Reloading question

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Nick3052

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I just bought a starter kit. I shoot lots of 5.56 and .223

I’m wondering if there’s 5.56 dyes or if .223 Remington dyes will work for both? Also will CCI small rifle primers work well? Thanks for the help, I’ve included a picture of the kit I bought can you guys tell me what I should buy to make it all work?
 

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I do not think the dies are labelled differently - 5.56 NATO and 223 Remington are like 7.62 NATO and 308 Win, or 7x61 Sharpe and Hart and Super 7x61 - same size on outside of the case, so uses the same die.

For the primers, if you bought cases that use small rifle primers, you are likely okay - most all of the 5.56 and 223 Rem brass here is small rifle primer size. Is possible that there are large rifle primer cases for those rounds - if so, not likely that your small rifle primers will fit.

As you likely know - you will need a source of information - at least one reloading manual - is better to get two or three - tells you HOW to reload - how to trim cases, how to chamfer case mouths, how to set up dies, etc., as much as having pressure tested recipes. Then you will need a supply of primers, powder, bullets and brass cases. Not all of every brand will be the exact same to each other - not all will be the same before and after firing. Most reloaders will prefer to do runs in "batches" - try to keep everything the same in a "batch" - but I am aware of some who could not tell you what brand of brass they just reloaded - let alone how much variance there was in capacity - one to the other. Some folks are happy with a product that goes "bang" - some people want 0.015" 5 shot groups at 100 yards. You will also consume some case lube as you reload - so you will need some of that - many types available.

Fussy people might find a different result with different combinations of brands of brass case, primer, powder and bullet - part of the "hobby" - to discover which combination, of your stuff, that works best in your rifle.

As was discovered when a local fellow showed up to reload a bunch using my tooling - you have to have EVERY part, not just MOST of them - neither he nor I had a shell holder for that case (22 Hornet), for my press - we were stopped cold at that point. We had suitable dies, powder, cases, primers, bullets and tooling, case trimmer, chamfering tool, etc. - everything except for a shell holder of that size.
 
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5.56x45mm is loaded with .223 dies, as they are dimensionally identical.

The kit has all the generic tools, but you need the things that are specific to your caliber. Dies, shellholder, and a case length gauge that fits the Lee trimmer. If you buy Lee dies it will come with the shellholder, otherwise you will need to get it separately.

The Lee scale is not well liked, and I personally don't like their deburring tool. They will get you started, but it will surprise no one if you start shopping for other options once you gain some experience.
 
I use .223 dies for 5.56/.223 outside dimensions are identical, ones annealed for higher pressure , one is not.

I have the same kit, all I really needed otherwise was a better deburring/chamfer tool, digital scale and loading trays. I also suggest getting a good pair of analog calipers.. digital work but I prefer analog for the calipers.

I ended up selling the primer set up and I just plunk them into the seater by hand. (Clean dry hands)
 
I watched a video and a guy said for any AR15 base rifle you want to use small base die’s. Seeing as I’m reloading for my Raven, would that be beneficial or are standard sizes fine?
 
"Small base" dies are reputed to mush the case body a little more than Full Length Sizing dies - likely desirable if you are reloading for a semi-auto or a lever action or a pump gun - not much for "camming force" to force a reluctant round in, like there normally is with a bolt action. Lee "full length sizing" dies have reputation to be slightly smaller than normal others like from RCBS or Hornady.

That said, for many years I hunting with a Ruger No. 1 - not sure how much "push force" that one has, compared to a bolt action - but I went through several thousand re-loaded rounds using a normal RCBS Full Length sizing die. It was in 7x57, so the case body would have some size to it. At the time, though, all the brass was either new, or from factory rounds, that had been fired in that chamber previously. I am not sure that it actually needed much body diameter re-sizing.
 
Nick3052 said:
I watched a video and a guy said for any AR15 base rifle you want to use small base die’s. Seeing as I’m reloading for my Raven, would that be beneficial or are standard sizes fine?
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NO, you do not. Regular 223 dies will be fine.



Nick3052 said:
I just bought a starter kit. I shoot lots of 5.56 and .223

I’m wondering if there’s 5.56 dyes or if .223 Remington dyes will work for both? Also will CCI small rifle primers work well? Thanks for the help, I’ve included a picture of the kit I bought can you guys tell me what I should buy to make it all work?
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You shoot "lots" of 223 and bought a single stage press. That'll be fun.
 
I watched a video and a guy said for any AR15 base rifle you want to use small base die’s. Seeing as I’m reloading for my Raven, would that be beneficial or are standard sizes fine?
 
Hmatt said:
IDCAY isn’t wrong.. I load about 10 calibres with a single stage. .223 and .204ruger being my least favorite.
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Loading anything in volume off a single stage is a real drag. You end up with a loading block full of half done cases, or you do one round at a time to completion. Either way is not fun to do a lot of.

A Lee turret press just isn't that expensive. Had mine for 36 years.
 
The OP is new to hand loading so a single stage press will teach him everything he needs to know without worrying about speed, nothing wrong with starting on a single stage when your new. I spent my first year loading pistol cartridges on a single stage and I don’t regret it one bit, now I have a turret for pistol calibers and load rifle cartridges on a single stage.
 
Nick3052 said:
I watched a video and a guy said for any AR15 base rifle you want to use small base die’s. Seeing as I’m reloading for my Raven, would that be beneficial or are standard sizes fine?
Click to expand...

The only time SB dies are needed are for tight chambers. The overwhelming majority of 223/556 barrels are cut with a 223 wylde chamber that will work perfectly with standard FL dies. Of all the 223/556 semi's I've loaded for, exactly zero needed an SB die. As for your setup, you will probably want to upgrade to a better scale. The Lee scale is very accurate but very finnicky. Most never learn how to use it and hate it, the rest of us learned how to use it and hate it. I think one guy liked it one time but he was wrong.

Stick with ball powders and use the powder measure. Ball powders meter the best while extruded can have a half grain or more variance in a mechanical measure. Once the measure is set and you do a few drop tests to confirm on the scale, you can drop charges without weighing them to save a lot of time. Often ball powders will drop to within a tenth of a grain which is great. H335 is a good performer with 55gr bullets but there are many others.

Learn to batch load and streamline your operations. A single stage is slow but with proper planning you can cut a lot of time out without sacrificing safety. Lubing in a tub or bag instead of using your fingers on each case, roll crimping instead of using a Lee factory crimp die, etc. If using the Lee case length guage trimmers, use a hand drill to speed things up.
 
Once you get the hang of loading with your single stage then you can upgrade to a lee turret press or a progressive press and then really crank out the 223 rounds
For plinking and general blasting the cam pro 223 bullets work really good and they are inexpensive, 25 grains of H355 works good with those
 
I Dont Care About You said:
Loading anything in volume off a single stage is a real drag. You end up with a loading block full of half done cases, or you do one round at a time to completion. Either way is not fun to do a lot of.

A Lee turret press just isn't that expensive. Had mine for 36 years.
Click to expand...

I don’t mind, I don’t shoot great volumes of any particular other than 6.5x55.
 
just having some fun said:
you want the CCI 450 SRM Primer for 223/556
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Maybe.... Depending on the powder.
Some folks contend that ball powder is sometimes harder to ignite. I've been using mostly stick powders (H322, XBR8208, 4198), other than CFE223.
I've had no problems with 223/5.56 loads using either CCI or Winchester SR primers.
 
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