Military or Commercial Brass

Hello,
I was shooting some Olympic 62gr and PMC 55gr .223 caliber cartridges last weekend through my Saiga conversion and I was considering using the brass to reload. Are those brands considered Military or Commercial type brass? I wanted to know due to the differences in thickness of the cases which would determine the powder charge. Thanks :cool_smal

In American-made 223 / 5.56 cases there isn't much difference between commercial and military powder capacity. Federal brand commercial cases are weak. The main difference in the loads is the military ammunition is often loaded hotter than commercial ammunition. Some is so hot the loads really aren't recommended for used cases regardless of their make. If you want case life and stay safe in used cases stay with the lighter 223 commercial loads as trying to match military velocities in cases that have already been fired once or more is really risking blowing out the cases. If you want loads that match the hottest military loads use new virgin cases. Many countries use lighter than maximum loads in they military 5.56 ammunition but some military 5.56 ammo is much hotter than allowed in 223 commercial ammunition.

The AK is really hard on brass, especially 223. Not beating it up but stretching it as it begins to extract while case still has some tension against the chamber walls and the AK action is harsh.

You can see some load difference here on Accurate Arms' website. Note most max loads at Accurate Arms are hot.

Commercial 223 Remington load data

http://www.accuratearms.com/data/PerCaliber2Guide/Rifle/Standarddata%28Rifle%29/22Cal%285.56mm%29/223%20Remington%20pages%20185%20to%20187.pdf

or

http://www.accuratearms.com/data/PerCaliber2Guide/Rifle/Standarddata(Rifle)/22Cal(5.56mm)/223%20Remington%20pages%20185%20to%20187.pdf

Max load data for AR15 with military chamber

http://www.accuratearms.com/data/PerCaliber2Guide/Rifle/NRAcartridges/223Remington%20pages%20376%20and%20377.pdf

or

http://www.accuratearms.com/data/PerCaliber2Guide/Rifle/NRAcartridges/223Remington%20pages%20376%20and%20377.pdf

The above is a bit dated. Here is the latest 223 commercial load data from Accurate Arms.


http://www.accuratearms.com/data/Acc%20Guide%20v3.3%20version.pdf

The previous load guide.

http://www.accuratearms.com/data/Accurate%20v322%20web%20publication.pdf

Funny you should mention Accurate powder. When I shot Highpower comp, my loads was 25.5 gr of AA2520 in LC-91 case w/ Win Sm rifle primer and a 69gr Sierra MK. I haven't shot that in my AK yet but Im curious to see how it does. I just wanted to know if the Greek brass was Mil type (I think it is) and what type was the PMC closest to in case I was to reload them.

Some case weights here.

http://www.radomski.us/njhp/cart_tech.htm

and here,

http://www.frfrogspad.com/miscelld.htm#components

all this info is really cool! Thanks

Some warnings about Greek Olympic 5.56 ammunition.

http://www.gunandgame.com/forums/ammunition-reports/52465-greek-5-56x45mm-problem-brass.html

PMC has had some issues with the imported ammo. There is US-made PMC ammo also.

http://www.m4carbine.net/archive/index.php/t-7757.html

http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=7757

FWIW... I have a 5.56 yugo and shooting brass cases completely ruins the case rim where it strikes the ejector rail.... plus the action cover dents every case moderately or worse. I will never use brass with an AK no matter the caliber... just me probably.
Vandy

My Saiga .223 trashes about 80% of the empty cases, i try not to shoot brass case in it.