Reloading 223 for a AR

[Bill]

What die set work best for reloading 223 in a AR?

[gnihcraes]

standard rcbs full length seems to be working well for me... sure any of them would be great. kc.

[Sixgun]

I think you need Small base dies. Rcbs works for me. Look for the SB 223..

[DOC]

RCBS is what I use. The full length dies will bind and the brass will get stuck in there if you don't use enough lube. But the neck die worked pretty well with a little lube. Get some extra pins though because I have broken more than one. Lee doesn't have replacement decap pins and you have to replace the whole resizer. But they replace them for free and the whole set is cheaper. Good luck.

[laportecharlie]

I have loaded countless thousands of 223 on my Dillon 550B using standard Dillon dies. Of late I have been using Hornady 1-shot spray case lube and it works fine. Fired all that ammo in several AR's, no problems.
Charlie

[mightymouse]

My setup is a fairly close copy of the setup used by a former AMU commander. On one Dillon 550 toolhead I have a Redding neck sizer /decapper on station one and a redding small base die on station two. He says that doing it in two stages like this works the neck less than the all in one approach that the Dillon neck/decap/sizing die does.

After my sizing operations, I trim to length, de-crimp if needed out in the shop/garage, then toss it all in the tumbler. Once that's rolling, I clean up the Dillon from any sizing/decapping debris, then I switch to tool head that is priming only on station one, powder drop on station two and a bullet seating die on station three. According to the above source, seating with only neck tension is sufficient for most ammo that you'll load. I only use a crimp die if I'm loading sub-sonic ammo.

This method has worked REALLY well for me, YMMV.

As for lube, I HATE Hornady OneShot. I've had terrible luck with it. What I have had excellent luck with is homemade case lube copying the Dillon formula, which is basically 2oz of Lanolin (breast feeding aisle of Safeway) and 8oz 99% isopropyl alcohol. Mix in a large spray bottle and hold it in boiling water or a double boiler for 5 minutes until the lanolin mixes easily in the alcohol without clumping at the bottom. Re-shake before each use. Won't save you a lot of money, but its easier to make than to order/find.

[gnihcraes]

case lube: Mobile one synthetic 5w30 seems to work well... just poor a little dab on a rag, let it soak in, and roll the brass across it... very light, I've done several thousand this way now, no stuck cases and it seems to polish them up nice when I put them back in the tumbler to clean them up... go figure. :) cheap too! 1 quart goes a LONG WAY...

[mightymouse]

case lube: Mobile one synthetic 5w30 seems to work well... just poor a little dab on a rag, let it soak in, and roll the brass across it... very light, I've done several thousand this way now, no stuck cases and it seems to polish them up nice when I put them back in the tumbler to clean them up... go figure. :) cheap too! 1 quart goes a LONG WAY...

The one downside to 'homemade' petroleum based case lube is that petro based products kill primers. If you're rolling cases individually, you're generally ok however.

[gnihcraes]

Yep, very aware of that... but again, just a light quick roll across the rag... you can barely even tell anything is on it once it soaks into the rag... then once sized, back into the tumbler for cleaning... everything seems to come out squeeky clean and no residue. If I start having ignition problems... I'll know. :) thanks for the reminder though!

[Hoser]

The Dillon 223 resize dies are hell for stout and good quality.

For seating I use a Redding competition seat die and the last station I have a Redding 223 body die just to make sure I bumped the shoulder back a touch.

[RRD3]

RCBS is what I use. The full length dies will bind and the brass will get stuck in there if you don't use enough lube. But the neck die worked pretty well with a little lube. Get some extra pins though because I have broken more than one. Lee doesn't have replacement decap pins and you have to replace the whole resizer. But they replace them for free and the whole set is cheaper. Good luck.


You can buy a pack of six. Also if you call RCBS they will send you a replacement most of the time for free.... unless you call them once a week ;)

[DOC]

You can buy a pack of six. Also if you call RCBS they will send you a replacement most of the time for free.... unless you call them once a week ;)

I called them about the stuck case in the full length die and they said to send it back in and include return shipping and they will fix it. I didn't know they would send decap pins though? I thought it was perfectly fine to buy extras to have around. Lee sends you a new one and I have sent my .308 and x39 back more than once in regular envelope with 2 stamps. Both take care of their customers really well.

[RRD3]

Yes they do. Cheers to both of them [Beer]


I was in Sportsman's the other day and they had a six pack of decaping pins.
Last one on the rack... go figure

[cohigh]

+1 on Lee's customer service. They even pay return shipping!

[sagebrush]

Id Get The Zero Length Dies ... They Full Size And Prevent Future Case Lengthing

[CareyH]

I use the standard dillon dies in my 650 and the one shot case lude, works good for me. the redding comp seating dies are nice and i would like to add one to my set up.

[zombiehunter77]

you need to full lenght resize them every time you shoot, some use a full lenght resize die, some use a small base die, i have heard some ar15s will let you get away several reloads with neck only sizing... guess its up to your particular gun.

[LariatBob]

I have loaded countless thousands of 223 on my Dillon 550B using standard Dillon dies. Of late I have been using Hornady 1-shot spray case lube and it works fine. Fired all that ammo in several AR's, no problems.
Charlie
+1 on the Hornady spray. I like it because it works fairly well and won't kill primers.
I also use a Lee collet crimp die and slightly crimp the neck.