.223 Reloading Essential Steps

[turkish]

I'll start by saying that I am very new to reloading. My friend set up his Dillon 550 at my house -- he needed the space and has some experience with other calibers. What are you guys doing to reload your BULK .223, especially for AR15 service? Mostly interested in essential case prep steps. Example: when is case trimming, deburring necessary, and when is it just extra?

Hope this wasn't too vague...

 

[jmcrawf1]

Trim/debur/chamfer cases everytime

 

[Tulse Luper]

For serious, bulk trimming, chamfering and deburring there's the all-in-one Giraud:

http://www.giraudtool.com/prod02.htm

The best cheap tool is the Possum Hollow trimmer. You can chuck them up in a drill. They don't chamfer or debur, though.

http://www.possumhollowproducts.com/kwick-case-trimmers.html

Also, get a .223 case gauge and drop every round into it:
http://www.dillonprecision.com/content/p/9/pid/25547/catid/3/Dillon_Rifle_Case_Gages

 

[jbonnette]

Personally, I don't trim my brass each time, only when needed. If doing bulk preparation, it's probably not a bad idea. I found the Lyman reloading manual to be very helpful when I started reloading. Details all of the reloading steps and when they are needed.

 

[captain-03]

Trim/debur/chamfer cases everytime

... when needed ...

 

[WSM]

I'll start by saying that I am very new to reloading. My friend set up his Dillon 550 at my house -- he needed the space and has some experience with other calibers. What are you guys doing to reload your BULK .223, especially for AR15 service? Mostly interested in essential case prep steps. Example: when is case trimming, deburring necessary, and when is it just extra?

Hope this wasn't too vague...

As they said....I trim my cases only when needed, but I make a practice of using my deburring tool each time, takes 30 seconds each case, eliminates headache later, I also use Imperial wax as my case lubricant. It comes in a tiny, small can, but a little goes a long ways, pick very little up with your index finger both hands, rub it into your thumbs.....The I handle the case with my index finger and thumb to get the wax on it, Then place the casing in my RCBS Rock chucker size and deprime, The imperial wax works great as a lubricant for your dies, and isn't messy. My set up is different from yours, so I then use a RCBS hand primer to reprime my casings before I place them back into a loading block, I find that hand priming works better for me, is faster and more uniform. Thats about it for the case prep, except you'll have no problem with a wax buildup on your casings when using the imperial wax. You can find this through MidwayUSA and other good reloading supply stores. Hope this helps, and as I said my set up is different from the Dillon, yet has worked very sucessfully for me.

 

[WSM]

Reloading 101 using "The Classic Lee Loader"


Depending upon the cartridge, the number times the brass has been loaded, and the pressure intensity of those loads, the case may, and will stretch in length. This can cause a hazardous condition, and requires trimming brass to a uniform length both for uniformity of the loads, and safety as well. For this purpose the Lee Case Trimmer is included in the list of recommended equipment at the beginning of this article. The Lee tool greatly simplifies the process, and insures that each and every case is trimmed to a specific uniform length without necessitating the procurement of a costly dial caliper to measure brass. Usually brass only needs trimming every third to fifth reloading, depending upon the cartridge and pressures it generates.

 

[Barney88PDC]

http://lcsahighpower.com/2008/04/22/reloading-match-ammo/

http://www.6mmbr.com/223Rem.html

 

[dzelenka]

I trim mine every loading just to make sure that I catch all of them. However, I have a Giraud trimmer and can do @1,000 per hour. (I also have a crew of juniors who don't mind prepping brass)

My method is tumble; size (I use Dillon Spray lube); tumble lube off; prime with a hand or benchtop primer; put them in the Dillon for charging and seating.

For low volume or for 600 yard ammo, I sometimes charge with an RCBS Chargemaster and seat the bullets on a single stage (RCBS Rockchucker).

I find ammo made either way to be equally accurate out to 600 yards.

Dan

 

[dzelenka]

http://lcsahighpower.com/2008/04/22/reloading-match-ammo/

http://www.6mmbr.com/223Rem.html

+1

 

[turkish]

Thanks, all of you guys. Some good information.