Federal .223

B

Bucksnort1

New member
I have some Federal cases with FC and 223 Rem on the head. These should not be military but I'm not sure because it looks like Federal sealed the primer. Does Federal seal primers for non-military cases? I know how to identify military 223 cases. I have a lot of FC cases that don't appear to have been sealed. Any thoughts?
 
g. willikers,

You have a very clever blogger handle or what ever it's called. Some of us know the origin.

These cases have the blue-ish, purple-ish color around the primer which I believe is the sealant. I don't know if they are crimped. I've not de-capped any of them. I have about 30 of these cases. As I said, my other federal cases have the same head stamp but no coloring around the primer and according to a web site, the head stamp indicates it is not military.

Thanks for the response.
 
Some manufacturers like to apply sealant, probably for shelf-life. I doubt they'll turn out to be crimped. No guarantees, though, as occasionally that is done to commercial ammo, too. Your best bet is to call or email Federal and ask. Nothing like getting it from the horse's mouth.
 
Jim243,

I don't know if these are match cases and I don't know how to recognize them. The head stamps look like some other FC cases I have without the sealant. I removed the primer on two cases then slowly ran the sharp edge of a pocket knife around the lip of the primer pocket looking for crimping. I did not detect any so I'm assuming these are not military.

I also have a boat load of Federal .223 with the same head stamp except these have two small round indentations between lettering. These indentations do not have the cross in them like LC military brass and there is no date on them. I will remove a couple primers from these cases then check for crimping.
 
I tend to do my brass in mixed head stamp batches so all cases get the primer pocket reamer on the first run. I find this to be more simple than trying to check every single one. It is not worth it as far as it only takes a couple of seconds with the reamer.
 
If the bullet is not a military ball bullet it's not milsurp. That doesn't mean a manufacturer won't seal the primer.
"...do not have the cross..." That circled cross indicates NATO spec ammo. No circled cross means it's commercial.
The word 'Match' on a case is there for the same reason '+P' is on handgun cartridges. So the factory doesn't mix 'em with regular ammo. Cases are the same thing otherwise.
Anyway, FC is not only used by Federal. Departmento de la Industrial Militar, Mexico City, Mexico and Prvi Partizan, Titovo, Uzice 31000, Yugoslavia also use it. Isn't something to be concerned about anyway.
 
I'm a police officer and firearms instructor. Our .223/5.56 duty ammo is Federal, not crimped, with blue sealer. Federal does seal non military ammo, depending on the intended use. I think they seal some of their .223 hunting ammo (maybe "vital-shok"????) as well.
 
O'Heir,

These are empty cases - no bullets so I don't know the type of bullet. Also, you said, "no circled cross means it's commercial." Did you mean to say, "no cross in a circle means it's commercial?"
 
Sako2, sounds reasonable.

I did some research and found that the Federal head stamps with circles but no cross in them may indicate where those cases were made and loaded and or which loading machine(s) were used. Tomorrow, I will call Federal and pick some brains.
 
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