Bitswap

When I started reloading bmg, a site advocated using brasso polish. There was controversy concerning this as brasso contains ammonia. I deciced to conduct an experiment myslef on this using brass strips from a local hardware store. Long story short... the small amount of ammoinia and short time tumbling made a SIGNIFICENT difference in the integredy of the brass. IMO, a brass polish really does nothing but make the brass look nice. What your really trying to do when you tumble is get rid of the nasties that will scratch your dies. If you really want to pollish, get something from Dillons MADE for our brass.

I just bought 1k 223 rounds for 70 on an auction site, seemed like a good deal. If anyone has free brass in phoenix, I'll be happy to recieve... 223 or 308. The trick is the bullets. I can't seem to break 24 cents on 223s or 308s there.

I'll make one more post then shut up, think I said too much already and scared you off... You'll be fine with a standard 223 die set and manual trimmer which you probably already have and get moa groups at 100 yards. You need to know that when loading shouldered rounds vs. non-shouldered rounds is you need to trim them to length. That is something that will definatly ruin your day. Everything else I do can be tabled as it is really not necessary but only serves to make things consistent and that can come with time. Full length size them, trim them, and go to town. If your accuracy is 'good enough' then stop there and ignore everything I've said. I'm shooting competition and can easily get minute of coyote without all those tricks. Hell, a good trigger probably do more to improve accuracy than anything else...

Why do you size and neck size? Doesn't the first sizing take care of that? Does the tubling work to clean the neck and primer pockets, or is this an additional (hand tool) step? Also, do you trim and chamfer / deburr with hand tools, drill chucked tools, or something else entirely? Finally, why the decapper in stage one of phase three? Removal of stuck tumbling media? A standard full length sizing die will size the neck and is all you need to start out. One of the process I do with my brass is to turn the necks so their width is consistent across all of them using a Neck Trimmer. Akin to that is controlling the amount of tension placed on the bullet when seating. With a neck sizing die (uses bushings) you can adjust that tension. This is usually for match prep'ed brass, but I've found my groups are 50% smaller just by turning the necks so I choose to do this. You only need to turn the necks once for new brass. So my 'body' die only bumps the shoulder of the round and my neck sizer only sizes the necks. I've found that tumbling does poor job on the inside of the brass or primer pockets. I have a primer pocket cleaner/reamer from Sinclair that squares the inside of the pocket. For the neck, I just swab it with rubbing alchol. I use a Girraud case trimmer that trims, chamfers and deburrs in nanoseconds. Best tool I've ever purchased. Yes, the decapper is to remove media that may be stuck in the primer flash holes. Here's a good site that explains match prep. Yes it's for BMG but applies to 223's as well. The concepts are the same.

I hate to say this... but if your only loading 100-150 a month, the 550 may not be the best solution. It looks like a good single stage will probably serve you better. Using those lock rings I talked about makes changing dies easy and you don't have to adjust them every time you use them. You can use Goo-Gone to clean your brass instead of tumbling and Imperial Sizing Die wax instead of a spray lube. Either the Lee 'O' press or Rock Cruncher should suit your needs. The only electronic gizmo I highly recommend is the Girraud trimmer. Big bucks up front but worth every penny. Trimming and champering necks are a big pita and this trimmer takes away all that pain. Another gizmo worth mentioing is an electornic powder dispensor. This is good for load development. If not that, an electronic scale and powder trickler... works but takes more time. You can always find a use for a single stage. It will get you going and give you time to save for a 550 or 650. By then the learning curve on 223's will have flattened out.

Hank makes a very good point: The 550 will be as accurate as anything out there. I have verified this with some very sturdy presses (ie ammomaster). The only Lee I'd recommend is one of their 'O' type presses. It has the advantage of being able to accomidate 1 1/4" dies and has a neat spent-primer tube setup with a hose that works 'most' the time. The single stages allow you to use Redding's precission shellholders for 'bumping the shoulder' if the 223 is only used in one rifle. This headspace adjustment is very easy with those shellholders but can can also be done on the 550 as well. First get some Hornady Sure-Lock Rings. These grip the threads of the die. Making your headspace adjustment is a simple matter of turning the ring instead of the die now and tightening it in the toolhead. Makes things MUCH easier. Another alternative to this is to get Sinclairs Die Shims which will do the same thing, but you'll need the Hornady rings with those as well. I only use those rings on my body dies... but is the poor mans version of a lock-and-load system. Use them and your dies will be placed in the same position every time if they need to be removed. For my money, I'd get another toolhead, some lock rings and some die shims. If you don't care about headspace and full length sizing, then just get a toolhead. For my shouldered rounds, like the 223, I use a three-phased process on my 550. First I tumble, lube (dillons spray, what else?), decap, size and neck size on the dillon (three dies). Then I tumble to remove the lube, trim to length, clean primer pockets and inside necks. Then it's back to the Dillon for primer seating (decapper die in stage 1), charging and bullet seating. That's a lot, I know, but it's is important you trim to length after sizing.

I saw the aquarium pump idea but got thrown by the directions to run the hose down into the powder. Worth a try, think I have a broken one around here somewhere that still vibrates but doesn't pump. Hmmm, adult book store or pet shop. If I go to the ABS, my better half may snatch it up. Then it probably has a dc motor in it with brushes that generate sparks... unless you get the ACME brushless 2 hp model that runs on 220 volts. I can live with 0.1 variance. This thread is really taking a downward turn... gads.

I've had a 550B for about 12 years and have always have had problems loading with Varget which is my preferred powder in 223 and 308 because of it's temperature tollerance characterists. Because of this, I've loaded these rounds using an electronic dispensor instead of the 550. As fate would have it, my powder dispensor went south and Dillon happily replaced it with a completly new unit. It was an unusual design to me at first so I read up on it on this forum. There are many posts to 'degrade' it and I took those into serious consideration. But then I thought, let me try Varget in it. The problem with Varget being an extruded powder is that it will easily bridge and stop flowing when coming to a constriction. I usually tap my funnel a few times to get it to flow when stuck. On it's best day (no humidity) Varget will take a second or two to flow throught the funnel. I had a few hundered rounds of match prepped brass and tried the new dispensor. No luck, using it seemed as before, Varget jamming the baseplate and primer mechanism. Then I studied it some more. That new cam is spring loaded. It could be like tapping on the funnel. It's also a good indicator where the slide is in relation to the 'drop hole'. I tried a new method, and BINGO!!! It worked!!! Slower, but I'm getting +/- 0.2 grains consistently which is good enough for my OCW loads. To make a long story shorter, here's my method to dispense Varget in a 223 round: 1) polish everything the touches the powder (probably not needed, but you'll get a gain every 50 rounds if you don't) 2) Watch that new cam, when it 'pops up' slow your downstroke so it will take a second to reach the end. This gives time for the varget to flow down the tube. 3) At the end of the downstroke, pull down on the failsafe rod and let it spring back a few times. This is simular to tapping the funnel. If stuck, the powder will take a second to flow out. 4) Put downward pressure on the failsafe rod to move the slide home quickly. This will keep the tip of the 223 round in close contact with the powder die bevel until the slide is under the main dispensing unit. Yes, it's a hassle, but for me it's worth it. I tested a few hundred rounds with this techniquie and only got a few grains trying to mess up the works that was easily brushed off. Seems that new cam is a keeper if your loading varget. Laters, Bit