newb question: .223 dies on 5.56 brass?

[alabamatoy]

Totally new to reloading rifle/handgun, but have reloaded shotshells for many years. I am still in the mode of reading, learning etc, and havent even bought any powder, no confidence that I know what Im doing yet.

I have a set of .223 dies for my new press. Will these load 5.56 military brass correctly? If not, what must I do to make it work? I have a goodly supply of mixed .223 commercial (various manufacturers) and 5.56 (mostly IMI or Lake City) brass. Have I gotta differentiate between when reloading these?

[GuildSF4]

Yes, 5.56 and 223 use the same dies. The LC brass will probably need swaging of the primer pockets (they are normally crimped on military/ surplus brass and some commercial).

[thermobollocks]

You'll very, very likely need a primer pocket swager -- Dillon makes a bench mounted one that's top notch.

Whether you need to differentiate depends on the level of accuracy that you want to get. I have various lots of commercial and Lake City brass around, and I keep some of them separate foremost because they've been trimmed different numbers of times, but also because it appeals to my sense of being a big ol' nerd. I also have one lot of mixed commercial, and I'm able to get acceptable accuracy out of that, provided I take a little care in my brass prep/charge weights, and use consistent projectiles to begin with.

Are you loading any of this for a bolt-action? If you are, that can make things a little different, because you'll need to pay attention to neck vs. full length sizing (a long conversation in itself) and making sure you don't accidentally feed them to a semi-auto.

Part of the joy of reloading is figuring out all the variables you can control. Once you settle on a load that you like, you could try grabbing 5-10 cartridges of 2 or 3 different headstamps and seeing if your groups (both spread and POI) change.

[snertley]

I load 223/5.56 brass the same. I use small base dies (minumum spec) so I am able to use the ammo in all my 223's. Depending on your firearm the accuracy my vary. My Savage bolt guns are VERY forgiving. They will print 3/4" groups at 200yds with mixed brass. Out of my AR's they shot MOA. Most reloading manuals recommend downloading the military bass by 10%.