.223 case prep

[WanMan99]

So, after reloading around 30 - 40k rounds of .38, 9mm, .40 and .45acp I have decided to take the leap into rifle caliber reloading. I have picked up quite a bit of case prep tools and have watched a gabillion youtube videos. My idea of the process is as follows;
1. tumble brass
2. decap/resize (I use a Lee full length resizing die) and the Franford arsenal case lube.
3. Trim case to length (I use a possum hollow neck trimmer)
4. Primer pocket cleanout (Lee primer pocket tool)
5. Deburr and chamfer case (Lee deburring tool)
6. Tumble cases (to remove case lube and brass shavings)
7. Prime
8. reload

Anything I missed or am I overdoing it?

 

[jasons]

That's basically what I do only in a slightly different order. I tumble the lube off after I resize so that they're easier to work with (not as slippery.) I also do the primer pockets before I trim / chamfer / de-burr. (I sliced my finger open pretty good once when I was cleaning the pockets after. Those necks are pretty sharp when they're freshly chamfered.)

 

[EddieCoyle]

Do you measure the headspace and set the sizing die appropriately?

 

[Schuyshot]

I tumble, lube, size/deprime, trim, load. I skip a second tumble. I use hornady 1-shot so the residual lube helps things along in the loading process but doesn't get powder-y or gummed up.

I use this to trim lots of cases quickly. It really helps that they make a 3-way cutter/in/out chamfer device for the drill press. It does all three at once. Although I'm pretty sure its just in/out chamfering the crap out of it instead of cutting and then chamfering... In either event you can collapse three of the most tedious tasks into one quick one. I wish they made them for 6.8SPC... Anyone want to buy my hand trimmer?

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/721759/forster-power-case-trimmer

 

[Schuyshot]

I'm pretty new at bottlneck cases, maybe 5k in 2 calibers loaded. So far I have adjusted my size die until it chambers/extracts properly. Then I push it a little more to take care of any in-consistent lever pulls etc. Seems to work. Granted I am not shooting for super fine accuracy. Just shooting for fun and reliability....

 

[WanMan99]

Do you measure the headspace and set the sizing die appropriately?

No, the decap/sizing die I am using does not appear to have any adjustments other than how far down into the press I screw it in.
The only case measuring I am doing is after trimming, they have been measuring 1.748 or very, very close to that. The Possum Hollow trimmer sizes off of the neck for a uniform length but it doesn't address the case body length. I do have a case length gauge/cutter I could use but I am finding that extremely time consuming to lock each case into the lock stud.

 

[WanMan99]

I'm pretty new at bottlneck cases, maybe 5k in 2 calibers loaded. So far I have adjusted my size die until it chambers/extracts properly. Then I push it a little more to take care of any in-consistent lever pulls etc. Seems to work. Granted I am not shooting for super fine accuracy. Just shooting for fun and reliability....

What kind of resizing die are you using?
I am using a Lee .223 that decaps and reforms the neck and body but does not appear to have any adjustments.
Looks like I need to verify my resizing die setup.

 

[radioman]

Make sure all media is out of flash hole after second tumble!! Those little buggers like to wedge themselves into those flash holes very tightly.

 

[TZCHRIS]

Get a case gage! Will save you lots of aggravation.

http://www.dillonprecision.com/content/p/9/pid/25547/catid/3

 

[USMA-82]

+1 on the case gage. It's a good last check that all dimensions are correct prior to reloading.

 

[TZCHRIS]

Do you measure the headspace and set the sizing die appropriately?

Never understood this? But that is why I am a 'novice'. My .223 loads may be fired in one of many AR's. All my buddies use my reloads, never had a problem when using the case gage but would love to hear more on this.

Why can the manufactures make ammo that works in all AR's but I have to measure headspace? Not being a d*ck but no one has ever explained that to me?

 

[gigabit]

After multiple firing and expansion the cases can lengthen. The shoulder elongates and when a round is chambered (without firing yet) and if u pull back the charging handle, it wont due to the round being shoved in there. Full length sizers should in theory push back the datum line.

My larue ar15 has tighter requirements than my bushmaster acr or even my palmetto state upper. My headspace max is 1.459" any further is jams.

 

[Knob Creek]

I like the RCBS Lube Die. Lubes and decaps in one step.

 

[EddieCoyle]

No, the decap/sizing die I am using does not appear to have any adjustments other than how far down into the press I screw it in.

That's all you need.

Never understood this? But that is why I am a 'novice'. My .223 loads may be fired in one of many AR's. All my buddies use my reloads, never had a problem when using the case gage but would love to hear more on this.

Why can the manufactures make ammo that works in all AR's but I have to measure headspace? Not being a d*ck but no one has ever explained that to me?

The manufacturers make their ammo with the shoulder pushed back far enough so that the round will chamber in any SAAMI compliant chamber. You can push the shoulder back to the SAAMI min every time you size the case and your reloads will chamber fine in virtually any rifle.

However, by doing this you are likely moving the shoulder more than necessary. This will result in shorter brass life, and will require more frequent case trimming. It can also affect accuracy.

If you set your sizing die to only push the shoulder back to 0.003" to 0.005" shorter than a fired case, you might end up with rounds that can only be used in specific rifles, but they'll shoot and reload better.

The problem can be much worse for cartridges that headspace on the rim or belt as opposed to the shoulder.

 

[richc]

The Dillon case gauge is your friend.

First few .223 reloads I made I did not push the shoulders down far enough and had problems with stuck cartridges. I learned the hard way. The case gauge showed the error of my ways and I adjusted the sizing die down a bit and life was good.

