LC Headstamp

[JustEd]

Found a bunch of these on the 75 yard marker at local range...not supposed to shoot from there btw.

LC is obviously Lake City, Nato round and 22 for this year.

Question is, why so many circles and dot.  I know they mean something, but don't know exactly what.

Doesn't look crimped but could change my mind after de-priming them.

Sorry for low quality cell phone pic.

[scatman]

The circle with a cross indicates it's a 5.56 and not .223, i.e. it will handle the pressure volume of a higher charge, and you'll probably need to ream and uniform the primer pocket or you'll crush primers. The other dots are usually, along with a red circle painted around the primer, an indicator of a reloaded cartridge, and how many times it has been reloaded. 

Edited June 23, 2022 by scatman

[scatman]

But judging by the stamping marks, and the lack of a red circled primer, it looks as though it just refused to mark the cross on several stamp attempts.

[Beltfed]

Actually the cross in a circle means it meets NATO ammunition standards. All military ammo I’ve seen (a lot) is crimped

 

[JustEd]

10 minutes ago, Beltfed said:

Actually the cross in a circle means it meets NATO ammunition standards. All military ammo I’ve seen (a lot) is crimped

 

Yes, figured its NATO spec and possibly crimped, just not obvious.

A bit better pic, don't own a macro lens.

Just don't understand the numerous circles and dot.  Have seen a couple on LC ammo before but not this many.

Edited June 23, 2022 by JustEd
can't spell for heck

[JustEd]

btw, it looks like it was a new cartridge, to me at least.

 

edit:  ok possibly  the circles mean reloaded twice.  That would explain the lack of crimp.   Just seems like a rather busy headstamp to me.

Edited June 23, 2022 by JustEd

[Beltfed]

I was in the military for over 20 years, UH1Huey crew chief and door gunner.  I never saw a reloaded round of 7.62x51 or 5.56.  Maybe the military may use reloads in training, but when your butt has a target circle on it you used the good stuff.  And the good stuff couldn’t help the M-60.  We went on a mission years ago with 22 M60s.  At the end of the day only two were operational.
 

 

[Swede]

The dots are associated with the high speed loading machines used at Lake City.  I've seen it on FC (Federal) headstamped .223 that was probably loaded at Lake City when Federal had the contract to run it.  It's not unusual to see LC brass loaded for the civilian market that lacks the primer seal, or they could have used a clear lacquer.

I've also seen smaller dots on FC and Blazer headstamped 9mm brass 

I'm not sure what the different number of dots indicate so I'm not going to speculate, however, if you research SCAMP (?) machine marks on brass you will probably find the answer. 

[Beltfed]

Swede, Would ammo loaded for the commercial market have the NATA markings?  It’s possible that a reloader loaded it, but they are not inclined to leave good brass on the ground.

[JustEd]

22 hours ago, Swede said:

The dots are associated with the high speed loading machines used at Lake City.  I've seen it on FC (Federal) headstamped .223 that was probably loaded at Lake City when Federal had the contract to run it.  It's not unusual to see LC brass loaded for the civilian market that lacks the primer seal, or they could have used a clear lacquer.

I've also seen smaller dots on FC and Blazer headstamped 9mm brass 

I'm not sure what the different number of dots indicate so I'm not going to speculate, however, if you research SCAMP (?) machine marks on brass you will probably find the answer. 

That sounds like a good answer.  It looks like new ammo rather than a reload.  Was thinking it is agency ammo used for training.  That would explain why they were at the 75 yard mark.  They often do their own thing, in my experience.

[tmauto769]

BeltFed is correct the cross is NATO spec, nothing to do with .223 or 5.56. 

Any LC brass I have ever reloaded had a crimp of some form on it. Even if it had a sealer on it or not.

I guess I have never picked up any reloaded LC brass.

 

Edited June 27, 2022 by tmauto769