Dies for .223 (use in ar and bolt action) and dies 5.56 (use in ar only)

[chuckchuker48]

Hello all. Thanks for allowing me to join the group. This is my first post and I cant wait to start the reloading process. I have a couple of questions listed below thanks in advance.

1. I am wanting to reload my .223 brass to work for my AR's, bolt, and breakovers. Will the .223 dies work for all 3 firearms or do I need to use the ar dies for the ar's.


2. When it comes to loading the 5.56 brass for the ar's what is the best route?

 

[Charlie]

Welcome to the forum!

Each of those rifles you named should be marked (on the barrel somewhere) as 5.56 or .223 or both as in 5.56/.223. If your gun are marked for both, either set of dies can be used.

 

[chuckchuker48]

Thanks for the quick response Charlie. I know that my ar's shoot both but I am wondering If I should use the .223 dies or do I have to use the ar dies?

 

[Charlie]

Any dies marked .223 will work. Are your "AR" dies not marked for caliber?

 

[vmax]

If you want consistent chambering in all of these guns I suggest you use small base dies
They will be marked SB or small base on the box
One set of small base 223 dies will work

 

[Charlie]

If you want consistent chambering in all of these guns I suggest you use small base dies
They will be marked SB or small base on the box

This^^^

I've never see dies that weren't marked for a numerical caliber.

 

[Dawico]

Use full length (FL) reloading dies for all of them. .223 loads work for 5.56 chambered rifles.

Unless you have issues with chambering you don't need small based (SB) dies for your AR. They overwork the brass and generally aren't necessary for most AR reloading needs.

Small base dies squeeze the brass down by the head a little more than standard full length dies. Unless you have a tight match chamber you are just wearing out your brass unnecessarily.

 

[chuckchuker48]

Guys thanks for all of the options. It is a great help. Being my first time reloading I want to be error free and consistent. I am using the 7th edition Hornady Handbook of cartridge reloading. I see in the charts dimensions for the .223 cases but I cannot find what the overall length should be. Trust me I will not start the process this upcoming weekend until I have everything straightened out.
But this book doesn't give me any options for primers and doesn't say if primers will impact velocities and so on. Do I need a different book or use the web?

Does anyone have a good .223 combo (primer, powder, bullet) that I could try?

 

[Dawico]

The primers will affect velocity but not much. Most books only mention which one they use and not the differences between velocity of different primers. It really is a non issue.

Just be sure to use standard primers for standard rounds and magnum primers where recommended. Every .223 load I have seen uses standard primers.

The Hornady book lists the cartridge overall length (C. O. L.) by the bullet information as different bullet weights and profiles require different C. O. L.s.

I like the Lyman book and it is good practice to have a couple books handy to compare data.

Generally mid range loads give the best results but testing is the only way to know for sure.

I like H or IMR 4895 with 55gr FMJ bullets for plinking rounds. You will get many different answers for what load and bullet to use though. Part of the fun is trying different combos.

 

[vmax]

What is the twist rate on the barrel of your AR ?

 

[A.Texas.Yankee]

Hello all. Thanks for allowing me to join the group. This is my first post and I cant wait to start the reloading process. I have a couple of questions listed below thanks in advance.

1. I am wanting to reload my .223 brass to work for my AR's, bolt, and breakovers. Will the .223 dies work for all 3 firearms or do I need to use the ar dies for the ar's.


2. When it comes to loading the 5.56 brass for the ar's what is the best route?

Loading for an auto feed can be a little different than for bolt guns. Even different from AR to AR. You might find one gun likes one load while a similar gun hates it. Reloading is lots of trial and error... Mostly error until you get a process down.

You can get a little more precise with your bolt guns

If you want consistent chambering in all of these guns I suggest you use small base dies
They will be marked SB or small base on the box
One set of small base 223 dies will work

Using a small base die is good and I have to on my LR-308, but for bolt guns isn't really necessary, unless you reload a lot of milsurp brass, you may not need a SB die, if you do, I use an X-die and it reduces stretching on case and is awesome.

