Converting 223/5.56 brass

[Local Loader]

Hello my reloading family, I have some questions on whether or not some 223/5.56 brass I recently got can be converted back to standard 223/5.56, 300BO or just scrap it?
So to start the brass that I have is both 223 & 5.56 with the glaring difference from standard cases is that they are once fired blank rounds. So they have that odd star crimp on the necks. Some of them have smaller shoulders with slightly fatter necks than standard cases.
So can theses be saved and returned to standard case shape(s) or are they destined for the scrap bin?
**Added photos.
I know i can trim down the one with the red marking but not sure what's up with the cannelure markings.
As for the ones with the green markings I'm not sure about those.

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[DizzyJ]

Have never ran into this question before.
Following.

 

[arakboss]

Hello my reloading family, I have some questions on whether or not some 223/5.56 brass I recently got can be converted back to standard 223/5.56, 300BO or just scrap it?
So to start the brass that I have is both 223 & 5.56 with the glaring difference from standard cases is that they are once fired blank rounds. So they have that odd star crimp on the necks. Some of them have smaller shoulders with slightly fatter necks than standard cases.
So can theses be saved and returned to standard case shape(s) or are they destined for the scrap bin?

My vote would be to convert to 300BO unless they can be reloaded as blanks.

 

[Local Loader]

My vote would be to convert to 300BO unless they can be reloaded as blanks.

I'm sure they probably could be loaded as blanks again but trying to see if they can be saved and become beautiful loaded rounds, be it 223/5.56 or 300BO. I'm going to add a picture to better show how they currently look.

 

[Local Loader]

Added photos.

 

[edzz]

Look at this thread on using / loading blank brass.
Blanks

 

[DizzyJ]

Look at this thread on using / loading blank brass.
Blanks

Interesting.

Sounds like a lot of work but doable.

 

[Local Loader]

Interesting.

Sounds like a lot of work but doable.

Yeah the one with the rose crimp seems simple enough as it matchs a standard case but with a longer neck, so I just need to cut off the excess. As for the ones with the green markings, I'm not sure about those yet.

 

[HighlandLofts]

I'd convert them to 300 blackout.
As cheap as 223/5.56 cases are why try reloading these to 223/5.56.
I have some of these cases and they are in the bucket of 223/5.56 brass to be converted.

223/5.56 range brass can be bought for $60 a thousand.
I have a couple thousand 223/5.56 cases extra I could part with.

 

[Local Loader]

The thing is I'm not sure what's going on with the ones that have the green markings as they don't appear to be the same as the 223 case(rose colored). I think they may have been used as 300BO but I don't use 300BO so I unfortunately don't have anything to compare it to with me to find out.

 

[Camelfilter]

The thing is I'm not sure what's going on with the ones that have the green markings as they don't appear to be the same as the 223 case(rose colored). I think they may have been used as 300BO but I don't use 300BO so I unfortunately don't have anything to compare it to with me to find out.

They do look like .300 AAC blanks. Never new such existed.

300 BLACKOUT BLANK

www.atlanticwallblanks.com

Their photo:

 

[Caveman Jim]

Scrap em and use brass designed specifically for.223/5.56.

 

[Caveman Jim]

I recently found a few of these.

 

[DizzyJ]

I recently found a few of these.

View attachment 1327671 View attachment 1327672

Fired blanks?

 

[orygun]

Yeah the one with the rose crimp seems simple enough as it matchs a standard case but with a longer neck, so I just need to cut off the excess. As for the ones with the green markings, I'm not sure about those yet.

I was thinking that to use the green ones in a 223/5.56 you would have to fireform a shoulder along the way.

 

[Caveman Jim]

Fired blanks?

Yep, probably for golf balls

 

[DizzyJ]

Yep, probably for golf balls

Or pop cans

 

[Caveman Jim]

Or pop cans

Good question, I rarely see any pop cans in that area, only golf balls.

 

[ferret427]

When I started converting .223/5.56 brass, to blk, I ran across a spreadsheet that dealt with neck thickness tolerances for 300blk and what brass to use or not use based on body brass thickness (sorry, I don't have the spreadsheet to share, you can probably find it). Remember, the neck brass for a blk converted case comes from the sidewall of the parent brass...

I only use Lake City for conversions, so I can't say for other brass. From memory, the brass from 5.56 blank brass is not recommended for converting to 300blk. I may be wrong, but when I was researching brass to convert, the blank brass was deemed a no-go. It might have had nothing to do with the neck, might have been due to the base and pressures for supers...

Sorry, I don't remember if it was the brass composition, the sidewall thickness, or w/e, just that it was not recommended.

If you have reliable data to the contrary, let me know, as brass ain't cheap anymore...

 

[Member 5605]

For plinking rounds I never trimmed new neck thickness. I just ran the converted brass in the bolt and said hell with it.