ZSR 5.56 brass issues

[fstdraw]

I picked up a couple of hundred 5.56 cases the other day while shooting at Gooseneck Rd. Appear to be once fired with the head stamp "ZSR 5.56" and a date of '22. I sized 10 of them and trimmed them to 1.750. I tried to get them to fit into my full-length case gauge and was surprised that the very base would not fit. The base, and I mean the the very bottom of the case, won't fit, not even backward. I did the same thing to several "LC" cases and had zero issues. Thoughts? I'd like to reload them but won't waste my time if junk.

I did use an RCBS SB die.

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[ageingstudent]

I picked up a couple of hundred 5.56 cases the other day while shooting at Gooseneck Rd. Appear to be once fired with the head stamp "ZSR 5.56" and a date of '22. I sized 10 of them and trimmed them to 1.750. I tried to get them to fit into my full-length case gauge and was surprised that the very base would not fit. The base, and I mean the the very bottom of the case, won't fit, not even backward. I did the same thing to several "LC" cases and had zero issues. Thoughts? I'd like to reload them but won't waste my time if junk.

I did use an RCBS SB die.

Make a dummy round with no powder or primer and see if it fits and functions in your rifle. Case gauges are great but they aren't the final word. The chamber on your rifle is the final word.

 

[fstdraw]

Good idea, I'll do it. Going to do it tonight.

I like the case gauge because if I give ammo to others, I know it'll fit.

 

[BMGMAN]

That zsr brass stretches like crazy! I recently acquired a 1919a4 in 7.62x51. The ammo I got (bimart) was only 15.49 per box of 20. Great deal, but after trying to resize multiple ones i noticed a distinctive ring right at base of case head(I know machine gun chambers are VERY generous ) LC resized just fine. I've reloaded a few of their (zsr)5.56 and they worked just fine. Undecided about their 7.62 brass…

 

[fstdraw]

Hmm, interesting that's my finding also. I'm going to take ageingstudent's advice and dummy up a few.

 

[Saladfarmer]

I ran into this same thing with Norma 7.62x39 brass. I've been setting them aside for further testing..
Belom , S&B, PPU and Igman did not have these problems though.

I was wondering if this had anything to do with how terrible the Norma's accuracy was, as confirmed by Paul Harrel interestingly enough.

 

[DizzyJ]

I had some lake city brass that was fired out of a machine gun. No bueno. Wound up costing me an AMP annealer.

 

[Caveman Jim]

I keep LC, PMC, PSD 5.56 cases, no surprises.
I give away, sell or toss the rest.

 

[fstdraw]

I'm getting to that point with the influx of crap European brass.

 

[gmerkt]

ZSR is made in Turkey. Not subject to SAAMI specs, but maybe CIP. I've noticed some contemporary rifle brass from Europe, while it chambers properly for shooting, will not quite fit into a standard recommended shell holder. Because the rim edge is made slightly larger than US-made brass. I see this more with 7,62 NATO, haven't yet experienced it with 5.56.

What brand cartridge head space gauge? There may be some slight variation between brands of gauges. My Wilson gauge will fully take a European 7.62 NATO case that won't fit in a standard shell holder.