Equipment To Load 223

[Gunowner99]

In my never ending quest to be a basic (and safe) reloader, I again have some questions. I am just getting the equipment necessary, not reloading 223 yet. I'm still in 9mm land, slow but sure ha ha!

Okay, I have a Lee Classic Turret. I want to load 223, so here in my mind is what I will need: (please don't laugh, I really want to learn)

Dies. Do I get the Lee Ultimate dies? That will deprime, full length resize, prime, seat, crimp, factory crimp or did I miss something here?

Extra turret to install dies on

Lee Pro Auto Disc Powder Measure (it will stay with the turret for easy changeover)

Double Disc Kit which I think come with the riser?

Lube pad or spray or what? Lube inside of cases with.....?

Now, I guess I will need to chamfer, swage primer pockets, maybe some other prep? Fill me in on what I need here. Prep station? I have a Lyman Case Prep Multi Tool, will that get me where I need to go?


Again, I 100% promise not to reload until I thoroughly exhaust you all and watch 100 videos!!

Thanks!

[wanneroo]

I don't do 223 but do 300 Blackout which uses the same parent case. So I'll leave the dies and stuff up to others.

In regards to lubing cases, I hate the Hornady one shot. You can use a lube pad and case wax but it's slow. The best thing I have found is the Dillon spray lube, which is a mix of lanolin oil and alcohol. Super easy to use and works great.

At some point you will need to trim cases to keep them to within acceptable length. You can go slow and painful with a hand powered crank or you can spend more and go fast and easy with a powered trimmer. After much research I ended up using the Worlds Finest Trimmer. Fits right into a power drill chuck.

For primer pocket swaging there are a variety of tools. Right now I use RCBS press mounted swager which works fine. I've done about 1500 cases so far no problem.

[mrat]

Do you have a scale? That,reloading books, and eyewear are the first things you need to get. I use RCBS and lee dies. Either type of lube works,I use both,at different loadings. I don't lube the cartridge throat unless the resizer pin is having a hard time coming back out. I chamfer the mouth just to break the burr. I don't crimp real hard; cannuelares work well if your not adjusting OAL for bullet jump to rifling. Cross check loads in different manuals and online. Load light;I don't push max. Oh, and keep asking questions. Enjoy.

[Orlov556]

I like RCBS dies personally. For 223 i have the small base die, which resizes the case about .001 smaller than the full length dies. Reason being is i have multiple guns that shoot 223, so i want to make sure the cases will fully chamber in all of them.


If your using brass with crimped in primers (almost all surplus and lake city ammo), you going to have to ream the primer pockets. I use the lyman tool, you can also put in a drill.

I find that seating the bullets is a bit of a pain since they are so tiny, any i haven't come up with any way of making it easier.

I use the wax lube, i find it isn't as messy as the KY type.

[DavidTM]

I load the .223 for two different types of rifles. The first is a Savage .223 Carbine bolt action, and the second is a DPMS AR-15 semi-auto. Now...just to tell you what I do (as I don't know if your loading for a bolt rifle or a semi-auto)

#1-- For a bolt action I simply resize using a Lee F\L sizing die. I've used a pile of other dies, Hornady, Neck sizing only dies, but honestly....for the .223, I've just keep getting the best (one-hole 5 shot groups at 100 yards) using the Lee F\L die. I have used the Lee Collet. I have two of 'em. Meh. For a Bolt action....F\L every one with the Lee.

#2--For my A\R I F\L every one with a RCBS Small Base Die. The Small Base Die size's the brass just a tad "tighter" or "smaller" than a "regular" F\L die. Why is this important? Because for a Semi-auto it will give you nice consistent feeding into the chamber. And....it does.

#3--After the size\decap for either #1 or #2 above, I measure each piece of brass. If the brass needs trimmed, I trim it. I've been reloading for some time so now I have a few "bench" trimmers. I have one set up just for the .223's. A Lyman with a power attachment that I use a drill on. I cut each piece down, then chamfer the inside and outside.

#4--Once this rather tedious part....but very important part...is done, I then "finish" on my Hornady LNL progressive press. The brass then gets primed, powder and the bullet of choice gets seated. I DO NOT use any type of factory crimp on my reloads. I simply let the brass tension hold the bullet. For my bolt rifle I usually hunt groundhogs, or shoot paper. So, I'm not dong any rough 'n tumble stuff with it. For the A\R it's all range plinking, so nothing is getting pounded about and the bullets hold just fine in the magazines.

