I've been reloading handgun ammo for years on my RCBS Pro 2000, including 9mm, 45ACP, 40 S&W and 44 mag. I want to start loading .223, my first rifle cartridge, for my MP-15. I have a ample amount of brass, 55gr. Hornady bullets and 3 lbs of CFE. I would imagine I can load rifle on my progressive press but I'm not sure of what different conditions need to be considered. I'm assuming I will need to case lube the brass, but what else do I need to consider. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide for a new rifle cartridge reloader.

For just starting out I'd recommend the RCBS X-Die small base sizer die. It allows you to trim the brass once to .02 below max case length and then never have to trim again. The design of the die and mandrel keeps the case from lengthening to above maximum length with repeated sizing. Once trimmed, you're set for the life of the case.

A little case lube, run through the deprime/sizer die. clean and load. I've used it for years and never had any feed problems.
Just need to keep your OAL short enough the cases will load into your magazine and feed well. I'm sure if you already re-load you'll find the process pretty simple. No reason you shouldn't be able to load on your progressive press.

The hardest part about loading .223 is finding primers

__________________
What could possibly go wrong?

If the brass has been fired, make sure you ream the primer pockets in case they were crimped or you’ll likely have trouble seating primers without distorting them.

__________________
213th FBINA

RCBS makes die sets especially for AR reloading, They are in a black die box and have a Small Base FL sizer and a Tapper Crimp die.

If your brass is from military type ammo you will need to remove the primer crimps. Either with a Swaging Tool (I use RCBS's) or by rheaming them out.

Case Length: I your unseized empty cases, are over .010" Below Maximum case length AND all within +/- .008" the same, you won't have to trim this time. (That is why you want the Taper Crimp die!) So you need a Case length caliper or gauge. You will sooner or later need a case trimmer.

3 pounds of suitable powder will load around 600 rounds of ammo, so you may want to stock up on more components! (I use the 55gr FMJ, or the 50 grain V-Max polymer tip bullet for hunting, The V-Max are way more accurate! also faster and flatter trajectory at distances over 200 yards)

I have 45 years experience with 223, 25 of that in AR-15's. If you have more questions you can Personal Message me.

Ivan

Big change going from straight wall pistol cartridge to a bottle neck rifle cartridge.

I loaded 30-06 & just about every other kind of pistol cartridges previously but got into 223 at the beginning of the CV19 outbreak when my son & I got M&P 15 Sport II's.

Regular sizing dies should be fine. I've resized over 2000 cases, fired in other rifles, without issues in the past months.

Buy a headspace/cartridge gage for the 223. You absolutely need it ensure the sized & loaded ammo passes a plunk test in it. Unlike in a pistol barrel you can't do a plunk test in an AR.
.
Hornady Cartridge Ga 223 Remington
.

Use a good case lube. Hornady Unique Case Lube works good especially for hard to size cases.

Some fired cases will be harder to size than others (chamber size differences). If the case feels too hard to size don't force it or you'll stick the case in the die & then have to deal with that.

Virtually every fired case I got (~80%) needed trimming. Length check all cases after sizing.

I resized even the new brass because the case mouths were dented as well as sized larger than I like. I took a few thousandth's off my expander ball to ensure a firm bullet-case fit.

Load a few work-up rounds & test fire them for function before you load more.

I'd suggest loading them as if it's a single stage press until you work out the little things unique to it. A progressive press can mess up a lot of ammo fast before you realize you have a problem to fix. Pulling bullets is a pain.

Take your time & best of luck.

.

__________________
Waiting for the break of day

The only similarity between straight wall pistol reloading and 223 reloading is they are both called reloading. Take you time use small base dies, get a Lee trim tool because you will need one, re-read the above instructions often. I was spoiled mostly reloading 38 and 44 Special, 223 is comparable but worse I assume than reloading 25 auto, everything is teeny tiny.

My opinion is worth less than many here because I’ve only been reloading for 8 years, but like you, I started with pistol and moved up to .223 about 18 months ago. It’s not all that different. Case trimming is a bit of a pain but I bought a Frankfort Arsenal Case Prep Center and they made it easier. A case gauge is something I would recommend, as well. Load up a few and test them out and then settle on that routine. And yes, stock up on components. The 2000 rounds per one pound bottle for pistol doesn’t apply with .223.

