reloading 223 with the very basics

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bigdawg

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well just like the post says i wanna start reloading 223 but with just the very basics even if it takes alot longer im just wondering what the very basic gear you can get away with
 
Yup, a Lee loader, and a plastic/nylon tipped hammer, and your on your way to great ammo. Keep in mind though, you will need fireformed brass to go this route. With the dollar at pretty well par with the US, you can get a Lee Loader for $19 on the other side of the border. I think they are around $35 here.:eek:

I have made very accurate ammo for my 30-06 and 308 using a Lee Loader. The kit comes with everything you need except the hammer, but I would advise you to buy a scale instead of using the scoop that comes with the kit. Another good item to go along with this little kit would be a Lee Auto Prime. You do not need it, but for $20 it makes priming the brass soooo much easier.

If you do not have any fireformed brass, your next cheapest way I guess would be a the Lee hand press which I believe sells for $40, but at that price you could probably buy a second hand Lee press, plus you would still have to by dies.
 
I have one in .308 and .223. Bought factory ammo and fired in my rifles and use that brass for reloading. I now have a scale and other odds and ends but these reloaders make awesome ammo, it's all I've used for two years now.
 
a step up from the Lee loader is the Lee hand press with a set of lee dies that come with a powder dipper. You can use any empties and resize. Powder weight won't be precise but they will shoot ok.
 
A&Shuntr and iceman2 have summarized what I would have said here.

The benefit of the hand press is that it'll take standard dies and will full-length size if you have more than one rifle in .223.

-M
 
I know a number of people who have used the lee loaders, but be warned, you will have a hard feeding an ar 15 with it:D
 
When I first started reloading I had a Lee loader set for my 303 and 243. They make accurate and inexpensive ammo but are slow and you have limited options for powders if you don't have a scale.If you are looking at low volume shooting they are fine. I would recommend getting a case trimmer as the cases will eventually stretch, again Lee makes a simple one caliber trimmer that is very inexpensive. If you are like most of the rest of us you will eventually move to a conventional press and dies as you begin to want to shoot more and spend less time reloading
 
bigdawg said:
yea i wanna use this for ar-15 why would this be a problem
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While I understand the desire to keep price down, for feeding a semi you really should buy a Lee Classic Cast press kit or even better, the Classic Turret kit. Easier, far faster and you can use regular dies and shell holders. The kits include everything you need to get started and are really a great deal overall.

You say you don't care about time, but anything short of a full progressive takes a reasonable amount of time to crank out ammo. The Lee Loader is vastly slower than any press and would take all evening to produce a small handful of ammo. Is your time really that cheap? Do you shoot that few rounds out of your AR? If that is the case, factory ammo is probably the best choice for you.

Mark
 
thanx for the comments its given me alot to think about i guess the thing with reloading is it should never be rushed
 
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