Questions about learning to reload bottleneck cartridges

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ballman6711

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I've been reloading for about three years and have only loaded straight wall pistol so far. But I would like to learn how to reload bottleneck rifle cartridges, .223/.556 to start, and then maybe later move on to other calibers like .30-06, .300 BO, .270, etc....

I have everything needed to load the pistol calibers that I shoot, except for a trimmer, which I haven't needed so far (I don't shoot competitions). My press is a single stage.

The rifle I will be loading for is a semi-auto .556, but again I would like to expand to other calibers at some point in the future.

So besides dies, shell holder, and case trimmer, what else would I need? And which dies/trimmer would you recommend? Also, being a gas gun, would I be better off getting small base dies or would the regular dies work ok assuming the sized brass fits my chamber?

Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

chris
 
Case lube is a must, my opinion Imperial case lube is the best if not using homemade with pure liquid lanolin and red ISO heet. One oz of lanolin into a spray bottle and the whole 12oz bottle of red iso heet and you are golden. I use regular Lee dies for 223 and have no need for any other brands, or small base.
Digital calipers and a case checker should also be on your list.
 
At some point you will most definitely need a case trimmer, especially for an auto-loader.

The Lee is the least out of pocket, but if you shoot alot it will get old quickly.

A good manual trimmer will probably do you fine- Forster, Hornady, Lyman, RCBS all make one the will work just fine.

The rest is up to you.
 
Redding and RCBS dies are all I have ever used. A FL resize die backed off in the press to only partially resize works for me. And if the round doesn't fit the camber you have the FL resize die to fix it.
 
Usually a normal die is fine.

The lee trimmer is great. Chuck it in a drill and hold the case/other side to it and you're trimmed. That's the way I'd start. I wouldn't run it by hand unless you like hand work.

I use a Lyman hand trimmer called the ezee trim as well as a Lyman universal. I also have a lyman universal for the drill press. That is the fastest, but not as precise.

Case lube is required. Imperial is fine. Hornady one shot is faster and easier, but more expensive. I use both, depending on my notion and how many I'm doing.

It's easy enough. Lube the case, size it remove lube. Trim and deburr it inside and out. Prime, charge, bullet.

I use graphite for neck sizing only or inside neck lubing. Hornady gets into the case necks when you spray a tray of cases and omits that step.

To remove lube I either tumble them or wipe them with a wet rag. Normally water.
 
If you shoot only cases fired in your semi-auto rifle, standard sizing dies will be fine.

If you use range pick up or buy once fired cases, do yourself a favor and get small base sizing dies. Cheap insurance against chambering problems and no effect to case life despite what others might say.

Cases will fail for other reasons than failures related to the base of the case.
 
I have never required the use of SB dies. I've only used RCBS, Hornady and Redding dies. Lee works but do not control the specs as tight as the other mfg. I would recommend Imperial sizing wax since your on a SS press. A cartridge gauge would be nice to make sure your sizing your brass back to spec so the feed reliably.

If your dealing with high volume, a press/drill mounted case trimmer is a time saver.

Do you have means to clean the brass, tumbler, wet or dry? Not really required but makes it easier.

Depending on what your using a stuck case remover would be nice to have on hand. There is nothing more frustrating than sticking a piece of brass in the sizing die.

If you want max life out of your brass annealing will pretty much eliminate necks splitting. It's also good if your dealing with unknown source of brass.

If your feeding a simi-auto and like to shoot a AP may be in your near future.
 
Different directions. Understandably so. Buy a 5.56 die set with a FL resizing die and read the directions. No more to it than that.
 
I use range brass. Never needed a small base die set for .223. That's the only rifle cartridge I load for. According to RCBS the small base sizer die is for bottleneck type cases used in tight-chambering semi-automatic, pump or lever-action firearms and not for use in bolt action rifles. How does one know if the chamber in a particular rifle is tight before they shoot it? A regular FL die should size to the SAMMI spec. You can check that with a caliper. My RCBS FL std. die set actually sizes my brass a few thousaths of an inch smaller at the neck, shoulder and base than SAMMI. That's splitting hairs though. My guess is if a regular die isn't working to size to SAMMI you don't have it adjusted properly.

There may be some chambers out there that actually need a small base die but I'm thinking there aren't that many. AR's aren't exactly precision rifles so what incentive would a company have to build tight chambers that prevent extraction when dirty. Most AR's run dirty.

I don't own an AR but I've seen some pretty dirty chambers after a few hundred rounds.
 
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If you plan on buying boxes of fired military brass the small base dies are a good bet. All the advise is sound above. You will need something to ream or swage the primer pockets of military brass. A set of calipers and some dies will get you started. Use your chamfer deburr tool to ream primer pockets. Then in the future get a trimmer for your brass. You can probably shoot the brass a couple times before it needs to be trimmed. Just measure them to be safe. I find that NOT crimping the necks makes me the best ammo. Try it both ways and sed though. When lubing cases with something like Imperial sizing wax lube the body well and the inside of the case neck. Putting wax on the neck or shoulder will end up giving lube dents.
 
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5.56 is a very small bottleneck. The surface-to-volume ratio (friction) means cases are more likely to get stuck in the die. Find a good case lube. I use 80W gear oil mixed 1:10 in isopropanol (a.k.a. "iso-heet"). Both are available at your local auto store. I put the cases in a 1-gallon zip-loc, give them a few squirts of the 1:10, and tumble them around in the bag until everything is coated. Let them dry before resizing. Ventilation required.

