I Bought .223 Dies

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  • DaemonAssassin

    Why should we Free BSD?
    Jun 14, 2012
    23,970
    Political refugee in WV
    For the cost of a "Blue" press, I could shoot >20k factory .223 loads before it paid for itself.
    My Lee ABLP can easily do 350rph. The Blue Bitches can stay on their side of the tracks. I'm happy with my White Trash setup- other than the priming system. Lee's priming system sucks swamp ass.
    The Blue Boyz are the BMW owners of the reloading world. Yes, I said it; wanna fight?

    I may drink the blue kool-aid, but I'm not one of those snotty blue boyz that think they are hot shit, because their press is blue.

    If we're going to fight, I'll start by hiding all the crawfish. :D

    Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
     

    guzma393

    Active Member
    Jan 15, 2020
    736
    Severn, MD
    I kept getting stuck cases. My plan was to obtain most of my .223 cases from range pick up but it’s not going the way I intended.

    Are you referring to stuck cases while swaging or stuck cases while resizing? It is inevitable to experience a stuck case here and there especially from range pickups.

    I ran through 1k cases on a resizing die and I experienced 4 stuck cases through all of it. I scrounged up a drill bit, a tap, a socket and a bolt to make a stuck case extractor. I winded up damaging my decapping pin too from some misaligned primer holes but rcbs got that squared out right away.

    I can't speak for one shot lube but the rcbs case lube-2 stuff works great mixed with 99 percent iso.
     

    erwos

    The Hebrew Hammer
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 25, 2009
    13,866
    Rockville, MD
    I ran through 1k cases on a resizing die and I experienced 4 stuck cases through all of it.
    I hate to say it, but given what a PITA stuck cases are to resolve, I'd be looking for something more like 1 in 5000 as the acceptable rate.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,673
    Do you want to see how awesome my Dillon is? :D

    Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

    Blah, blah, blah. I am over here with my day glo orange Lyman stuff.

    I did finally start reloading though and it is awesome and frustrating. More awesome than frustrating fortunately :-)

    I don't plan to roll 55gr reloads past working up a load. I just don't shoot it enough that saving a tiny bit makes sense. I've got enough to last me probably at least 5-6 years of shooting, if not a decade.

    But I would like to work up the most accurate 75/77gr BTHP load I can in .223 (I've got 500 Hornady 77gr BTHP bullets waiting for me to work up a load).

    Mostly pistol reloading for me. But I got dies of 6.5G, because that'll save quite a bit (my math is about $320-400 per 1k). Also .30-06, because I want a nice safe hunting load for my Garand. And while I was at it, .308 dies. Because I mean, its the same bullet, powder and primer as .30-06, so why not? Also if I build my AR-10 (finally!) I might shoot enough .308 in volume to make it worth while to load for it (I probably don't have more than 800 rounds of .308 and I seem to be shooting about 50 rounds a year out of my bolt action .308 right now).

    But 38spc seems to save a lot and is easy to load and don't have to chase cases at all. .45acp seems to save a fair amount and my G21 doesn't throw cases far. Heck, 9mm isn't looking too bad to reload.

    But IMHO even with current prices, unless I was running a progressive, not sure I'd be willing to load the low margin rifle cartridges with the extra work that stuff needs unless I was chasing something specific.

    I don't shoot thousands and thousands of rounds a year. Pre-pandemic I think I was averaging around 1k 22lr, 200-300 12ga #7.5 or 8, 400-500 .223/5.56, 60-100 6.5G, 50-60 .308, 60-80 .30-06, 150-200 .30 carbine, 150-250 7.62x39, 600-800 9mm, 150-200 9Mak, 100 7.62x25, 150-200 .38spc, 200-300 .32acp, maybe 25 #7.5 .410.

    Rough numbers. Just got my .45 when the pandemic started, so no firm idea how much I'd normally shoot it.

    So some of that stuff makes no sense to ever load. Or if it makes sense to load for it, its load for it once every year or two planning a couple of 3-4hrs loading bench sessions to work up a batch of a couple of hundred cases one day. then charging and seating the cartridges the next day and now I've got ammo for 1-2 years (especially figuring some of that stuff, like 9Mak and 7.62x39 I shoot mostly steel cased ammo).