#5--I forgot to mention that I do tumble the brass....spent primers in....before I begin anything. Oh....and all I've ever used for lube is the Hornady one-shot spray. Usually what I do is lay my brass on a lube pad, spray one "side" of the brass, then "roll" the brass to the other side, spray that side, then just roll 'em back 'n fourth a few times.....then size. By doing that I've never stuck a case. If I get lazy and just spray a case here 'n there without rolling 'em to get good coverage.....I will then have to drag out my stuck case kit...and I'm not a happy guy when I do that.

#6--Once I get my powder charge "set" via measuring the charge on an RCBS electronic scale, I will check every 20th or 30th round. Rarely is it out by more than one-tenth of a grain. A manual scale will work just fine. I used a manual scale for the first 6 years of reloading. Nothing wrong with 'em...they measure just fine. The electronic one's just do it faster.

#7--Obviously...check your OAL, and as another stated...ALWAYS wear your safety glass's if you enjoy seeing things.....like women with no shirts on. Not that I constantly look for that.....I'm just saying......

[Mush]

IMHO, Lube is very important for the 223 case. Incorrect lube and you will have to learn how to remove a stuck case from the sizing die.

I use Redding Sizing wax. Never had a 223 stuck case with the wax in over 10,000 reloads. If you are resizing range brass or military fired bulk brass, you have no idea the size of the chamber it was fired from so full length resizing is important.

Full length trimming is also important. You want all the cases trimmed to the correct length. If too long it could not go to battery or jam in the chamber. If you jam the bullet in the lands you could over pressure the round when it fires.

I use the Lee Factory Crimp die for consistency. I also use a L.E. Wilson Case Length Headspace Gage so I am sure the brass is all the same size and will cycle with out a problem.

[JoshIronshaft]

I use Lee dies. I use the factory crimp die because I store my rounds loose in an ammo can, toss them around, and sometimes they go in a machine gun, so I don't want any getting pushed back into the cases. It's really no trouble, so I don't see why not. The only time it's been a burden is when it seemed to clog up after several thousand rounds and it started to tighten down and ruined a couple pieces of brass. I had to clean it good and re-set it. Also note, when you're using the factory crimp die you don't use the crimp ability on the seating die. Make sure you adjust it accordingly per Lee instructions.

I shoot my 223 out of two different AR's and a single shot H&R break action, but I do not believe the small base dies are needed. I don't think it's wrong to use them, but I have never had a feeding issue using standard dies after thousands of rounds and I've heard a few people say the small base dies are being used by people who didn't know how to set up their standard full length resizing die and didn't have a good case gauge to check the brass they were resizing (no offense to those using them, worst case it's just an extra unnecessary measure with no negative consequences).

Unless you're using brand new brass, you will have to measure it after full length sizing and trim the overall case length as needed. Again, a case gauge is recommended for rifle rounds because a lot of important measurements are taken from a point on a slope you can't measure with calipers. You drop the brass in and it tells you if the shoulder is correct and the overall length is correct so you know it will chamber and you know if you need to trim. You'll start to notice some headstamps won't need trimmed, like 99% of the Federal brass I've processed, but don't take it for granted and assume all will be that way.

For lube I'm using some Hornady One Shot aerosol spray lube I bought. Once it's gone I will make my own mixture of alcohol and lanolin and put it in a spray bottle. Mixing instructions can be found online readily. It's a lot cheaper to make your own and people say it works fine. With the Hornady One Shot you REALLY should shake the hell out of the can and then let it air dry for 15 minutes after applying to the brass. Some people have had issues. I lay a bunch of brass (tumbled, primer not yet removed) in a small plastic storage bin, spray them, jumble them around for 15 seconds, spray them again, jumble them around again, then they're ready. That's it.

I reload a lot of 223 on a Dillon 650 with an auto case feeder so I skip inspection and just run all my brass through a trimmer and primer pocket swager to save time. I have a 650 tool head with a full length resizing and depriming die in position one, then a Dillon case trimmer in position 4 that has it's own full length outside sizing die and a high speed carbide cutter that doesn't require deburring.

I swage all my cases with a bench mounted Dillon Super Swage tool. Works fast and easy for bulk processing but the RCBS seems popular too.

I don't tumble, wipe, or do anything to remove case lube.

Now the brass goes back in the case feeder, I switch the tool head out for the one with the powder measure in position two, the seater in position three, and the factory crimp die in position four.