A lot may depend on where you got your brass. Is it once fired from your one rifle, or from some where else? Are the primers crimped?

"Unlike in a pistol barrel you can't do a plunk test in an AR."

You can, but it's a bit of a pain in the butt. Involves removing the extractor and ejector, which is more than most people care to do.

Before I began loading for ARs, I called a now retired friend who worked for Sierra bullets for many years. He also travels to AR competitive shoots regularly. He gave me several pointers but his first suggestion was to get a case gauge if you want 100% reliable chambering.

I bought a JS Enterprises gauge, but other gauges may work as well. They are not expensive. Gauging takes but a second. This step is particularly important if you're using mixed range brass or even once-fired brass. You can probably get by without a gauge if using new brass.

Some suggest small base size dies. I've yet to see any need for such, but I realize there are exceptions. Full-length size with a regular size die first. If you're doing everything right and the die is in spec, a standard die should work 99% of the time.

First used rcbs dies, then got one real stuck. Got set of RBG Lee dies. Buddy said"you mean you have only gone through one sizing die, I've gone through 4 sizing dies so far". I told him "I was just getting started on the little fellers, give me some time".

You don't need or want small base full-length resizing die. You also don't need to crimp, but if you do, use the Lee FCD.

If you buy new brass, you can just prime-powder-bullet-shoot. If you use range pickup, your going to need to resize-trim-chamfer-ream/swage primer pockets. Regarding primer pockets, you only need to remove/reform a very small amount of brass at the lip of the pocket. Do not use the Lyman pocket tool as it is a horrible design. Btw, when I say "small" - I mean small - very little brass is deformed to stake in the primer.

I don't like CFE223 as it is THE most temperature sensitive powder you can buy (seriously - there's none worse) so don't be surprised if your winter loads are slow now and way hot in summer.

An interesting lube you can try for cheap is Ideal Wire Glide pulling lube. The stuff is water based, dries without a sticky film, and is $8.95 for a quart. Use it on a roll pad. No cleanup required. Just remember that it is water, so you should spray out your resizing die once a year to prevent rust.

Good advice here. Listen.

Go single stage especially if you're loading with accuracy in mind. If you just want blaster ammo a progressive will do that much faster.

Swage crimped primer pockets, please dont remove any brass from the one area where it is needed most. USUALLY 5.56 is most likely to have crimped in primers. You can almost always see the crimp. LC will have either a small crimp ring or 4 point staking and in my opinion is the absolute best brass to be had for 223/5.56mm. I have 7 loadings on some and it still resized fine and has service able primer pockets, and, you can almost always find piles of it at any range for free. I dint know why people dont hoard this stuff like gold.

To extend the life of whichever brass you use you can anneal. I do every other firing.

The way I process brass is a pain in my butt but I see the benefits at the range. I throw the brass in an ultrasonic cleaner with HOT water, vinegar and lemon dish soap, lemishine and sea salt, dry then decap and resize, inspect case mouths and case head area. If once fired LC I then have to swage primer pockets, uniform primer pockets and trim to length, which also removes the bullet crimping. If loading long range accuracy rounds I'll also go an extra step and flare the flash hole. Beneficial? I'm not sure but it makes me feel as though I've given it every possible chance of hitting the X at 300 yards. Federal (LC) anneals post sizing so so do I. I dont have one of the $500 Annealz machines so I do it by hand. If you're as blessed as I am with more rythem than 10 people should have then it's easy or you can download a metronome app to your phone and set it to 1 beat per second and use that. A cordless drill, a deep well 12mm socket and a bernzamatic. Do Not use MAPP gas, it's too hot, just use the blue can stuff. Get your brass and a towel and you're ready. Light the torch, lay out the towel, chuck the socket into your drill set to slow, drop a case into the socket and bring it up to the very end of the cone of the flame or just outside of it and rotate it for 5-7 seconds holding it at an angle away from the flame right at the shoulder/neck area. The deep well socket I have will leave about 1/3 of the case sticking out and acts as sort of a heatsinks and if you have a small bowl of water nearby and a washcloth you can keep the socket cool so it will help prevent the heat from migrating too far down the case, it works great for me. You would be hard pressed to distinguish my cases from a factory LC. I've been doing this for thousands of rounds and it does work.

