work in a "regular" Lyman 600 say?

[zxcvbob]

I have some of that stainless steel media. It's kind of expensive but lasts forever. You use it in a rotating-drum rock tumbler or equivalent, with soap and water and a little citric or phosphoric acid. I don't think it will work in a vibratory polisher.

Most of the time I just use the vibra-tumbler with dry corncob media.

[Panfisher]

Found it on Midway, say only for use in a thumler water tight cleaner, oh well, I use the corn cob stuff too, still works.

[serf 'rett]

1. For small lot, a drill and countersink works well.

2. For once fired, you shouldn't need to anneal.

3. For real fun, leave some sand INSIDE your case. Suspect it won't be healthy for your barrel(s). Why wouldn't you just tumble with corn cob or walnut? If I am cleaning really dirty brass, which I dug out of dirt/clay/sand/mud, I'll wash it first in soapy water to knock loose as much of the grime as possible.

[Panfisher]

Hmm I could wash the cases after giving them a sand bath too. I am certainly not advocating for the sand polishing just played with a few really bad 06 cases and wondered what could actually be damaged. I have the time to polish the .223's for days if necessary no problem and a bucket of corncob media.

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

My suggestion. If you have access to a air compressor. I would think it's better to blow them out for this purpose of sand and dust removal than washing them. As far as the military crimp. Consider this tool (link.) Tool was intentionally made for the job of crimp removal large & small:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/235...swager-combo-2

Read the reviews as it may help answer some questions you might have..

[Panfisher]

Interesting tool, but alas out of stock. I actually just came back from the reloading room and did just that, gave them a good air wash. (the aforementioned 06's). A batch of the .223's just went into the Lyman for 24 hrs or so, and looking at them while they are dirty, they aren't as bad as I first thought they were, may take a while to come clean but like I said, time I got. Especially since my reloading room is not in the house so 24 hrs in the Lyman doesn't make any annoying noise. Now if I could just get the dad-gum bullets I want, oh well its getting better on the supply end.

Thanks fellers, it was just an idea (and trial) on the sandblasting media but seems more and more to be a not so good one.

[44 AMP]

While I have the RCBS Primer pocket swager, I dislike using it. The nose of the regular chamfering tool and a couple twists will cut the GI crimp off a primer pocket with no trouble.

For salvaging dented case mouths, I use the Lee decapper tool. (also use it for decapping GI brass, as I hate replacing the regular die pins.

The Lee decapper is rugged, the steel shaft can be used to round out case mouths (enough to run through the die), and there are two sizes (.22 & .30).

That decapper is the only Lee tool that gets regular use on my bench. I don't care much for most of what Lee makes, but that decapper punch and base is a real gem.

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

Interesting tool, but alas out of stock.

Not for me it wasn't. Site said (available)_

[RC20]

It sounds like a lot of pain when you can get 223 easily

Also it sounds like you got 5.56 if you have to get rid of crimps

PM me, tell me how many you want and I will meet Midways price and flat rate them to you!

All sorted to 223 and no 5.56.

[Panfisher]

The cases are mostly .223 head stamped, upon closer cleaning etc. fewer than I thought appear to have military head stamps. You are the second one to offer to sell me .223 in better condition at essentially Midway prices. Where you guys a week ago when I ordered. I should be good for a while but will keep you in mind if any friends are interested in empty .223's. Honestly I'm not sure how common the crimp is, I have bought once fired mil surp brass before all things reloading we haywire but don't remember ever having a problem with crimps and since I haven't sized or reloaded any of this batch yet may not any problems now either. The damaged case mouths bothered me more than anything, simple dents no problem but when dented to the point from two sides they almost touch in the center, that pretty rough. I'll trim all the cases back to standard length and don't max out the loads, no problems in either Handi rifle or R-15 with past batches. Now if you could match prices on some Nosler 55 grain Varmageddon bullets I'll be set.

[Jeff2131]

In my opinion, you got ripped off. I get 1000 .223's for $50 and they are already run through atumbler once. They are ready to lube and resize. Also, i get (once a year) a lot of about 2000-2500 5.56 they are all FC stamps. But i get those for free so that doesnt count. But yea, $47/500 cases that are beat up filthy and mixed heads....i DEFINETLY wouldnt be paying.for that. If you wanna spend that kinda cash on brass, PM me, id be happy to take yer money

[Greg Mercurio]

Using sandblast media to clean cases is not advised. It will clean the crap off the cases for sure, but it will embed the fines in the brass. In effect it turns the case into a lap: Add lube and polish your die with every case. Pretty soon, new die.

Use corn cob or walnut. Or a mixture of both.

[g.willikers]

Pretty sure that sandblast media is for steel and iron, not softer materials like brass.
It might get it clean looking, but might do damage that can't be necessarily seen or felt.
It would be interesting to check the results with a microscope, though.

[Jeff2131]

I used polymeric sand one time to see what the results would be....i was washing dust and sand off the cases for an hour. Also had to wash tumbler bowl. They did NOT come out as.clean as with corncob or walnut. I also give the thumbs down to ANY sand material. Question though....has anyone tried to use glass bead media. Basically the stuff they use to bead blast automotive parts. Curious as to what those results would be. Also they are a tad bigger then walnut and may not get stuck in the flash hole.

[Panfisher]

Now I'm up to 3 folks willing to sell me brass cheap, wish I needed some more. The first sort I tossed maybe 10 cases for badly damaged mouths, as for the filthy part they are cleaning up quite nicely. And everyone is correct on the sand, I also after the expirament with the bad 30-06's spent some time cleaning the cases, first air, them cloth with solvent, and then the tumbler. The 06's are rolling around in the tumbler now and while its taking a while they are looking pretty good. FWIW what I thought was some shadow of a primer crimp on most of the brass appears to be more of a bluish primer sealant, haven't sized/decapped any yet to check for sure. The cheapest I had been able to find around here on empty cases was on craigs list and they were $12.50/100. Oh well I'll have enough for now to let the R-15 eat occasionally. Thanks everyone.

[bluetopper]

Life is too short to mess with damaged 223 brass......and you had to pay for them? I'd be

[hoffbill]

I bought some once fired LC brass on gun broker 4 or 5 years ago. I resize, trim length, ŕemove crimp, swage primer pockets and trim. I then sort into lots by weight. It's a little work but I end up with excellent general use brass which cost me 8 cents.