223/556 brass

[canebreaker]

After unloading my truck at the scrapyard I went to the shed where aluminum and other separated metals are collected. I asked about lead, got a 44 pound bucket of roof stacks for 12 cents per pound. Looking around I saw 2 buckets of 223/556 brass. Asked what they would sell for. Sit them on the scale and we'll see, $40. At home I separated them by headstamps 223, 556 and foreign 556. Then inspected flash holes with a pin light. Got 3 1/2 gallons of 223, 1 gallon of 556, 3 gallons of foreign. 2 gallons of berdan primed and Perfecta cases will be returned to the scrapyard on my next visit.
Got my 3 tumblers going with walnut media before going to the press.

 

[Cynical]

After unloading my truck at the scrapyard I went to the shed where aluminum and other separated metals are collected. I asked about lead, got a 44 pound bucket of roof stacks for 12 cents per pound. Looking around I saw 2 buckets of 223/556 brass. Asked what they would sell for. Sit them on the scale and we'll see, $40. At home I separated them by headstamps 223, 556 and foreign 556. Then inspected flash holes with a pin light. Got 3 1/2 gallons of 223, 1 gallon of 556, 3 gallons of foreign. 2 gallons of berdan primed and Perfecta cases will be returned to the scrapyard on my next visit.
Got my 3 tumblers going with walnut media before going to the press.

Yeah, I learned my lesson on Perfecta brass the hard way. Why the hell would anybody punch a flash hole at an angle.

 

[canebreaker]

Aguilla cases may have a centered flash hole and sometimes off centered.

Years ago I went to an estate sale with a list of items my wife wanted. I saw a lot of reloading supplies too. Sunday I returned for them, 3 large boxes for $60. A lot of things I had no use for but I saved everything that I didn't use. A spare decapping pin is great to have. They aren't labeled so once they are removed from the package there is no way to ID them without a little extra work. I had 27 decapping pins that look like Lee that measured .308. I took one and ground it down to go into the mouth of the 223 case. Placed a Hornady #16 shell holder in the vise and tapped the pin with a hammer. Some primers popped out with 1 strike and others took a few. I got a gallon of cases decapped yesterday before the weather got bad. The head of the pin is flared a bit.

 

[Creedmoor]

Aguilla cases may have a centered flash hole and sometimes off centered.

Years ago I went to an estate sale with a list of items my wife wanted. I saw a lot of reloading supplies too. Sunday I returned for them, 3 large boxes for $60. A lot of things I had no use for but I saved everything that I didn't use. A spare decapping pin is great to have. They aren't labeled so once they are removed from the package there is no way to ID them without a little extra work. I had 27 decapping pins that look like Lee that measured .308. I took one and ground it down to go into the mouth of the 223 case. Placed a Hornady #16 shell holder in the vise and tapped the pin with a hammer. Some primers popped out with 1 strike and others took a few. I got a gallon of cases decapped yesterday before the weather got bad. The head of the pin is flared a bit.

I would have just run them through a sizer die and most likely reused the primers.

 

[canebreaker]

All these primers are spent.
Don't have a press set up, still in storage.

 

[canebreaker]

Reloading presses are still in storage. Temps have been dropping so outdoor work has slowed down. I collected the wood needed and built a pillar. Space between 2- 1X2's so spent primers fall through, covered with 1/8 flat steel. Sit the decap pin in the primer, place on metal and tap with hammer. I can sit on my stool watching Utube movies while decapping. Got all the 556 cases resized to 223, primer pocket swagged. Ran them in the tumbler with corncob media and Nu Finish for 6 hours. I have 4 large flat rate boxes with bright shiny cases waiting to be reloaded.