Need reloading mentors

[CTarNUT]

OK so im new to the game. I dont want to half ass it so I have a dillon 550b coming in the mail. To start i have some basic questions. After tumbling roughly 200 remington .223 cases in my brand new cabelas tumbler I was looking at the brass to check for deformities. Are minor dents acceptable or should i just stick with the pristine ones? My second question is how many times can i reload my brass before I should get some new stock? Im sure ill have tons more questions once im all set up. Thanks

 

[Lugnut]

Minor dings are fine. I'm not an expert in .223 although I can tell you not as many times as say 9mm or .45ACP.

Get some books, research a bunch. My .223 loads were done on a single stage although all my pistol rounds are on a progressive.

 

[Cross-X]

You may be wise to start by reloading pistol rounds before starting with rifle ammo. Pistol ammo reloading is much easier to master.

 

[noidlight]

If you purchase a Lymann reloading manual it will have a step-by-step on rifle and pistol reloading as well as all the data. This is what I used, along with everyone's help from here, to get started with rifle reloading.

 

[RKG]

At the risk of oversimplification, the "life" of a bottleneck rifle cartridge will be indicated by case length (after firing and sizing but before reloading) and neck wall thickness.

Bottleneck cases tend to stretch, and the material that moves forward migrates to the case neck. In the process, of course, this weakens the parts of the case that are aft of the shoulder.

Most bottlenecks should be case length measured after every firing or every other firing, and my rule of thumb is two trimmings and then discard.

Case necks that are too thick can be thinned, either by reaming or case neck turning. The former is easier; this step is required if you make cases for wildcats out of something else. (Such as .308 x 1-1/2 Barnes, made out of .308 or .300 Savage, or .33 WCF from .45-70.) In this situation, the neck is too thick because it is now made up of a part of the case that used to be the body, and neck reaming doesn't hurt anything. However, if I found that case necks of factory brass in their factory caliber needed reaming, I'd toss them.

With straight wall cases such as .38 Special and .45 ACP, case failure usually takes the form of cracks in the mouth. Usually, these are the result of working the metal to brittleness through the sizing-belling-crimping cycle. Mouth splits are no big deal (though, obviously, you don't reload split cases).

With bottleneck cases, case failure tends to be either longitudinal splits along the body or head separations. Both can be far more serious than split mouths. So we are a bit more conservative with respect to case life.

 

[Junglerott]

I toss the cases that are dented at the mouth. Seems everytime I try to resize them they just squash probably because of the resizing ball that resizes the neck. Reloading rifle is much more time consuming because you have to trim the cases and then chamfer them in and out. I reload 45, 9, and 38 and those cases just get cleaned and reloaded. If you are going to start on rifle, then just be sure you pay close attention to what you are doing.

 

[CTarNUT]

So I take it that a case trimmer is a must for rifle reloading.

Note: Im not looking for match grade results, just some fun at the range.

 

[Scrivener]

Hint: Yes, it has gone up at least twice and is quite expensive, but consider the Dillon carbide .223 die; at least the sizing die, if not the whole die set.

Does it eliminate the need to lube your cases? No.

So why bother? Because rifle cases are long and take lots more pressure than pistol cases; it also "works" the case less because the friction is greatly reduced.

If you plan to load lots of .223 (and if you've priced new, you should be), you will find it cost-effective (over time).

 

[Junglerott]

You can by the trimming and chamfering tools that go into a drill and get fine results. I am using the RCBS X-sizing die, Dillon powder die, RCBS Seating die, and a LEE factory crimp die on my Dillon 650. I have shot around 100 rounds and none of them have grown more than .001 (the x-sizer must be working).

 

[Lugnut]

So I take it that a case trimmer is a must for rifle reloading.

Don't take this the wrong way but based on this question you should do some reading before reloading. Yes, it's a must. Calipers also as a case gauge isn't enough.

 

[CTarNUT]

Don't take this the wrong way but based on this question you should do some reading before reloading. Yes, it's a must. Calipers also as a case gauge isn't enough.

Message taken in the way it was intended. Im quickly learning that there is more to reloading than I had originally thought.

 

[Lugnut]

Message taken in the way it was intended. Im quickly learning that there is more to reloading than I had originally thought.

Yeah... and like others have said- it's best to start with something like .45ACP first. .223 loads are much higher pressure and the brass "requirements" are more significant.

 

[EddieCoyle]

+1 on starting with some pistol ammo before you have a go at .223.

The first thing you need to do though is pick up a copy of "The ABC's of Reloading" and read it cover-to-cover.

When you start, go with a "forgiving" handgun cartridge like .45 ACP or .38 Special. Don't start with .40 S&W because there's much less margin of error.

 

[drumenigma]

+1 on starting with some pistol ammo before you have a go at .223.

The first thing you need to do though is pick up a copy of "The ABC's of Reloading" and read it cover-to-cover.

When you start, go with a "forgiving" handgun cartridge like .45 ACP or .38 Special. Don't start with .40 S&W because there's much less margin of error.

Oh man....Really? and that's what I was thinking about reloading if I finally get around to it.

 

[Scrivener]

Hint: Don't waste your time buying Small Pistol primers; get Small RIFLE. Unlike large primers, SR and SP have the exact same exterior dimensions.

Why? Well, you obviously want to load .223, which requires an SR primer. You also want to load .40 S&W, for which an SR primer will give you added security against blown primers.

It won't hurt .38 Special or 9mm loads, will simplify your inventory and reduce the risk of your inadvertently loading your .223 with SP primers (NOT a good thing!).

I haven't bought SP primers in years.

 

[matt]

Hint: Don't waste your time buying Small Pistol primers; get Small RIFLE. Unlike large primers, SR and SP have the exact same exterior dimensions.

Why? Well, you obviously want to load .223, which requires an SR primer. You also want to load .40 S&W, for which an SR primer will give you added security against blown primers.

It won't hurt .38 Special or 9mm loads, will simplify your inventory and reduce the risk of your inadvertently loading your .223 with SP primers (NOT a good thing!).

I haven't bought SP primers in years.

That's good to know! Thanks!

 

[BIG GUN]

Wow!
Some of this info is enough to scare a person from reloading!
Pistol cases do not need special attn. as long as you are using carbide dies. Rifle cases are a different story. I full length resize the first time, using a lanolin lube. I then uniform the primer pockets, trim to min. overall length, prim, & re-load. If I am using the round in the same rifle, I use a Lee neck sizing collet die, no lube required, but I always check case length, and trim if reqd. I also always use a primer pocket uniformer after every fireing. It cuts out the primer crud. No lube is reqd. with the collet die, so you can use a Dillon 550 if you want mass production.
I have reloaded rifle cases 20+ times with no failures. Pressure is a major factor in case lifespan.
It Is a lot of fun, and saves a bunch of $$$