RCBS 223 X-DIES

[liquidsilverr1]

Has anyone on the forum used the RCBS X-DIES yet? I am looking to back-order some dies, and the X-DIES sound like they would work well, but I'm curious if anyone has actually used them, and what their experience has been. Or if anyone thinks another die set works better for 223 loaded for an AR please let me know.

Thanks.

 

[Meatasaur]

Green Top just north of Richmond on I-95 had about 6 RCBS Remington 223 die sets in stock when I was there last weekend.

 

[SKIP]

I have used them since they were first introduced. 223, 308 and 30-06 with no difficulties at all.

 

[liquidsilverr1]

Fantastic, thank you both for the info.

 

[John from MD]

I have also used them since they came out. They aren't a miracle die that they seem to be. If you start with virgin brass and keep them segregated, the die works as designed. If you mix brass and manufactureres, you get some differences.

I have experimented with these dies in .223 and .308 and find that the case length will change depending on the hardness of the brass. I have found that the difference can be as much as .007.

This may cause accuracy issues if you use a roll crimp for your last station. If you use a Lee Factory Crimp or a taper crimp, it will be less of an issue. Since I am not a benchrester, the difference in accuracy isn't going to bother me. However, for you guys who use a 36x scope and shoot 1 hole groups, you may be disapointed.

 

[liquidsilverr1]

Thanks for the info, did the case length settle down after 1st or 2nd reload? Did it ever go beyond Max OAL once trimmed the first time? These are going to be loading plinking rounds for my AR, so Im not as concerned with the accuracy as well.

 

[John from MD]

If you start from new brass, or once fired brass, they will stay pretty close to one another. I measure my fired cases after about five reloads. Anything .005 over my set length I toss into the size and trim pile. This system has worked pretty well for me.

 

[guthook]

Make sure you have a press that "cams over" at the end of the stroke like a Rock Chucker or similar. It's the only way to keep consistent results.

I tried one with my old Lee Breech Lock that didn't have that feature and I was less than pleased with the finished product.

 

[liquidsilverr1]

Using a rock chucker, was on the fence about getting a progressive but a friend talked me out of it.