As you all know im new to reloading. I was reading that post at the top about the .223/ 5.56. i loaded my first rounds lastweek and after reading all the replys im starting to second guess myself.i loadrd lake city brass with a.224 .55gr. fmjbt bullet and charged it with 22.5gr of 322 hodgen powder. after hearing that military brass is different than comm. brass. and before i fire it and something mite happen. is that recipe good? i just want to be safer than sorry in the long run. the post replys were talking aboit space left over after loading and i got all confused. let me know please so i can rest easy.
Is your rifle a 223 or a 5.56?
According to Hodgdon a "Start" charge of 322 is 21gr with a Max of 23gr. You are right in the middle and should be OK, but you should have started out with 21gr.
Load a few more starting at 21gr working up to your 22.5gr. You should be fine, but it's always best to be safe and start low and work up.
As for the Brass case capacity, odds are your LC brass has MORE case capacity the commercial 223 brass, but odds are for card players and not for guys making little bombs set off a few inches from ones head and face.
Here, this may help, from Sierra.
The conventional wisdom to reduce loads with military brass is familiar to most reloaders and is generally good advice. The rationale here is that the military cases tend to be somewhat thicker and heavier than their civilian counterparts, which in turn reduces capacity and raises pressures. This additional pressure normally requires a one or two grain reduction from the loads shown in most manuals or other data developed with commercial cases. While this is most often the situation with both 308 Winchester and 30-06 cases, it is less true with the 223 brass. We have found that military cases often have significantly more capacity than several brands of commercial brass.
Again, take the time to do a side-by-side comparison of the cases you are working with and adjust your load as needed. There may be no need for such a reduction with the 223. Know your components and keep them segregated accordingly.