new to loading .223

[Paul-the new guy]

I bought some mil spec projectiles from widners. 500, 55 grain and 500, 62 grain. I grabbed about 400 rounds of brass I picked up from the range and threw them into the tumbler. They cleaned up nicely so I set the new 650 up to get started.... I had loaded a couple hundred rounds of .223 already on the Dillon but it had already neen sized on my VERY old Herters single stage and i had primed it using my Lee auto prime. So this was going to be my first attempt at loading start to finish on the 650. I did not sort the brass at all, lesson one, sort your brass by head stamp. (by the way out of 400 rounds of brass there were 386 different head stamps lol)I was about 5 rounds in when a primer flew down the ski jump....wth? A round got through with a spent primer??? I dumped the powder back in the powder measure and threw the case back into the hopper. I pulled the handle agian and another primer flew down the ski jump...it took a minute to realize that a piece of brass with a crimped in primer had pushed the decapping pin up far enough in my lee die to render it ineffictive. :-( I re-adjusted it and started again. I was really tring to pay attention to everything that was happening and I was going very slowly when another primer came down the ski slope...I had managed to get a crimped in primer out but the new primer did not go in... now I had a case filled with powder that was running out the primer hole and into the shell plate area... I am starting to really not like crimped in primers. So, I started looking at the brass and realized I need reading glasses or a magnafing glass to see if they are crimped in or not. Damn I feel old now... Long story short I decided to size and de-prime on my old single stage. I managed to feel when a case had a crimped in primer and I threw them into the scrap pile. Most were ggg head stamped. I am going to leave the sizing die out and try to begin the reloading process on the big blue Dillon at the priming station. I think if you are goinf to load a lot of .223 you should just get a 1050

[Notar]

Your well on your way to loading 223, bullets from Wideners.com are usually a GREAT deal.

I started using range pickup brass when I started reloading. I've found out over the years that rifle rounds really need to be a step up from pistol reloading. After a couple of case head separations when using range brass, I've switched to just using once fired Lake City brass. It does have a crimp, but you just need to remove it once. Dillon's Super Swage makes short work of it, but your right, the 1050 is the machine for 223/5.56, not just for the swage, but for the primer seating system(adjustable depth, and primes on down stroke).

Going rate for once fired Military brass is $125-$130 for a Large flat rate box of 2500. Don't buy anyone's Misc brass or FC brass(Soft Primer pockets). Lake City doesn't have a smaller internal capacity like the internet lore says(it is smaller in 7.62 cases), and I fire them 5 times before I retire them.

I always recommend a Dillon de-cap/sizing die, I have on hand extra decap pins, but I don't have to change it often, but I do inspect my cases for debris before each loading cycle. My current de-cap pin has over 120k cycles on it with crimped in primers.

Often on AR15.com in the equipment exchange, I see once fired brass for sale that has also been processed for $70/1000 cases, if the seller has a return policy, you might want to conciser them. If they were trimmed back to far, or have incorrect headspace, I'd send them right back. I've also seen services online that will process your brass for 3 cents each min order 1k, I think that is very CHEAP. You could get 3.5k process for the cost of a Dillon Super Swage.

I tend to buy lots of Brass, prep it, and store it in 5 gal. pails. After a current crop is used up(5 loadings), or I need ammo for a match(I'll use once fired only, not 4-5 times loaded,lol), I'll dig out more of the fresh stuff. 12 years ago I was buying good once fired brass for $35/1k, so 5.56 brass is still a bargain. I think I'm stocked up on Brass for a long time now, but I'm still buying brass to convert to 300 Blackout

You have a Dillon press, so your already over the hump when it comes to loading rifle cartridges. I'd strongly recommend ditching any range brass(life is to short to deal with misc rifle brass), and buy some good brass to feed your rifles, and use Dillon 223 dies I'll still pick up 45acp or 9mm cases, and use them for practice though,lol.

I did laugh when you mentioned using glasses to read the headstamps, I have great vison, but just this year I bought a pair of safety glasses with bi-focals in them, it help a lot when I need to see a headstamp.

Edited February 8, 2011 by Notar

[whistlepig]

The above post contains good info for you. I don't ditch range brass, but I do sort carefully and look it over real well. I segregate all crimped in primers and deprime/swage those primer pockets every so often as a stand alone operation. You only have to do it once.

Now, what you use it for is where it gets interesting. I use range brass reloads for bulk practice at close ranges, drills and match practice. For serious applications (distance) and looking for accuracy or use in a match, I get picky with brass. In AR platforms in .223 and .308 I will use a constant brand, seperate by weight, check inside and out, check OAL and case gauge em all..... For Bolt guns I even *gasp* turn necks, but those are in tight chambers.