I'm sure others have their way, this is mine. Reload enough and you'll have your way but maybe something I written with give you a starting point.

I always only load LC brass separated by year in lots of 100. Even within the same year date code you'll see cases that were run on different production lines with slightly different markings, I'll go even further and seperate these by these markings too. OCD? You bet, but it works for me and has for quite some time. Oh, I dont tumble my brass, I like the dirty look with the nice annealing line, and the method above makes a very definite look. You can see just where the color change stops.

Sorry for the long post.

Wow, what a treasure of information! Thank you all for your years of experience. I bought all of my .223 components and dies about the time you know who was elected, so I've had them for sometime. The dies I have are RCBS Group A, small two die set. I see it is a crimp die as opposed to the taper dies I use on my handgun reloading. I've got my name on the list to buy a taper crimp die. I would think it would eliminate some of the steps that may be required with the crimp die. I do have a Lyman case trimmer, case length gauge, primer pocket tools and case lube pad. I will look for a full case gauge like I use with all my reloads. I've several cleaned and de-primed cases along with several commercial rounds. I also have several boxes of Federal M 193 Ball ammo. Can I assume that those rounds will have a crimped and/or sealed primer that requires the cleaning of the primer pocket or do all cases require that attention? While checking my supplies this morning, I have 3,000 small rifle primers and 4 lbs. of CFE powder. That was he only choice I had at the time supplies were dwindeling. I'm looking forward to this new challenge and will take notes on all the tips and tricks you all have passed on to me. Thank you all for your excellent information and years of experience, it will be a tremendous help!

First step is to RTFM.

I never crimp .223 loads for either my bolt action nor AR. Just never found it to be necessary. Same for small-base dies. Never found I needed one. My seating die is a crimp die, but I don't adjust it down to crimp. No problem. No real need to buy a taper die.

I bought an Annealez annealer, it ran about $250. Very easy to set up and will anneal a batch in a hurry. Takes about 5 seconds per case. Faster and more consistent than the drill and torch method.

I've been reloading bottle neck including .223 since before the internet. Consequently I like many others my age have made every mistake possible and tried every tool available.

Some things make perfect sense for inside 300 yards while others may be required for 600 yards! So for now think inside 300 yards or clanging steel at 200!

Mixed brass is OK! Start with say 100 pieces until you get the process to your liking!
Clean brass doesn't mean surgically clean so don't over think it.
For now use a commercial case lube and follow the instructions for it use!
I usually size and swage primer pockets as individual steps before the actual "reloading" process! (A separate single stage press here helps!)
How you lube cases isn't as important as a workable process that prevents stuck cases. It's always a good idea to have a stuck case removal tool handy! You'll thank me later!
A small base die is not necessary if you have set up your press and die properly. But they do work as described!

Swaging doesn't remove brass like cutters but both are satisfactory. I use the swaging process for consistency and uniform diameter and depth of primer pocket. It becomes noticeable when seating new primers.

Case trimming OAL is important at the first resizing. I have used manual trimmers and they work fine for small batches but for shooting large quantities of 223 I like a "Little Crow" and drill motor or similar trimmer. There are also motorized inside and outside neck deburring tools

Once you've done 100 cases you'll be ready to start "reloading"! But lets just do 10 for now.

Follow instructions for your powder measure and powder drop device. Try to stay to within .02 of a grain +/- for powder drops for now! I double check my drops by hand weighing every tenth drop until I'm satisfied I'm within.01 grain +/-!

Of course you have a .223 Rem go/no go case gage for this step. Use your reloading manual for a starting point for cartridge case COL! Minor adjustments may follow. Let's not get into "shoulder bump"/"bullet jump" for now!

Adjust your bullet seating die according to your manual. There are separate threads concerning crimp/no crimp in achieving .223 precision! I don't crimp and don't have a specific opinion either way based on my testing on paper at 200 yards!

Now that you've done 10 check them in your do/no go gage!

