Radway Green .223

HoyBoy

Active Member
I have bought a pile of this ammo and I would like to reload some cases with hollow / soft points in the future. Been reading a bit about it on here and sounds like Radway green is difficult because it uses berden primers not boxer primers. How do i tell the difference? By the way i am a complete novice at the reloading thing, never done it before :confused:
 
I have som RG marked 5.56 casesa and all are Boxer primed. You can see through the neck with a good light and take a peek. Remember to remove the primer crimp before trying to seat a new primer.

Oh it seems RG brass is made by Norma.
 
Radway Green produced ammo in both Berden and also Boxer primed (Berden batches were early on). Boxer is easy to distinguish as it has a single flash hole in the centre whereas Berden has 2 symetrically positioned.

If Berden then shoot it and chuck it - it just isn't worth the effort. If it's Boxer then remember to anneal the necks before reloading - it is not good brass and you'll be lucky to get 3 reloads from it before cracks etc.
 
So scotsgun your sayign that Norma brass is not much good?

On P47 of the Norma catalogue it clearly shows photos of the headstamps that Norma make brass for and RG is the 4th from the left in the bottom row.

Oh yes Lapua is 1st one in the bottom row ;)
 
If your RG ammo is recent....last 10 years or so.... it will be boxer primed, and re-loadable. I have an unlimited supply of these, among other makes. Like Lake City (Federal) brass it has crimped primer pockets for semi-auto use.

This does mean it's genuine verifiable 'Once-Fired' unlike virtually everything else around.

RG cases are heavier than the norm. Mine are 100 grain de-primed, against a variety of makes of 93 - 95 grs. typical weight. They are also annealed, and are made to NATO specs. so unlikely to be rubbish.

I rather doubt that RG 5.56mm is made by Norma. Norma cases are usually the lightest cases around, and I've noticed this in the 8 popular calibres I load for. The only case failures I've ever had (in .308 btw) were in Norma cases.... but I don't regard that as significant.

I always discard cases after the 6th reload so never really get into case hardening problems.
 
So scotsgun your sayign that Norma brass is not much good?

On P47 of the Norma catalogue it clearly shows photos of the headstamps that Norma make brass for and RG is the 4th from the left in the bottom row.

Oh yes Lapua is 1st one in the bottom row ;)

Here we go again, god forbid someone would dare to disagree with the font of all knowledge!

Just when exactly did i claim the brass to be Norma? So you sat with an old catalogue and likely wasted hours over every picture with a magnifying glass which proves exactly what?

I stated that the RG 5.56 brass is crap for reloading because i have personal experience with it and know many others with similar experiences. I've shot many, many thousands of the rounds and used the brass to reload quite a few. We'd get 3-4 reloads from it only if we'd anneal everytime. The necks would soon show cracks but being that we'd shoot it in the thousands and could take it away in buckets, it didn't matter.
 
Here we go again, god forbid someone would dare to disagree with the font of all knowledge!

Just when exactly did i claim the brass to be Norma? ( ahh you stated that RG brass is crap, and the 2010 catalogue shows that Norma make it. In fact I doubt RG does much more tha load it. That's IF they still do that. It seems transporting powder around is too dangerous which is why they closed our power/proellent plants down and we buiy it in from the continent.) So you sat with an old catalogue and likely wasted hours over every picture with a magnifying glass which proves exactly what?

I stated that the RG 5.56 brass is crap for reloading because i have personal experience with it and know many others with similar experiences. I've shot many, many thousands of the rounds and used the brass to reload quite a few. We'd get 3-4 reloads from it only if we'd anneal everytime. The necks would soon show cracks but being that we'd shoot it in the thousands and could take it away in buckets, it didn't matter.

Oh dear, Sorry I read the catalogue after I picked it up at the 2010 Shooting show at the Newark Showground. Funny thing is that I do tend to read the catalogues if they have any interest to me. Perhaps it's also sad that I can remember things most of the time and I recalled seeing both Lapua, RWS, RG and federal case headstamps photgraphed on that page. norma claim they make those cases for the other makers not me. You stated that the RG was crap, I ahve soem but have never loaded or even sized them as I never got a .223 to use them in. Always found something else better to get and now have a .222 so..................................

Now the only time I have had really short case life was from oversizing due to a mismatch between die dimensions and chamber dimensions. However as your the expert you know that :rolleyes:. Me I am just a hobbyist who plays at relaoding and shooting. It's also nowt to do with me that your take hours to read anything :rofl:.

Oh yes I also use milsurp .308 brass too. That's got an OFV headstamp then there is some 30-06 brass too and 303 so there is a little experience in using Miltary spec brass ;) here.
 
.......However as your the expert you know that :rolleyes:. Me I am just a hobbyist who plays at relaoding and shooting. It's also nowt to do with me that your take hours to read anything :rofl:.

Oh yes I also use milsurp .308 brass too. That's got an OFV headstamp then there is some 30-06 brass too and 303 so there is a little experience in using Miltary spec brass ;) here.

I never claimed to be an expert concerning this subject or other. You on the other hand seem to have the desperate need to be regarded as the resident 'know it all' who usually resorts to snide comments and overuse of the emotives when someone makes an observation which contradicts your version of reality.