Use full length (FL) reloading dies for all of them. .223 loads work for 5.56 chambered rifles.

Unless you have issues with chambering you don't need small based (SB) dies for your AR. They overwork the brass and generally aren't necessary for most AR reloading needs.

Small base dies squeeze the brass down by the head a little more than standard full length dies. Unless you have a tight match chamber you are just wearing out your brass unnecessarily.

Beat me to it.

Guys thanks for all of the options. It is a great help. Being my first time reloading I want to be error free and consistent. I am using the 7th edition Hornady Handbook of cartridge reloading. I see in the charts dimensions for the .223 cases but I cannot find what the overall length should be. Trust me I will not start the process this upcoming weekend until I have everything straightened out.
But this book doesn't give me any options for primers and doesn't say if primers will impact velocities and so on. Do I need a different book or use the web?

Does anyone have a good .223 combo (primer, powder, bullet) that I could try?

Your COL, or COAL depending on what book you use, can vary from gun to gun believe it or not. There is certainly a max, but with a bolt gun you might have more "play" where as with an auto load you have an absolute max (because of the box magazine).

The primers will affect velocity but not much. Most books only mention which one they use and not the differences between velocity of different primers. It really is a non issue.

Just be sure to use standard primers for standard rounds and magnum primers where recommended. Every .223 load I have seen uses standard primers.

The Hornady book lists the cartridge overall length (C. O. L.) by the bullet information as different bullet weights and profiles require different C. O. L.s.

I like the Lyman book and it is good practice to have a couple books handy to compare data.

Generally mid range loads give the best results but testing is the only way to know for sure.

I like H or IMR 4895 with 55gr FMJ bullets for plinking rounds. You will get many different answers for what load and bullet to use though. Part of the fun is trying different combos.

Agreed, just to add, with primers...
With brands, types, etc. I would worry more about reliability than accuracy. Unless you really get into heavy duty competition level reloading, you won't see too much of difference. I will state that you should worry about certain primers with your free float firing pin bolts (like the AR design) as there are primers that are thinner walled and are not recommended for free float firing pins because they can cause a slam fire.

Sent from my LG-LS995 using Tapatalk

 

[Charlie]

What is the twist rate on the barrel of your AR ?

This is an important questions as it will have a bearing on what length bullets you can shoot through the barrel. Some folks think the weight of the bullet determines what is OK based on the twist of the bullet but in reality, it's the length of the bullet that is affected by the twist rate. Tighter twist rates (1 in 7 in., 1 in 8" are generally better for longer (therefore probably heavier) bullets. For a common 50 to 60 grain bullet, a 1 in 9" or 1 in 10" will suffice. The twist rate should be stamped somewhere on the barrel, as in "1 turn in 8 inches".

 

[ROGER4314]

I got out of reloading for a few years and when I resumed, there were many changes.

First, none of the manuals agree. I attribute that to Lawyers and changes in SAAMI specs from CUP (copper units of pressure) to PSI (pounds per square inch).

My favorite of all the manuals is the Lyman 49. It is very conservative and easy to read.

Flash

 

[ROGER4314]

Charlie told you right about the weight/length of the projectile. This story should illustrate it ............

I was at our range and heard another member cussing and beating on his scoped rifle. I overheard him to say that he switched brands of bullets and went to a solid copper projectile and now the rifle threw rocks at his efforts to group his shots. The bullet weights of the lead and copper slugs were the same, but to get the same weight, the copper slug had to be longer to be as heavy. That rifle barfed all over him because it couldn't stabilize the longer bullet!

I'm a retired teacher and I like to assist people, but this guy was so pissed, he was not into listening. I kept my mouth shut and kept my nose where it belonged.......in my own business!

Flash

 

[TheMailMan]

RCBS X die for the AR and neck size die for the bolt action. I do have to keep the brass separate but that's not all that hard.