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tlt wrote:I think the Colt HBAR is a 223 at least mine was. I solved the problem by fitting a 5.56 barrel to mine. Also, agree that reloads should generally be avoided. Lake City does not sell reloads, and the genuine is not priced too bad.

But you can reload LC brass, and too many times!

He confirmed that they are old reloads. But I will check to see if his gun is chambered in .223 or 5.56.

I'm learning lots of new stuff as a result of this between research and feedback.

The more you know....

I took a friend out to the range to sight in his 20" Colt HBAR Match Target AR15 Rifle. He loaded a couple of 30 rd magazines and we proceeded to sight it in. After we were done and were cleaning up I noticed that every piece of brass was split on the neck.
I asked what type of ammo he was shooting and if they were reloads he said it was "bulk" ammo. He had no idea. I checked the casings and found they were marked LC 92 Nato Stamped, LC 90 Nato stamped and one or two other types not Nato stamped.

[ I suspect he bought some cheap 5.56 reloads at a gun show thinking he was getting a good deal on ammo. I don't really know. Neither does he apparently.

I have never seen this with any of my bulk ammo loose or on stripper clips LC, boxed Winchester or boxed IMI, m193 or m855. I suspect the split casing is due to brass being reloaded too many times and would likely not happen with never fired brass.

I was just curious to get some more opinions on the possible cause. If it was indicative of a problem with the gun or how dangerous to use this ammo (he had a whole bag full of loose ammo). We shot a couple of 30 round mags with no issues and the accuracy was decent. (2moa)