GOOD TO GO?? Now remove the firing pin from your AR bolt and do a final Q/C in your rifle's chamber. I have one AR with a really tight chamber and learned this the hard way! .001" really can make a difference in case head diameter at the base!

If you have too much lube left on the cases you can wipe them clean or for larger quantities use your case cleaner with dry cleaner to remove the lube and final polishing. Maybe 60 minutes!

I haven't needed to fire anneal my brass since I have 5 gallon buckets of once fired Winchester .223 brass but that's a subject for another thread!

Smiles,

If you're brass is once fired new brass from the rifle you are reloading for, and it does not have a tight chamber, likely you won't need a small base (sb) sizing die. If you start buying large batches of mixed range brass that is not "processed", or start picking up brass from the range, would strongly recommend using a sb the first time the brass is resized.

If using a temp sensitive powder, might consider not working up max or close to max loads in colder temps for safety. The velocity variation working on POI changes really depends on the distances, temp extremes and purpose of your reloads.

As you can see, there's more than one way to skin a cat. Which die or trimmer or ... isn't as important as getting into a routine where you don't cut corners. Lot's of experienced re-loaders here who do things differently with good results. Case length, primer pocket prep, proper neck tension, seating depth, powder load, cartridge OAL, checking cases with a case gauge are all important steps. Find your routine, don't vary it, and you will have good results too. Enjoy shooting that 223.

__________________
What could possibly go wrong?

My weapon is a M&P 15 M4, MOE with a 4150 CMV barrel. Can I assume this barrel will be machined to a tighter tolerance over a standard barrel? I don't plan on using it for competition, just for fun and protection. Again, I'm learning great tips on every post here. I will be looking for some of the specialty tools which I don't currently have. I want to be prepared for those "beginner" problems I'm bound to discover. I know we all are having a tough time finding the tools of the trade besides the components. Thanks again everyone.

Having only loaded 5.56/223 for a year or two, I can't add much to what's been offered but I will say I've had my share of problems with primer pockets.

I got a RCBS primer pocket swager, swaged a thousand cases and set about priming them only to find the formerly crimped pockets were hit or miss on whether they'd take a primer. Don't know why, but I went back through and chamfered all the military stuff.

If you're going to swage, I'd suggest doing a few and seeing if they'll seat one of your irreplaceable primers.

EDIT: In fact, I might even go so far as to save some spent primers and seat those until I was satisfied I wasn't going to crush any new primers.

__________________
Just Say No - To Social Media

I tried reloading .223 one time for a Ruger bolt gun. My results were only mediocre and had difficulty getting accuracy hardly equal to the factory stuff. But then again, it was a time when the cost of factory ammo was not a backbreaker. And my volume of ammo usage with that rifle was not all that great. So I set it aside and stuck to the boxed stuff. Good luck to you. I had notably better results with reloading bigger carts.

Most, maybe all complaints about the RCBS primer pocket swager not removing the crimp properly has to do with adjustment. This is critical. Takes some trial and error work, but once set right, it never has to be adjusted again. I'm far from an expert, but I don't think you can overdo crimp removal or damage/ enlarge a primer pocket. At least, that's been my experience.

My RCBS primer pocket swager is probably from the '60s. I'll assume the newer ones are the same.

So let me introduce a bit of thread drift here.

I've got the mechanics of case prep down and hate crimped brass enough to prove it. I own 3 manuals and know where the bullet and powder manufacturer's sites are to get load data.

What are the classic combinations that I need to try out for my M&P Sport II?

To compare with 9mm - a reloader has to have tried Titegroup, Unique, and W231 in the 115/124/147 bullets to have a well-rounded experience. Let's operate under the false assumption that I can get whatever I want - what powders and bullet weights do I need to try? Currently I have 55 FMJ and Ramshot TAC. Varget is on my list for powder to buy as soon as I see it. 62 grain FMJ is in my shopping cart pending responses to this thread. What else do I need to have tried to have well rounded base of experience in 223/5.56 reloading?

I would say that for 55 gr bullets I bought 3 powders to experiment with to see if I could pick a clear winner. I've used Ramshot TAC, Ramshot X-Terminator, and H335. After testing lots of loads, I can say that I don't see one bit of difference. They all have similar load data, and they all have comparable velocities and accuracy. So if you're thinking about another powder, I think Varget is a great place to start.

