winchester 223 rem cases ?

R

rebs

New member
I have a bunch of brass marked Winchester 223 rem. How do you rate them for reloading, good, bad or average ?
 
The brass is plenty good. I usually prep the brass from WW and Rem (light neck turn to skin off the high spots, primer and flash hole cleanup and weight grouping), whereas I skip that with Lapua, Norma, and Nosler. And unless a fellow is really picky on accuracy, all that prep isn't necessary. I'm just picky.
 
You will have no problems with the Winchester 223 cases, I actually prefer them over others, they are easier to reform than military brass.

But that's me and have no problems with them.

Jim
 
Winchester is 70:30 cartridge brass. Remington uses 80:20 low brass. Having more copper, low brass actually costs more, but I expect they find it easier to form. It may also be an attempt at improved accuracy, as that's Federal's rationale for making soft brass from about the same alloy. (See, X-Ray Spectrometry of Cartridge Brass.)

Military brass is also 70:30 brass, like Winchester, but they allow the work hardening to be greater at the head and lower body. This makes it more rugged for self-loading rifles and machine guns. The military doesn't normally worry about reloading life.
 
Just to say it, I really don't have a problem with most commonly available brass for center fire rifles. I've had great service from WW, Rem, Nosler, Hornady, Federal, Lapua, and Norma. I haven't used much Lake City brass. If I have to buy new brass, I avoid Federal and Hornady, since they seem to have a slightly shorter use life. And the Nosler, though it's great stuff, also seems to have a shorter use life. This is just a personal observation, and not a documented fact, and I could even be wrong. Others among us may have differing opinions based on use.
 
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