If a case gets stuck, I use a pin punch, a hammer, and try to do it before the family is asleep. The sound of pounding and brief Navy language can disturb the house.

After sizing, I wet-tumble the cases with pins and washing machine detergent (from Sam's).

No need to buy fancy "gun" ingredients at 10x the price.

+1 on @FROGO207's comments.

Edit: also +1 on @bullseye308. +2 on Case checker.
 
FROGO207 said:
If you plan on buying boxes of fired military brass the small base dies are a good bet. All the advise is sound above. You will need something to ream or swage the primer pockets of military brass. A set of calipers and some dies will get you started. Use your chamfer deburr tool to ream primer pockets. Then in the future get a trimmer for your brass. You can probably shoot the brass a couple times before it needs to be trimmed. Just measure them to be safe. I find that NOT crimping the necks makes me the best ammo. Try it both ways and sed though. When lubing cases with something like Imperial sizing wax lube the body well and the inside of the case neck. Putting wax on the neck or shoulder will end up giving lube dents.
Click to expand...

Is LC brass different than any other commercial brass? That's all I load and I'm not seeing any dimensional difference. Granted none of the brass is going thru a machine gun. It's all sourced commercially thru a local dealer. LC is selling a lot of ammo to dealers.

I can see where military OF surplus brass might have been "stretched" a little. Chambers are usually very generous.:D
 
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a case gauge, or cartridge gauge, or whatever you call them, than checks headspace ... going for straight wall to bottle neck, the headspace is a different animal, and can be ajusted by how the sizing die is set, or not set correclty etc. plunk testing and using a gague to check rounds is a solid idea.
 
I use RCBS full length resizing dies and seating die for all my rifle calibers, now six different calibers. Recommend the Lyman power trimmer. It is fast and accurate. Case prep is vital for accurate reloads.
 
I have both Lee and RCBS normal dies for .223. They both work fine. I haven't needed any small base dies for my AR's to function.
 
CoalTrain49 said:
Is LC brass different than any other commercial brass? That's all I load and I'm not seeing any dimensional difference. Granted none of the brass is going thru a machine gun. It's all sourced commercially thru a local dealer. LC is selling a lot of ammo to dealers.

I can see where military OF surplus brass might have been "stretched" a little. Chambers are usually very generous.:D
Click to expand...
Lots of LC brass sold in bulk is fired in machine guns on military ranges so preparing for this type of brass. Thats all.
 
Blue68f100 said:
Do you have means to clean the brass, tumbler, wet or dry? Not really required but makes it easier.
Click to expand...

Yes, I have a dry tumbler. Looks like I'll need a set of dies and shell holder, a good lube like Imperial, and appropriate components to get started. I'll also need a trimmer and probably a stuck case remover at some point, as well as a means to remove crimped primer pockets.

I hadn't thought of a case guage, but that sounds like a good idea. My 1911 comes apart so easily that I just plunk test in the barrel.

Guess my question now is which tools do you all recommend? I do like RCBS dies, but have no idea about the other tools. A case trimmer that could do multiple calibers would be nice for branching out in the future.

Thanks everyone!

chris
 
ballman6711 said:
I hadn't thought of a case guage, but that sounds like a good idea. My 1911 comes apart so easily that I just plunk test in the barrel.
chris
Click to expand...

The one I linked to will help greatly in setting your headspace. I use mine every time I reload 223. Hard to plunk test a rifle barrel.
 
You can get away with not trimming any that are below max length. Some folks measure them or use a gage to check length. I generally trim all mine without measuring. It's about the same time to trim a batch as it is to measure a batch and trim a few.

A case gage is a tool that has an opening of max length. If the empty case slides in, it's below length and doesn't need trimming unless for consistency.

A cartridge gage is what you use in place of your barrels chamber and isn't needed, and often less desirable than a plunk test. The benefit of a cartridge gage is, if you have a round that is suspect, but the gun is in the safe or otherwise not convenient.
 
I use a case gauge to check the length before I trim. Or you can just chuck it into the trimmer. Most trimmers have a lock to set the length. If you make a few passes and it doesn't trim any brass then obviously it didn't need to be trimmed. Your choice. I find that the case gauge saves some time, but not much.
 
I made a "go-no-go" gauge for measuring cases for trimming. If the case fits the gauge, I do not trim it.
index.php


Locking the jaws of a set of calipers can do the same thing.

Some folks just run everything through the trimmer. If the case does not need trimming, nothing happens.
 
ballman6711 said:
Yes, I have a dry tumbler. Looks like I'll need a set of dies and shell holder, a good lube like Imperial, and appropriate components to get started. I'll also need a trimmer and probably a stuck case remover at some point, as well as a means to remove crimped primer pockets.

I hadn't thought of a case guage, but that sounds like a good idea. My 1911 comes apart so easily that I just plunk test in the barrel.

Guess my question now is which tools do you all recommend? I do like RCBS dies, but have no idea about the other tools. A case trimmer that could do multiple calibers would be nice for branching out in the future.

Thanks everyone!

chris
Click to expand...

This is the trimmer I use. It'll do multiple calibers and has an optional pilot that will chamfer and debur while you trim. RCBS tools aren't the least expensive however.

https://www.rcbs.com/case-processin...ual-case-trimmer-without-pilots/16-90365.html

https://www.rcbs.com/case-processing/trim/trim-pro-3-way-cutter/860.html
 
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