Reloading Hornady 223 TAP Urban brass

Reloading equipment, methods, load data, powder and projectile information.

Reloading Hornady 223 TAP Urban brass

Post by jeroxde » 08 May 2019, 8:39 am

G'day guys,

I have just gotten my reloading started and I am still a novice at it.
I have once fired 223 Hornady TAP Urban brass that I am trying to reprime.
I have had a few that got primed with no issues but now they are problematic to seat primers.
I am very new at this so I can't tell if the primer pocket is crimped or not by just looking at it.
I have tried searching online and have been seeing conflicting info on if it is crimped or not.
Has anyone tried reloading the TAP brass and run into the same issues? Are the primer pockets crimped or not?
Any help and information on this is greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
jeroxde
Recruit
Recruit
 
Posts: 3
New South Wales

Re: Reloading Hornady 223 TAP Urban brass

Post by Apollo » 08 May 2019, 9:15 am

Hornady state they are "staked" primers....ie crimped and you will need to remove the crimp.

http://www.hornadyle.com/products/rifle ... -tap-urban

You can see this in their own photo of the primer pocket.
Apollo
Warrant Officer C1
Warrant Officer C1
 
Posts: 1327
New South Wales

Re: Reloading Hornady 223 TAP Urban brass

Post by SCJ429 » 08 May 2019, 9:38 am

You can get a tool to remove the primer crimp however Hornady brass is nothing to write home about. You might be better off getting another brand that does not have a crimp. You can get once fired ADI brass that shoots very well. I pick it up off the ground every time I visit the range.
SCJ429
Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant Colonel
 
Posts: 3207
New South Wales

Re: Reloading Hornady 223 TAP Urban brass

Post by JimTom » 08 May 2019, 10:11 am

.223 brass is relatively inexpensive. Do yourself a favour and buy some new ADI brass or if the budget doesn’t extend that far, get some Winchester. I am currently reloading .223 with Winchester brass and whilst it requires a little more prep and perhaps won’t have the longevity of ADI brass, it reloads and shoots just fine.
User avatar
JimTom
Second Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
 
Posts: 2130
Queensland

Re: Reloading Hornady 223 TAP Urban brass

Post by jeroxde » 08 May 2019, 11:10 am

Thank ypu for all the information.
A good swager isnt cheap and i only have about 500 of the hornady brass from when the factory ammo was on sale
Is it worth buying once fired brass like the ones in australia once fired or just get brand new ones?
jeroxde
Recruit
Recruit
 
Posts: 3
New South Wales

Re: Reloading Hornady 223 TAP Urban brass

Post by JimTom » 08 May 2019, 11:25 am

My opinion mate is just go and buy brand new stuff, that way you know exactly what you have. Older brass can be cleaned up and polished quite nicely to appear to be once fired brass. Just my 2 bobs worth mate.
User avatar
JimTom
Second Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
 
Posts: 2130
Queensland

Re: Reloading Hornady 223 TAP Urban brass

Post by Apollo » 08 May 2019, 11:33 am

You don't have to use a primer pocket swager, you can use any number of primer pocket reamers (RCBS, Hornady) that screw into a Brush Holder. These are the reamer that just cuts the crimp off the primer pocket lip and no more. They do not uniform a primer pocket as they have no cutting edge on the end (bottom) part. You can also use a suitable size drill bit if you are careful and don't cut too deep, just enough to remove the crimp.

I don't see any reason why not to use your Hornady Cases unless you are doing precision target shooting. Doesn't matter if you wreck a case or loose one.

If you want top quality cases for target then save up and get some ADI or better still Lapua. Depends on your shooting and reloading skills you may never know the difference between say the Hornady and Lapua other than in your pocket if you loose a rather expensive case. I use ex range brass that was given to me for out n about in the paddock, Winchester and it's fine. I use Lapua for my target rounds.

I've probably got a dozen different brands of .223R Cases and for general mucking around they are pretty much the same. (Including ADI) All are batched by brand and some by batch dates, not all mixed up.
Apollo
Warrant Officer C1
Warrant Officer C1
 
Posts: 1327
New South Wales

Re: Reloading Hornady 223 TAP Urban brass

Post by flutch » 08 May 2019, 1:30 pm

I have some hornady brass with this issue, I find that CCI primers will go in 19 times out of 20, even with some gentle persuasion applied carefully, tend not to have too much of a drama with it... fires well once reloaded and groups fine... trick is to not be over zealous and make sure that the loader has the correct adaptor in it for small rifle primers. cheers
Guns:
Rossi S/S 410
Lanber U/O 12 gauge
Adler B220PG 12 gauge
Ruger 22lr
Remington 270 win
Howa 223
Weatherby 300 Winmag

Bows:
G5 Quest Drive
G5 Prime Defy
flutch
Corporal
Corporal
 
Posts: 447
Western Australia

Re: Reloading Hornady 223 TAP Urban brass

Post by Apollo » 08 May 2019, 1:40 pm

If you have any problem seating primers, no matter how many, fix the problem. Removing any sort of crimp on a primer pocket is a very simple and quick task. The seated primer should have been easy to do with no marks on the primer at all. You only have to do it once and that's it. Simple procedure even using a drill bit by hand in a holder of some description.

Those of us that use a hand primer tool be it even load one at a time can feel by hand pressure if any primer pocket has an issue.
Apollo
Warrant Officer C1
Warrant Officer C1
 
Posts: 1327
New South Wales

Re: Reloading Hornady 223 TAP Urban brass

Post by Potatoes » 08 May 2019, 11:00 pm

I use the hornady tap brass with winchester primers. I have dudded 5 cases from poorly seated primers out of 226 reloads. I’m just using a lee challenger press with e priming attachment. I have also fired at least two rounds that have left black rings on the bolt face, but thankfully this did no damage and could be buffed off. I got my tap ammo from the northside with 60gr vmaxs. When i purchased the 62gr tap barriers, i later found out that they were 5.56 nato. They advised they were fine for bolt action 223s, but they let me exchange it for another brick of vmaxs, which had 223 rem stamped on the case. So check your cases to make sure 223 is stamped on the bottom of your cases. Also when priming with my lee challenger, i just let the primer touch the pocket under light pressure and give the case a little twist just to make sure the primer is actually going into the pocket.
Potatoes
Private
Private
 
Posts: 84
Queensland

Re: Reloading Hornady 223 TAP Urban brass

Post by Oldbloke » 11 May 2019, 1:38 pm

Lee sell them. Price seems reasonable.

https://www.amazon.com/RCBS-Primer-Pock ... B07PXD5LVB

Or perhaps a sharp pocked knife?
The greatest invention in the history of man is beer.
https://youtu.be/2v3QrUvYj-Y
Member. SFFP, Shooters Union.
SSAA, the powerful gun lobby. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Hunt safe.
User avatar
Oldbloke
Field Marshal
Field Marshal
 
Posts: 11192
Victoria

Re: Reloading Hornady 223 TAP Urban brass

Post by Sus_scrofa » 13 May 2019, 6:47 am

Hey jeroxde
Did the shop you bought the TAP ammo from not tell you the primers is crimped? Did you tell them you wanted to reload with the brass?
A good shop or salesman will tell you that.
The hornady TAP & Frontier 223 rounds are crimped my local shop told me and a mate. But at the price it is and how it shoots well we don't bother reloading 223. It works well in both my brothers Mini 14 and mates pump 7615p.
Sus_scrofa
Recruit
Recruit
 
Posts: 40
Queensland


Back to top
 
Return to Reloading ammunition