Hi, Just starting to get my gear back together after probably a 8-10 hiatus. Couple questions: 1) I found a bunch of 223 brass that are nice and shiny and the primer is out and pocket clean. I am guessing they are ready for priming and loading, but how do I be sure? The depriming pin is in my sizing die. I have a bolt action 223, so would trying to drop a brass in to the chamber be a way to check they are sized? 2) found two sets of dies that have some rust on them (see pic), even in drier than dirt AZ. How do I clean them up and then preserve them for future use? I am pretty excited about getting back to reloading, it was fun. One more question. My supressor is probably 3 months in the future, but does anybody have some load data for subsonic 223 loads?? Thanks for everything. Chuck

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Brass brush and oil.........Oil and steel wool.

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S&W Accumulator

If the brass will chamber in the only .223 gun you have and if a bullet will not go into the case, they have probably been resized. Don't forget to check the length. You also should feel normal effort when seating the bullet. If it goes in too easily you might need to neck size to get a good grip on the bullet. You normally only need to full length resize if the rifle is semi automatic or if the cartridges are fired in more than one gun. If you only have one gun, the case is sized to that gun by firing it.

To be 100% sure and to help you get back in the reloading groove ... Full Length Size them ... it will hurt nothing and be sure and use case lube ... no stuck cases wanted .
Remove rust from dies the same way you would remove rust from firearm ... WD40 (or other gun oil/lube) and 0000 steel wool .
Make sure insides of dies are clean and rust free also .
Good Luck ,
Gary

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Certified Cajun
NRA Member

And for long term storage? Just leave some oil on them? I also will move them indoors from the garage as it is even drier in here. In fact we had a small roof leak in our garage last year and that may have started the rust.

I use Dillon case lube as a preservative.
It's lanolin suspended in isopropol
alcohol. It's a real good sealer for steel.

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never get out of the boat

If you have a lot of rusty dies to clean, buy a gallon of Evapo-Rust at your local auto parts store. Drop the dies into the ER, wait 10-15 minutes and the rust is gone. A very safe, easy to use product. I lived in Yuma, AZ, for four years and was surprised by the problem I had with rust. I was reminded to never assume.

Interesting stuff. The good news is I don't really need that much and a search says it is about $10 a quart Home Depot. Thanks.

I'd bet REAL money on the garage leak!
I've got dies I haven't touched in years that are perfectly clean.
Hope they clean up for you.

My buddy stores his dies in an ammo box with a dessicant bag when not in active use.

I will be setting up a progressive press with a die plate for each die set dialed in. I'll just get a "Fat 50 tall" ammo box.

I suggest you add a .223 case gauge to your reloading inventory.

Primarily use it to check that your sizing die is properly adjusted.

You'll also be able to tell if those cases are already sized if they plunk in the gage properly.

Hornady Cartridge Gauge .223 Rem

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Waiting for the break of day

If you don't want to spend money on a special "gauge" ... use your rifles chamber as the ultimate gauge .
Just because a round fits "the Gauge" it's not a 100% guarantee that round will fit your rifle's chamber ...been there and done that .
Loaded rounds have to fit your rifle ... the gauged rounds may or may not fit .
Gary

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Certified Cajun
NRA Member

And conversely, I have never had a round that was good in the case gauge and not chamber in any of my rifles.

I use mine for die set up and double check for chambering.

Randy

You can get away without the gage in a bolt action but not in an automatic like an AR15.

The gage is still a quick & easy way to verify the case is sized, which is what the OP was asking.

On an automatic pistol I agree, having a gage for it isn't a priority. Doing a plunk test in your pistol's barrel is the only way I verify my ammo's fit in them.

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Waiting for the break of day

I got a set of rusty dies like those in a small lot of stuff I bought. I plunked them in the good old 50/50 ATF/acetone solution then hit them with bronze wool after a couple of weeks soaking. Cleaned up nicely.

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Send lawyers, guns & money...

I disagree with the suggestion above that an unnecessary repeat resizing will do no harm. It's likely that it would shorten the number of reloadings before his brass separates at the head.

The bolts of most bolt actions are easily disassembled. I'd remove the firing pin to better feel whats going on then try to close the bolt on a case. Contact between the chamber and case shoulders is ideal. That extends brass life and can improve accuracy.

Gauges are for making cases so small that they'll be sure to chamber in every simi-auto that has a chamber within specs. That's typically not the goal of a reloader loading for one bolt action rifle.

I have yet to wear out a casing from repeated loadings....especially .223/5.56 !

Although, years ago there was a batch of LC86 that was notorious for insipinent head case separation even after the first reload. not a product of brass being work hardened.

Randy

I went the Evapo-Rust route and am quite happy with it. My only note to self is to completely disassemble the dies to submerge them. There was no rust under the locking rings, just some crud that brushed right off. Pretty simple, put them in a pan, pour in enough EvapoRust (comes in quarts for small projects like mine), let soak 12-24 hours. My pics show each stage. The stuff is incredibly safe with regard to clean up, user safety and disposal. The pics got a little out of order. See their titles. When done, you just rinse the dies with water and I used hair dryer to dry. Disposed of product down the drain.

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	Evapo rust is safe.jpg (80.4 KB, 13 views)
	Dies at 12 hrs.jpg (120.5 KB, 13 views)
	rusted dies.jpg (99.2 KB, 13 views)
	Dies at 24 hrs.jpg (61.7 KB, 13 views)