Failure is a great learning tool... and I've learned to listen to Eddie Coyle on all things reloading.

 

[Nfdbrian]

I use a RCBS case micrometer to make sure the shoulder is at the correct spec. I usually inspect every pc of brass with it. I am a little anal when it comes to prepping my .223 brass.

 

[xtry51]

I use a RCBS case micrometer to make sure the shoulder is at the correct spec. I usually inspect every pc of brass with it. I am a little anal when it comes to prepping my .223 brass.

Woah How many rounds are you reloading at a time?

There's no way I could take the time to do that. I check 1-2 per 50 and I still think I'm being too critical considering I'm not bumping it just the couple thou to make it first just my rifle.

 

[Nfdbrian]

Woah How many rounds are you reloading at a time?

There's no way I could take the time to do that. I check 1-2 per 50 and I still think I'm being too critical considering I'm not bumping it just the couple thou to make it first just my rifle.

Just the match grade stuff. And it is only 100 rounds at a time. I don't bother loading the 55gr plinking stuff yet...until it becomes hard to find or too expensive to buy.

 

[highlander]

The only thing I don't do is clean the primer pockets.

 

[Schuyshot]

What kind of resizing die are you using?
I am using a Lee .223 that decaps and reforms the neck and body but does not appear to have any adjustments.
Looks like I need to verify my resizing die setup.

I use the same dies. Lee RGB dies. I need to screw the die in all the way to the shellplate and then some. When I lower the ram, I can really feel the press "cam-over" as the saying goes. That is the adjustment. Less cam over is less shoulder bump. More cam-over is more shoulder bump. It is not a super refined hi-acc die setup by any means.

 

[crazymjb]

On my blasting ammo that I run through the 550 I trim it first (I found it grows pretty consistantly when sizing) then run it through the press and its all set. I did have problems when I didnt clean off the dry lube thoroughly. It gunked up the chamber with a black tar like substance and I had a few stuck rounds. I'm still contemplating how I am going to load my bulk rainy day ammo (75gr bthp in once fired lake city brass). I need to work up a load first.

I haven't bothered cleaning the primer pockets or chamfering the case necks. The cutter I have has thus far been pretty clean. Only FTFs have been due to Tula primers.

Mike

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

 

[jasons]

Only FTFs have been due to Tula primers.

How can a primer cause a failure to feed?

 

[tcpsyn]

I suppose if it's not seated flush it could cause failure to feed.

I buy bulk brass, so I have to swage the primer pockets the first time too.

 

[EddieCoyle]

He probably means fail-to-fire.

 

[AntiHippie]

I re-read this topic since I'm about to make my first attempt at reloading rifle cartridges (.223). I've done a thousand or so pistol cartridges and had good results so far ('good results' as far as I can tell. Safe to say I'm still the limiting factor for accuracy, not the ammo). Resizing straight walled pistol cartridges is straight forward enough, but I want to make sure I've got the right idea on resizing .223.

I understand that a headspace gauge will greatly enhance accuracy and brass life, but I'm not 100% confident I have the right idea on properly setting up the sizing die without one. At this point, my primary concern is getting the fundamentals of reloading bottlenecked cartridges right, then I want to work on getting the most accuracy out of them (oddly, I shoot pistol FAR better than rifle).

If it makes a difference, I'll be using Lee dies. That whole very limited budget thing is at play here.

 

[xtry51]

I re-read this topic since I'm about to make my first attempt at reloading rifle cartridges (.223). I've done a thousand or so pistol cartridges and had good results so far ('good results' as far as I can tell. Safe to say I'm still the limiting factor for accuracy, not the ammo). Resizing straight walled pistol cartridges is straight forward enough, but I want to make sure I've got the right idea on resizing .223.

I understand that a headspace gauge will greatly enhance accuracy and brass life, but I'm not 100% confident I have the right idea on properly setting up the sizing die without one. At this point, my primary concern is getting the fundamentals of reloading bottlenecked cartridges right, then I want to work on getting the most accuracy out of them (oddly, I shoot pistol FAR better than rifle).

If it makes a difference, I'll be using Lee dies. That whole very limited budget thing is at play here.

 

[jasons]

He probably means fail-to-fire.

I was trying to be funny.

 

[Swamp_Yankee]

I do a lot of work when it comes to .308 and .30-06. All the prep: headspace, flash-hole, trim, measure each drop, etc.

With .223, I don't care. It's for plinking and I small base size it all. The only thing I do regularly is trim it. The only problem I have ever had after thousands of rounds is buckling the shoulders. If I seat and crimp in the same step, I always buckle the shoulder. If I do them in separate steps and am very careful not to over crimp, I will not run into problems. If you do buckle the shoulder, you can probably (but not always) get the round into battery but it will take a hammer to get the case out. I have never fired a buckled cartridge so I don't know what the result would be but "not good" comes to mind...

 

[DukeInFlorida]

There is NO good reason to crimp .223 Remington rounds. Full length resize, and push the bullet into the seated depth and done.

IF you feel an absolute need to crimp them, take a look at a Lee Factory Crimp Die.

 

[jasons]

There is NO good reason to crimp .223 Remington rounds. Full length resize, and push the bullet into the seated depth and done.

IF you feel an absolute need to crimp them, take a look at a Lee Factory Crimp Die.

Some people say that a light crimp makes for more consistent neck tension and thus better accuracy. Not sure if a guy like me could ever tell the difference on the target, but I put a very light crimp my match ammo just the same. I use the Lee factory crimp die.