Do you crimp for your semi .223?

[Brianma65]

Thanks for the info, thanks for the tips. My brass is .002 to .003 thicker after seating, acceptable increases. My cartridges are good and within the specs. I'll order the crimp die and have it on hand , in case it's needed. Everything is running smooth now, after all it's been 3 days since I started. Thanks to all who gave advice, and to those who didn't , peace out.

 

[beltfed]

As you can see from my pics all the brass has increased in size. 2 out of 3 has increased by.2 and the other by .3 . Are these acceptable increases? Also the hornady brass is thicker , so that's why there's a difference from the other 2 . But overall the increase is the same. The only thing I did different , the second time is, I trimmed all to same lenght and I cleaned the inside of the neck with a cue tip and alcohol .( removed lube that was there from the brush)

I was referring to your Winchester brass that was giving you grief.

 

[Brianma65]

I was referring to your Winchester brass that was giving you grief.

I've since loaded 10 more of the win brass,and they are all good. The only thing I can think of,why the first 5 win brass had setbacks,are they weren't resized, or they were over the max lenght? Or they were just bad brass. I'm going to take responsibility and say it was one of the first two,but just in case it was the third ,I'm ditching the win brass.ive checked my dies, made sure they are screwed in ,until they touch the shell holder , then an extra 1/8 turn. So far I now have a total of 60 rnds made, and they all seem fine,as in I cannot move the projectile. On a side note,do I need to clean the lube from the inside of the neck, I find when dropping the powder ,it sticks to the inside of the neck, is this ok?

 

[supernova]

First, I wouldn't ditch the Win brass unless it has defects. You found the die was not adjusted and it fixed the issue. Second, if the lube doesn't contaminate the powder then I leave it in the neck. The bullet will push the powder into the case.

 

[beltfed]

OAL of the brass should not affect sizing or seating, as already stated.
I agree with others here that more reading and learning about the nuances of handloading are worthwhile.
Keep in mind the recommendations from the manufacturer to adjust the die into the shell holder/plate and then a 1/8 turn tighter is a generic setting. It is a good idea to source a chamber gauge (good for an auto loader - especially if you load for more than one) or as I believe Stubblejumper suggested, get yourself a comparator to measure finished round datum to compare with your chamber (I have mixed feelings on this one - for a precision bolt gun that you tailor loads for, absolutely. For a semi auto? Maybe my Knight's Armament SR-25, but I wouldn't do it for any of my .223 guns, even the precision ARs.) -that is just me though.

If you want to dabble with cooking up precision ammo for the fun of it, there are all sorts of cool loading gadgetry and processes you can get or use to help analyze, measure, uniform or otherwise seemingly correct your ammo. Stand back and look at it all with some subjectivity (do some testing for yourself). There is stuff guys do to make better ammo, and then there is stuff that is done that 'might' count towards better ammo, and then there is stuff still that might not matter one bit. once you are there those F'ers are a really good source of info.

I clean the lube from rifle, but not pistol. Not sure if it matters at all. I've heard that lube can contaminate primers (I suppose if there is oodles of it), but I do not know how anactotal that is. Lube can get annoying real fast if you shoot in dusty or dirty conditions as well.

 

[stubblejumper]

It is a good idea to source a chamber gauge (good for an auto loader - especially if you load for more than one) or as I believe Stubblejumper suggested, get yourself a comparator to measure finished round datum to compare with your chamber

I suggested no such thing, I don't use comparators.