My statement stands and is based on real experience of reloading and shooting that actual brass; not some concocted theory that you've created from a catalogue picture.

You could of course seek clarification from BAE Systems Land & Armaments who'll likely have kept the records made by them (aquisitions considered) and the guys from DERA when they came over to observe. You're just the man for the job. Anyone else would find such an exercise as exciting as i'm finding discussing this with you :zzz: Oh look, i can use emotives too!
 
Actually it would be interesting to vist Radway Green and find out what they ACTUALLY make and not have made by others. Royal Ordenace don't make much them selves it seems although they put their moniker on stufff they don't make it. Badge Engineering at it's best.

Oh yes experience ;) Well you see RO subcontracts most of their work out and like the SA80 RO made none or very little of it. A lot of the componants were made at a small firm in Surrey and yes I worked on the contract there and like nearly all the staff who did was made redundant when it finished. The barrel mounted sling loop mount on my ZKK 601 is made form a gas block for the SA80.


I never claimed to be an expert concerning this subject or other. You on the other hand seem to have the desperate need to be regarded as the resident 'know it all' who usually resorts to snide comments and overuse of the emotives when someone makes an observation which contradicts your version of reality.

:rofl: Hmmm well the OP asked about the brass, you said it was crap, funny your the only one who has. Others use it quite happily, as for reality well Norma still claim in their 2010 catalouge that they make the RG brass so exactly who is living in cuckoo land here?

As for BAE systems I seem to recall that they have trouble regarding truthfulness in their dealings :-| so the idea of asking them is really quite funny :D. I might be able to ask someone who works there but not sure which division he works in now or if still there what with the layoffs.
 
I used to simply pull the bullet with a collet die and reseat a 120 grain Nosler for my .308. Very good bullet and very easy to do. Throw the brass after shooting after all its cheap and plentiful. Some of the most accurate stuff I loaded came from this stuff which was designed and used in machine guns so had a tracer every 4th one. Very good and worth a go.
 
Actually it would be interesting to vist Radway Green and find out what they ACTUALLY make and not have made by others. Royal Ordenace don't make much them selves it seems although they put their moniker on stufff they don't make it. Badge Engineering at it's best.

God man, can you not realise when someone is calling you a bore and a ****?


Oh yes experience ;) Well you see RO subcontracts most of their work out and like the SA80 RO made none or very little of it. A lot of the componants were made at a small firm in Surrey and yes I worked on the contract there and like nearly all the staff who did was made redundant when it finished. The barrel mounted sling loop mount on my ZKK 601 is made form a gas block for the SA80.

Which means exactly what? I started my engineering career with RollsRoyce, specifically in the dept responsible for turbine blade design and development. By your reasoning that must give me licence to bore others silly about all manner of non-related crap.

As for BAE systems I seem to recall that they have trouble regarding truthfulness in their dealings :-| so the idea of asking them is really quite funny :D.

:rolleyes: You're a dick. You immediately assume that others must be wrong (god forbid you ever where) without even bothering to ascertain their reasoning or experience. If challenged, you completely ignore their points and resort to snide comments and making widespread accussations. Is it any wonder you get in so many confrontations and bother with the likes of your licensing dept.

You've yet to be able to contradict my real experience with the brass nor have you bothered to acknowledge others comments, evidenced by your statement that i am the only dissenter.

My last post to the thread - i'm too bored with you to be annoyed.
 
I used to simply pull the bullet with a collet die and reseat a 120 grain Nosler for my .308. Very good bullet and very easy to do. Throw the brass after shooting after all its cheap and plentiful. Some of the most accurate stuff I loaded came from this stuff which was designed and used in machine guns so had a tracer every 4th one. Very good and worth a go.

Yea that sounds like a plan, i bought 1000 of this stuff in .223 / 5.56mm and every 5th one is a tracer and they aint as accurate as the rest so i think i should do that with them and maybe a few more for by. They only cost 25p / round once the VAT is off them so if i loaded a 55gr soft point it would still be a very cheap hunting round. Or should i use them and then reload them from scratch?
 
Yea that sounds like a plan, i bought 1000 of this stuff in .223 / 5.56mm and every 5th one is a tracer and they aint as accurate as the rest so i think i should do that with them and maybe a few more for by. They only cost 25p / round once the VAT is off them so if i loaded a 55gr soft point it would still be a very cheap hunting round. Or should i use them and then reload them from scratch?

I would pull it and replace the bullet. Watch for pressure signs etc! Tracer is no more inaccurate than the ball fmj. You can not afford to have inacurate ammo when you are firing an automatic weapon from long distances in-between friendly forces at the enemy!
 
Maybe it was just me then but i was kind of sure that the tracers were going a tad higher than the other stuff. So what equipment do i need to buy to pull the old bullet out and press a new one in?
 
Maybe it was just me then but i was kind of sure that the tracers were going a tad higher than the other stuff. So what equipment do i need to buy to pull the old bullet out and press a new one in?

Do you already re-load? Yes, collet puller, no, get someone to show you!
 
Nope never done it before. So it would be a bad idea to go buy a pack of bullet heads and a new pair of vice-grips? ;)
 
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