I wish I had some, but it's been unobtainable for months now. I understand it's very versatile for a number of rifle calibers. Like you, I'm going to get some if and when it becomes available.

The only 62 grain bullets I've shot are factory hollow points that I keep around for defense rounds, so I can't help you with powder choices there. Good luck with finding components. I hope this ends soon.

__________________
What could possibly go wrong?

*********************************************

A classic .223 load:

Powder: W748 your reloading manual will give specific load data for powder charge and col!
Bullet: 55 grain
COL: 2.225-2.50
SRP: Some people will say to use the harder primers for AR's I've not experienced issues with standard SRP from CCI/ Winchester or Federal.

I consider case preparation and reloading as two separate operations.

Years ago like in the above post I had to "tweak" adjustment to get consistent primer pockets. Not all cases start out with the same crimp!

SB dies are not normally required but once again some tweaking might be required with standard dies since some chambers are TIGHT. Even .001-.002 at the base can cause head space issues! I found I have to turn my die in an additional 1/4 turn after the die kisses the shell holder. Seems to be a carbide die thing!!! Be sure to have a stuck case removal too handy!

After resizing I trim to the minimum and find my brass seems to stay below max for 5-6 loadings but I still run all brass through my trimmer tool just in case! Inspection here finds split case necks!

As mentioned above "bumping the shoulder back" and "bullet jump" can be addressed as need arises.

Crimping may or may not contribute to accuracy in your gun.

At 74 and with nerve damage I no longer compete but my personal "smiles" come with banging 8-10 inch steel at 200 yards with aperture sights!

Well, you already have my favorite powder. I am not that big a fan of Varget, but have had good results with IMR-8208XBR, Accurate 2230, 2015 and 2460. I plan to try some Accurate 2520 once powder becomes more available.
As for other bullets, you really should try some 69 gr match bullets from Sierra or Nosler. Not sure your 1in 9” twist will stabilize the 75 or 77 gr BTHP Match bullets. My favorite all purpose bullet is the 62 gr BTHP from Hornady that is only available in bulk from MidSouth Shooters Supply. You might also be pleasantly surprised with accuracy and effectiveness on small varmints of the 40 and 50 gr plastic tipped bullets from Hornady and Nosler.
I also recommend a primer pocket swage gage to measure your primer pockets to determine in they will accept a new primer without swaging or reaming, as well as determining if a primer pocket has expanded to the point of leaking, which case should be discarded or recycled as scrap brass.

Swage Gage (R) Small Primer Pocket Gauge

As far as removing crimp in primer pockets, I have the Frankfort Arsenal Case Prep Center and bought a crimp removal attachment for it. All of my brass is mixed range pick ups. I put every piece through the crimp removal attachment. If it doesn’t need crimp removal it doesn’t cut anything so I know I’m good to go. I’m just making paper punching ammo and I’ve loaded probably 1000 with no problems. I do use a Lee factory crimp die even though I’ve been told it’s not really necessary. Doesn’t add any real time to the process since I only load 50 rounds or so at a time.

I never found my RCBS swager to work very well either. I went to a reamer bit and adj speed drill. I don't think my swager has been used in 5 years.

__________________
That's just somebody talkin.

also want to start reloading the 223 rem. it just seems scarce is the word. thank all for their info. great thread.

As I recall, there wasn't really any adjustment. Just set it up, bottom it out and done. I'm shortly going to start on a couple thousand more so I'll be revisiting the issue.

__________________
Just Say No - To Social Media

No adjustment on that one.

I think the problem may be the brass returns to it's original size to some degree. Just a theory.

__________________
That's just somebody talkin.

As with the degree of crimp on a loaded cartridge, no standard exists. Light, moderate, and heavy crimp means different things to different people.

Wit the RCBS primer pocket swager, there are different degrees of "bottoming out". As I recall, I found the first "bottoming out" (and maybe the second or third) wasn't sufficient to remove the crimp. Whether the "spring" in a press has anything to do with this, I don't know but would suspect it might.

My experience as well. I've gotten to the point that if the primer pockets have crimps, I've thought about just tossing them. It's a hassle swaging pockets.

