Lee dies

[bodene 5]

Which dies for reloading 223 semi auto only

[NateTSU]

I would spend a few dollars more and get a set of Redding or RCBS dies, better quality and easier to adjust the Redding in my opinion.

[Vlad]

They work, they just probably won't make the most accurate ammo, although that depends on your level of OCD as well.

[NateTSU]

They work, they just probably won't make the most accurate ammo, although that depends on your level of OCD as well.

Agreed if plinking or hosing targets is the goal Lee is fine but if you wanted to get all the potential out of your rifle I would go with better quality dies.

[tcoz]

In answer to the OP's question, it's the Lee Pacesetter 3-die Set 223 Remington. I use it and as the others have said, it might not make ammo quite as accurate as some of the other (more expensive) dies, but it suits my needs. I bought mine from Midway on a "Free Shipping" deal, but I think you can get them from Amazon at a good price if they have them in stock.

It comes with the FCD which is better to use than crimping (or not) with the seating die. If you're using a Lee turret press with the Pro Auto Disk Powder Measure, you'll also need the Auto Disk Rifle Powder Charging Die 22 to 30 Calibers

Edited October 17, 2014 by tcoz

[bodene 5]

In answer to the OP's question, it's the Lee Pacesetter 3-die Set 223 Remington. I use it and as the others have said, it might not make ammo quite as accurate as some of the other (more expensive) dies, but it suits my needs. I bought mine from Midway on a "Free Shipping" deal, but I think you can get them from Amazon at a good price if they have them in stock.

It comes with the FCD which is better to use than crimping (or not) with the seating die. If you're using a Lee turret press with the Pro Auto Disk Powder Measure, you'll also need the Auto Disk Rifle Powder Charging Die 22 to 30 Calibers

[Steve RA]

For Lee products this company has about the best prices I've seen:

https://fsreloading.com/

[bodene 5]

In answer to the OP's question, it's the Lee Pacesetter 3-die Set 223 Remington. I use it and as the others have said, it might not make ammo quite as accurate as some of the other (more expensive) dies, but it suits my needs. I bought mine from Midway on a "Free Shipping" deal, but I think you can get them from Amazon at a good price if they have them in stock.

It comes with the FCD which is better to use than crimping (or not) with the seating die. If you're using a Lee turret press with the Pro Auto Disk Powder Measure, you'll also need the Auto Disk Rifle Powder Charging Die 22 to 30 Calibers

[Dannybot]

Be sure to lube your cases. They will replace stuff you break, you just have to send in photos to get RMA.

[tcoz]

Here's another good source of Lee products:

www.titanreloading.com

This is a new product they just came out with. It makes it unnecessary to use a wrench to hold or tighten the locknut when adjusting dies. I bought two of them and they work well.

http://www.titanreloading.com/reloading-die-accessories/titan-lock-nut-finger-wrench

Edited November 12, 2014 by tcoz

[12glocks]

Lee Dies should work fine but I have always substituted a small base die for the Lee Sizer. Lee dies look like crap compared to others but have a stronger decaper design. I dont like the lock rings or the seating stems but they work. The FCD has worked well for me in the past though I am using a taper crimp die now. I have never seen any compelling evidence Lee dies are less accurate, have more runout etc. I will have to try and resize some brass with a Lee 223 die. I bet it would drop fine in a case gauge.

The RCBS has a flimsy decapping pin setup ESPECIALLY for military brass with crimped primer pockets. I use a Lee universal decapper for this (stronger design).

Having said that for low volume I would go RCBS or Redding small base die setup. High volume go Dillon. Dillon = small base. No experience with Hornady or Lyman dies.

[rtp]

I like my Hornady dies for .223 - I'm not in love with the sizing die, but the seating die has a sliding sleeve that does a good job of alignment even with flat-based bullets w/out the use of an M-die. You also have the option of adding a micrometer to the seating die for a few $.

[NuJudge]

What are you going to be shooting at, at what distance, and through what rifle? Also, what brass are you going to use?

If you are going to be using once-fired military surplus brass and you have a tight chamber, you may well want to get a Small Base die. Once-fired military surplus brass may have some cases that were fired in machine-guns, and they tend to blow brass out a lot. Making such brass usable in a tight chamber takes a Small Base die.

The more precision you ask from your rifle, the better the dies you will want. I shoot 200, 300 and 600 yard Service Rifle using highly tuned rifles a good bit. For that, I need very highly specialized dies. I use Redding dies for this purpose:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/248565/redding-type-s-match-bushing-2-die-set-223-remington?cm_vc=ProductFinding

Some rifles such as the Mini-14 generally have loose chambers for reliability, and are used for plinking, varmint control and other non-precision purposes. If that is the case, Lee dies will probably be fine.

The part about hand loading I dislike most is trimming cases. If the same is true for you, there is some tooling available from RCBS you might want to look at, and that is the X-Die. It is supposed to eliminate all be the first trimming after the first firing. It is also supposed to dramatically increase case life. I have bought one, but not used it yet.

[tcoz]

Another advantage of Lee dies is that at $30-35 for the four die set, you can afford to replace one or more dies down the road if you find out another die would better fit your needs. The FCD that comes with the set is used by a number of reloaders regardless of which brand of dies that they use for everything else. I've been using my Lee dies for a couple of years, loaded 10-15k rounds of four different calibers and don't have the need or desire for anything else. After you've been using them for awhile, it's surprising how accurate you can make your ammo just by learning how to fine tune them. As NuJudge said, figure out your needs and buy your dies accordingly. There's something out there for everyone.