    I'll probably sucker myself in to getting a progressive at some point, but not sure the time and cost savings is there. Now when my kids are older it might make more sense if I can get to the range a lot more than I am. Too lazy to do the math, but I think I am running maybe $1k of ammo a year through my guns. Probably a reasonable amount less. At least in pre-pandemic prices (I guess now it is probably $1k+, probably like $600 worth before). I am enjoying reloading, but I'd bet if I reloaded a year of ammo for all of my centerfires I'd end up with like 40-60hrs of reloading over the course of a year if I have a load worked up and also don't run in to any issues using the T-mag press I have and all that (and supposing I don't need to add in a bunch more time to resize cases, see why I am likely to mostly be reloading pistols for savings and rifles for accuracy or boutique loads).

    I'd think with a progressive I could cut that time to a third just because I only need to load maybe a few hundred rounds and then change everything out, verify its set properly, etc. Seems like the large expense of the progressive would take a lot of years to pay off for me, even including the savings in time.

    But again, I am sure I'll sucker myself in to it if I get to shooting more. Just for savings on things like .45acp.
     

    DaemonAssassin

    Why should we Free BSD?
    Jun 14, 2012
    23,970
    Political refugee in WV
    Blah, blah, blah. I am over here with my day glo orange Lyman stuff.

    I did finally start reloading though and it is awesome and frustrating. More awesome than frustrating fortunately :-)

    I don't plan to roll 55gr reloads past working up a load. I just don't shoot it enough that saving a tiny bit makes sense. I've got enough to last me probably at least 5-6 years of shooting, if not a decade.

    But I would like to work up the most accurate 75/77gr BTHP load I can in .223 (I've got 500 Hornady 77gr BTHP bullets waiting for me to work up a load).

    Mostly pistol reloading for me. But I got dies of 6.5G, because that'll save quite a bit (my math is about $320-400 per 1k). Also .30-06, because I want a nice safe hunting load for my Garand. And while I was at it, .308 dies. Because I mean, its the same bullet, powder and primer as .30-06, so why not? Also if I build my AR-10 (finally!) I might shoot enough .308 in volume to make it worth while to load for it (I probably don't have more than 800 rounds of .308 and I seem to be shooting about 50 rounds a year out of my bolt action .308 right now).

    But 38spc seems to save a lot and is easy to load and don't have to chase cases at all. .45acp seems to save a fair amount and my G21 doesn't throw cases far. Heck, 9mm isn't looking too bad to reload.

    But IMHO even with current prices, unless I was running a progressive, not sure I'd be willing to load the low margin rifle cartridges with the extra work that stuff needs unless I was chasing something specific.

    I don't shoot thousands and thousands of rounds a year. Pre-pandemic I think I was averaging around 1k 22lr, 200-300 12ga #7.5 or 8, 400-500 .223/5.56, 60-100 6.5G, 50-60 .308, 60-80 .30-06, 150-200 .30 carbine, 150-250 7.62x39, 600-800 9mm, 150-200 9Mak, 100 7.62x25, 150-200 .38spc, 200-300 .32acp, maybe 25 #7.5 .410.

    Rough numbers. Just got my .45 when the pandemic started, so no firm idea how much I'd normally shoot it.

    So some of that stuff makes no sense to ever load. Or if it makes sense to load for it, its load for it once every year or two planning a couple of 3-4hrs loading bench sessions to work up a batch of a couple of hundred cases one day. then charging and seating the cartridges the next day and now I've got ammo for 1-2 years (especially figuring some of that stuff, like 9Mak and 7.62x39 I shoot mostly steel cased ammo).

    I'll probably sucker myself in to getting a progressive at some point, but not sure the time and cost savings is there. Now when my kids are older it might make more sense if I can get to the range a lot more than I am. Too lazy to do the math, but I think I am running maybe $1k of ammo a year through my guns. Probably a reasonable amount less. At least in pre-pandemic prices (I guess now it is probably $1k+, probably like $600 worth before). I am enjoying reloading, but I'd bet if I reloaded a year of ammo for all of my centerfires I'd end up with like 40-60hrs of reloading over the course of a year if I have a load worked up and also don't run in to any issues using the T-mag press I have and all that (and supposing I don't need to add in a bunch more time to resize cases, see why I am likely to mostly be reloading pistols for savings and rifles for accuracy or boutique loads).

    I'd think with a progressive I could cut that time to a third just because I only need to load maybe a few hundred rounds and then change everything out, verify its set properly, etc. Seems like the large expense of the progressive would take a lot of years to pay off for me, even including the savings in time.

    But again, I am sure I'll sucker myself in to it if I get to shooting more. Just for savings on things like .45acp.

    TL;DR

    What's the short version?
     

    Speedluvn

    Active Member
    Dec 23, 2019
    340
    Baltimore County
    Are you using Hornady One Shot? That stuff did not work for me nearly as well as Dillon's lube.