__________________
What could possibly go wrong?

If I threw away every .223 case I got that had a crimped primer pocket I'd have nothing left to speak of.

The overwhelming majority of the used/fired brass I've been able to find locally has crimped primer pockets.

That's good in a way because then, at least, I know they're once fired brass.

You won't have to un-crimp primer pockets as often if you use a brass catcher to save your work.

Length trimming, that's seems to be another story.

.

On the subject of crimping the bullet, I loaded some dummy rounds (no primer or powder) when I first started loading for the ARs, to do some tests with them.

Rounds with no crimp that were chambered from the magazine, & ejected, either had the bullet slightly pushed into the case (shorter COAL") or the bullet was out farther (longer COAL") than before chambering.

The round being force up the ramp & into the chamber would either push the bullet into the case farther, or, having been slammed into the chamber & stopped abruptly show bullet creep (jump crimp).

By reducing the diameter of the expander ball on the sizer die a few thousandths & crimping them with Lee's Factory Crimp (collet crimp) die those issues were eliminated when the same test was repeated in my AR.

.

__________________
Waiting for the break of day

While straying a bit from the ordinary, the only time am expanding 223 necks is when the brass needs trimmed. Even then use a neck sizer afterward to squeeze it back down. Yes the case mouths need chamfered. The bullets are seated with Redding comp seater to keep em straight with an increased interference fit. A very light LFC is used to ensure no case mouth irregularity, but no real crimp applied. There are certainly other ways of doing things, and a good comp seater costs a not inconsiderable amount of coin.

BLUEDOT37 brings up the excellent point of using dummy rounds for testing your hand loading procedure, and that bullet pull can also affect your rifle rounds.

And that Sir....Is your opinion.....We have ours too.

__________________
S&W Accumulator

I'm just the opposite, I started out loading 5.56 ammo and then moved to pistol calibers, and in the 5 or so short years I've been reloading I've loaded a few tens of thousands of 5.56 rounds and have never used a small base die. My first die set was the Lee deluxe 4 die set and thinking I wanted something a step up bought a Forster full length sizing die and a Forster bullet seating die with the micrometer adj, I use the Lee dies more than the "better" ones. Yeah the Forsters are fine but the Lee dies make great ammo too and are way less fiddly.
I never heard of a small base die until a year or two into reloading and never had a single issue, one of those ignorance is bliss things I guess.

Just read as much as you can stand about reloading quality ammo, read about the basics, study the basics and then apply the basics. Keep it simple and dont get lost in the marketing.

I have found that reloading .223/5.56 brass can sometimes be tricky. I have been finding brass that was bulged at the very base of the cartridge, making impossible to properly load into the chamber gauge. The solution I found was/is the Redding Competition Shellholder Set. It saves your brass after firing a hot load, AND it allows you to reload someone else's fired brass by resizing the chamber head space completely to the base of the brass.



The Redding Compeition Shellholder Kit #10 consists of five shellholders in varying heights with increments of .002". Allows you to increase or decrease the case to chamber headspace without adjusting the dies. Storage box included.

A lot of good information here, so I’ll only add a couple of things to watch out for. First, all military cases and some civilian have a crimped in primer pocket.you will need to remove that before you can seat a new primer. There are both simple and complex tools to do that, but you only have to do it once. The other thing I would mention is to use lube sparingly, especially around the neck and shoulder. Too much lube in thise areas can result in oil dents in tha shoulder of the case. They don’t really hurt anything, and will ne removed on firing the round, but they are unsightly, so might as well start off right to begin with.

Good luck!

Always ready to help a brother out! Especially from SE Pittsburg!

PM if you need brass!

Smiles,

Alternative to the small base die! The problem with carbide dies is the inability (by design) to fully size cases on some die/press combinations. Carbide dies have a ring that shouldn't contact the shell holder. IE. Progressive press vs. single stage even by the same manufacturer.

Smiles,

Powder accuracy in order with 55 gr. CFE223, W748, Varget, H335, BLC2 bullet weight may change the order

I reload my .223 .556 and .308 ammo and lube with an aerosol lubricant if you dont you will have problems with the cases sticking in the die.