All rounds get a final visual inspection.

Regarding seating bullets, the boat tail go in a lot easier than the flat bottom rounds. I don't like loading flat bottom since the bullet is the only thing I'm touching while cranking out ammo on the 650.

[JoshIronshaft]

If you speak a little more to the rifle these are going to be used in (barrel twist, action, chamber, etc) and the type of shooting (volume, range, etc) then we may be able to say more.

[theunrulychef]

223 AR basic workflow is something like this for me:

- Fired cases go in a vibratory tumbler with pet store walnut lizard bedding & a cap full of NuFinish (not new media every time, just when it gets dirty)

- Sort by headstamp or batch (everyone has their own system to keep track of brass).

- Lube cases with alcohol / rcbs lube mix from a spray bottle & give it a couple minutes for the alcohol to evaporate. Don't need to do each one individually, just a couple sprays in the bin & toss them around - kinda like buttering popcorn or making salad or something. Wax is the bees knees for match rounds, but too much work for larger quantities.

- Full length resize die. I used the RCBS small base die, but I would imagine any FL die will work great. Clean the primer pocket with a uniformer tool - you can use the Lyman one just fine. If it's range pickups or purchased 556 military stuff, it also gets swaged or reamed to remove the primer crimp

- Trim all brass to "trim to" length. Chamfer & deburr case mouths - don't go crazy

- (Optional) Wet tumble in stainless media / rotary tumbler & let dry

- (Optional) Prime with a hand priming tool

- At that point, I store the ready brass in plastic containers.

To load, I used a Dillon 550 with the first tool station empty. If I didn't prime the cases already, I do that on the press. 2nd stage is powder drop, 3rd is seating the bullet, 4th is Lee crimp die. I use the Lee crimp die on everything except "precision" reloads.

I would say don't go for bulk at first. Focus on brass prep as that's the big difference between pistol & rifle loading. You're looking to get each piece of brass exactly the same. You can get very good results without stepping up to weighing cases, turning necks, annealing, measuring bearing surface on the bullet etc etc etc. That sort of advanced stuff will be too much as you're starting out, so keep it simple & focus on the main stages of brass prep & you'll do well.

Good luck!

[Gunowner99]

Thank you all for your help. Of course unfortunately for you, I have more questions and will try to ask them in a logical order by each stage to get it “right” in my mind. Hopefully this does not turn into a novel ha ha!

I am loading for my multiple AR’s. The brass will not be specific and will have to chamber in any of them. I have reloading gear for 9mm and associated componentry like scales and safety gear and the like. I use Lyman 49 as a base and go from there. I am trying to stick with Lee as I am the most familiar with that. I use a Lee Classic Loader Turret press.

First step is to clean; I think I have that down with my vibratory shaker and walnut shells and nu-finish and dryer sheets ha ha! I plan to leave the primers in when I clean. For starters I will sort by head stamp and reload as such to keep it organized and consistent.

Then I know that I need to lube. Spray the stuff on and shake in a bin and let dry. Anyone with a good recipe? Do I need to worry about the insides or no?

Next I full length size. Does this step also remove the primer on a Lee die? Also, what about this small base die, do I as a simplistic beginner need to do this?

Then trim time. Check length first and then trim. So, there are powered trimmers, some that fits in a drill chuck, manual operations. I need something that is fairly inexpensive and I am thinking low volume to start like a 100 pieces at a time? What’s my best option? The drill chuck device?

I need to chamfer and debur now. Then swage if a military crimp. Is my hand held thing suitable for this operation or will I blister myself? Maybe one of those case prep express things? I could swage on press but then I have to pull out a die and then put back in so I am concerned I will mess up my settings so to say. Ideas? Then I should use a case guage or is that before I trim? Don’t laugh please. I assume before and after trim operation?

Then loading time. My plan is Lee dies, so which set do I need? The Ultimate? I will buy another turret, another Pro Disc Auto Measure, riser and double disc kit, do I need another safety prime or is that a simple change from my 9mm set-up to my 223 and not worth the extra money?

Prime, powder, seat crimp. All that with the Lee die set? I am a little confused because when I watch the Lee video it is full length sizing, decapping and priming all in position 1. Am I looking at this wrong?

What am I forgetting? Of course measure charges frequently for safety and because I am a beginner, measure OAL, is there a gage for that or do I use my calipers?

Again, thanks for all of the help and sorry for the stupid questions I ask at times, I just want to understand and be safe.