New to rifle reloading

[gunner40sw]

I have been loading my own pistol rounds in 40 , 45 and 9mm for 20 years. I have two Dillion 650s and a Dillion RL550. I have never loaded rifle before but I want to start. I have two ar 15s both marked 5.56 on the barrels with a 1-9 twist. I dont want to use a progressive machine just a single stage press because I am not in a hurry. My reloading will be for fun not competing with rifle. So I need to know what are some sources to educate me in the entire process

and any reloading data i may need. Books , websites and such

[Youngeyes]

Use your 550 for the rifle. I also only loaded pistol and then started on 30-06. My 550 works perfectly. You can weigh each powder charge, if you wish, by taking off the powder hopper and adding a funnel. I don't. Call Brian and get the .223 conversion set up and dies. You will also now need to size and lube cases. Good luck.

[cohland]

This is a very basic manual that I wrote, but it does cover things like measuring to the leade to get the right COL for match ammo. As I said, very basic, but you might find it interesting. It assumes that you will use a single-stage press. There's NO load data in the book, I leave that to the manufacturer's websites.

http://www.amazon.com/AR-15-Ammunition-Reloading-beginners-ammunition/dp/145371779X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368141708&sr=1-1&keywords=ohland+reloading

Here is the table of contents:

Disclaimer.......................................................................................... 4

Firearms Ownership Rights.................................................................. 4

Introduction....................................................................................... 5

Why is the AR-15 Popular?................................................................... 6

Cartridge Nomenclature...................................................................... 7

The Hard Life of the Cartridge.............................................................. 8

What is Reloading?.............................................................................. 8

Reloading Steps and Tools..................................................................... 9

.223 Remington or 5.56mm NATO?................................................... 10

Barrel Twist...................................................................................... 12

Reloading for a Purpose...................................................................... 12

General Purpose (GP) ammunition...................................................... 12

Match Ammunition........................................................................... 12

Reloading Differences: GP and Match................................................... 13

Can I Reload Military Brass?............................................................... 14

The Complete Shopping List................................................................ 17

Total Equipment Cost Estimates.......................................................... 48

Different Weights, Different Shapes..................................................... 49

A Critical Dimension......................................................................... 50

How to use the OAL Gauge.................................................................. 51

Reloading in Batches.......................................................................... 54

Brass Inspection................................................................................ 54

Very Basic Load Development............................................................. 56

Reloading Steps: Match Ammunition.................................................. 59

Reloading Steps: General Purpose Ammunition.................................... 65

Appendix One: Traveler for Match Ammunition................................... 71

Appendix Two: Traveler for General Purpose Ammunition.................... 72

Table of Figures................................................................................. 73

Index............................................................................................... 75

Chris

Edited May 10, 2013 by cohland

[CocoBolo]

I just retooled my .223 stuff. I'm on my third set of dies, 3rd trimmer, etc.

I recommend the RCBS AR Series Small Base Dies, the WFT aka Worlds Finest Trimmer, The dillon super swagger, and the lymann double ended hand tool for chamfer and deburr.

I tried other stuff and it just didn't measure up.

Get the lube right is everthing, the force required on my LNL to size a .223 case is less than that of my 650 on a 9 mm. I use the hornady unique paste on the hole and spray some Hornady one shot on the outside.

I use to load on a single stage press then I got a case stuck and broke the press, ha ha ha, I used rule 1 If brute force isn't working you are just not using enough. I broke it bare handed no cheater bar.