    Hornady’s aerosol can, yes. I started using the 2 ounce white lube that came with my Lee press.
    I like the spray on application of the aerosol. One tip that I saw was that you might need to wait a few minutes after applying the lube before decapping or resizing.
     

    erwos

    The Hebrew Hammer
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 25, 2009
    13,866
    Rockville, MD
    Hornady’s aerosol can, yes. I started using the 2 ounce white lube that came with my Lee press.
    I like the spray on application of the aerosol. One tip that I saw was that you might need to wait a few minutes after applying the lube before decapping or resizing.
    Try the Dillon pump spray stuff and see if it reduces the frequency of stuck cases. One Shot works alright when I'm spraying 9mm cases so they don't stick as much in my powder funnel, but it didn't really hold up on sizing .223 for me.
     

    Speedluvn

    Active Member
    Dec 23, 2019
    340
    Baltimore County
    Are you referring to stuck cases while swaging or stuck cases while resizing? It is inevitable to experience a stuck case here and there especially from range pickups.

    I ran through 1k cases on a resizing die and I experienced 4 stuck cases through all of it. I scrounged up a drill bit, a tap, a socket and a bolt to make a stuck case extractor. I winded up damaging my decapping pin too from some misaligned primer holes but rcbs got that squared out right away.

    I can't speak for one shot lube but the rcbs case lube-2 stuff works great mixed with 99 percent iso.

    Initially, it was both but I’m referring to swaging the primers with the RCBS swagger. The case would get stuck. I immediately purchased a super swager when I realized that I intended to obtain my .223/.556 from range pick ups
     

    Speed3

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 19, 2011
    7,816
    MD
    Try the Dillon pump spray stuff and see if it reduces the frequency of stuck cases. One Shot works alright when I'm spraying 9mm cases so they don't stick as much in my powder funnel, but it didn't really hold up on sizing .223 for me.

    I use the one shot exclusively, and early on had some issues with it. Not sure if I wasn't letting it dry completely or it was the range brass(LC stuff) that caused 2 stuck cases or me just being new to reloading. I've reloaded tens of thousands of rounds on that press and those were the only 2 cases I had issues with.

    I've heard the Dillon stuff is good also, worth a try.
     

    teratos

    My hair is amazing
    MDS Supporter
    Patriot Picket
    Jan 22, 2009
    59,775
    Bel Air
    IMHO, like 70% of the time loading 223 is case prep anyways. Gotta trim, deburr, chamfer, swage the primer pocket (ugh), etc. Lots of hand operations unless you've got a really rocking setup (like $3k-$4k of equipment). All of that is tolerable if you're loading precision rounds, but bulk blaster? I'd rather just shoot steel-case.

    I have the WFT trimmers, Lyman case-prep station, and a Dillon Super Swage. very fast. Deprime, wet tumble, size, trim, chamfer/debur, dry tumble, swage as I go. < $500 in equipment.
     

    erwos

    The Hebrew Hammer
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 25, 2009
    13,866
    Rockville, MD
    I have the WFT trimmers, Lyman case-prep station, and a Dillon Super Swage. very fast. Deprime, wet tumble, size, trim, chamfer/debur, dry tumble, swage as I go. < $500 in equipment.
    It's not very fast if you need to load 5k-10k rounds of 223. It is acceptable if you're doing 500-1000 rounds.

    ETA: I have literally all those things. Even batch operations, it's not fast. It's definitely not fast like 9mm.
     

    DaemonAssassin

    Why should we Free BSD?
    Jun 14, 2012
    23,970
    Political refugee in WV
    Finally started reloading. I’ll talk myself in to a progressive some day. I’ll likely not save enough time to be worth it for my volume of shooting, but I am a sucker for gear.
    Honestly, that's fair. It's actually easier to learn on a single stage, as opposed to a processor, due to keeping track of everything on a progressive. LMK if you want to test out a 550 in the future.
     

    erwos

    The Hebrew Hammer
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 25, 2009
    13,866
    Rockville, MD
    IMHO, the only cheaper progressive presses really worth dealing with are the Dillon 650XL and MAYBE the Hornady. Dillon 550s are infamous for double charges when the manual indexing doesn't go 100%. I know some people love them, but the 650 is totally worth the extra money. If you can shell out for an RL1100, that's going to be your most future proof option for bulk loading 223.

    If you can't spend that much money, the Lee turret can speed things up with its indexing function, but you're still working a cartridge at a time.
     

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