STICKY - Good/Bad brass list converting 5.56->300blk

[FormerNavy]

Does anyone know whether brass from Australian Defense Industries will work for converstion to 300BLK? The headstamp is ADI.

http://www.aimsurplus.com/product.aspx?item=a556adi


Also, is the wall thickness just measured at the neck of a 5.56 casing with digital calipers or do you have to form it first then measure?

[tlee_20]

A couple new pieces for my list...


Gemtech (factory 300 BLK) - 0.011"

ADI - 0.012"
Tula - 0.0115"
Hornady (223 headstamp) - 0.011"
Hornady (nickel 223) - 0.012"
RA ('69) - 0.012"
IVI ('85) - 0.012" (runs great)

RWS is indeed 0.014" and does not chamber in certain brand barrels.

PPU is 0.014" for 223 or 5.56 headstamp. Both may have trouble chambering.

The PMC "bronze" is the good brass. X-tac is great as well. The old PMC with the small letters might not work in certain guns.

The FC that runs thicker is the newer stuff. Has beautiful annealing marks on it. Has FC @ 12:00, numbers @ 3:00 and/or 9:00 (May have both, could just have one), and the year @ 6:00

IMI also runs the same headstamp style in their newer stuff and it will also be thick.


I have about 250 different headstamps that I plan on testing and will update as soon as I get a chance. These were just off the top of my head.

-Tim

[FormerNavy]

A couple new pieces for my list...


Gemtech (factory 300 BLK) - 0.011"

ADI - 0.012"
Tula - 0.0115"
Hornady (223 headstamp) - 0.011"
Hornady (nickel 223) - 0.012"
RA ('69) - 0.012"
IVI ('85) - 0.012" (runs great)

RWS is indeed 0.014" and does not chamber in certain brand barrels.

PPU is 0.014" for 223 or 5.56 headstamp. Both may have trouble chambering.

The PMC "bronze" is the good brass. X-tac is great as well. The old PMC with the small letters might not work in certain guns.

The FC that runs thicker is the newer stuff. Has beautiful annealing marks on it. Has FC @ 12:00, numbers @ 3:00 and/or 9:00 (May have both, could just have one), and the year @ 6:00

IMI also runs the same headstamp style in their newer stuff and it will also be thick.


I have about 250 different headstamps that I plan on testing and will update as soon as I get a chance. These were just off the top of my head.

-Tim

Thanks a lot! I'm thrilled to see ADI on the "good" list since I have 900 rounds of it. Guess I will shoot it up next to get some usable brass.

[BallisticTools]

Also, is the wall thickness just measured at the neck of a 5.56 casing with digital calipers or do you have to form it first then measure?

Probably best to form, trim, and chamfer the edge before measuring to make sure you get a good reading.

[BallisticTools]

A couple new pieces for my list...


I have about 250 different headstamps that I plan on testing and will update as soon as I get a chance. These were just off the top of my head.

-Tim

Thanks for the updates, I've rolled them into the OP. I just got a batch of TAA in so I should be able to gather more data on TAA.

[tlee_20]

A couple new pieces for my list...


I have about 250 different headstamps that I plan on testing and will update as soon as I get a chance. These were just off the top of my head.

-Tim

Thanks for the updates, I've rolled them into the OP. I just got a batch of TAA in so I should be able to gather more data on TAA.

I have some TAA data but have found a couple more headstamp variations. I want to test/check all before posting.

[BallisticTools]

TAA08 - 0.013" good to go, didn't turn pink in the wash like the last batch of TAA that I had encountered. Updated main list. Let me know if you get further information or encounter any of the off-alloy brass. I don't know if you use a citric wash or not.

[tlee_20]

I have found that "pink" brass can occur at the most random of times. One cause of it is steel in the mix. Usually a piece of dang wolf or something floating in there. I wet tumble before inspecting and often miss a steel case. The whole batch will go pink if that happens. One time a customer sent in some horribly nasty brass for processing and I wet tumbled it first. He had 4 (YES FOUR) #2 Phillips bits in the box with his brass. They rusted something awful in there. Super salmon brass after that.

I will have about 30-40 new headstamps to add when I get done processing this batch I've collected. Will update in the next couple days.

[JohnAP]

I recently ordered some 300 Blackout ammo from an online manufacturer, 250 rd bulk pack of 150 gr fmj and two 50 rd packs of Hornady 155 gr Amax. At the range, I experienced numerous jams with the fmj. When I got home, I checked the necks of ALL the ammo. 37 of the 250 150 gr fmjs were greater than 0.334. One package of 155 gr Amax had 13 that exceeded 0.334, the other had 7. ALL of the brass >0.334' is TAA brass. I currently have ~ 1,000 assorted cases formed of various brass, primer pockets and flash holes uniformed, trimmed to 1.358. Next step is checking ALL the case neck thicknesses, and finding powder!

[duckhunter15]

I am running a bunch of wcc brass, and I haven't had any problems out of it.