Great Deals on .223 Rem Brass

While researching our upcoming .223 Rem Cartridge Guide, we tested and measured various brands of brass. Recent Lake City brass shoots very well and offers the greatest case capacity (30.6 grains) of commonly available brass. MidwayUSA now offers Federal Lake City brass (item 197849) at $81.99 per 500. That works out to just $16.40 per hundred. Shooters report this brass is “very uniform” and shoots exceptionally well. Note, this is a discontinued item–so returns can only be made to Federal, not Midway.

Wideners.com now has new IMG brass for the amazing price of $46/500 or $89/1000, item 556GUPB. IMG brass is quality stuff. This editor has personally put thousands of rounds of IMG ammo through ARs without no failures. IMG brass is made on American (Olin) machinery that was transported to Guatemala to provide ammunition for the military. This is a great choice for varminters who need large quantities of uniform, low-cost brass. The case mouths are even chamfered. Average case capacity of IMG brass is 30.1 grains, the same as Hornady and Winchester commercial. The IMG brass is brand new 5.56 NATO-spec brass (not seconds). However, please note the flash holes are slightly smaller than domestic brass. You should have no issues with ignition (since the flash hole is still larger than 220 Russian or 6BR brass), but you may have to adjust your load slightly.