.223 reloading dies for AR-15

[Sven]

Should I buy small base dies when reloading .223 for an AR-15? I see MidwayUSA has them on sale this month, and I need to buy dies for my M&P15.

Tried do do a search, but I never seem to have luck using search on this board.

 

[boatbum101]

Small base dies are a must for semi / full auto rifles .

 

[Dragon88]

No. Small base dies overwork your brass and they are not needed at all for ARs.

 

[anomad]

I don't use small base dies.

 

[jepp2]

No. Small base dies overwork your brass and they are not needed at all for ARs.

This has been my experience. As long as you adjust your dies to properly bump the shoulder, I find my normal 223 dies work just fine for the AR's (many) I load for.

I have a set of small base dies on my shelf that I have never used.

 

[Sven]

I was wondering about overworking the brass. Thanks for the help!

 

[papajohn428]

I was wondering about overworking the brass. Thanks for the help!

Unless your chamber is oversize or your loads are too hot, you won't need them.

 

[Forrest r]

I’ve never used the sb dies in the 223 either. I used to have to use them for an m1 Garand that was extremely picky.

If you load full house loads & heavy bullets for your ar you won’t have to worry about over working the brass. The primer pockets will start giving out after the 3rd loading.

 

[Treeman]

Likewise. i have found no need for small base dies in loading for ARs......or any other autoloader or pump. SB dies appear to be the solution to a problem that doesn't exist, but I can imagine that once upon a time there were some standard dies that were on the large side of tolerances that someone tried to use to load for an autoloader with a chamber on the tight end of tolerances and a problem occurred. A rare occurrence in my experience.

 

[Dragon88]

The primer pockets will start giving out after the 3rd loading.

Not so for my brass. I have a batch going on 7x firings with no issues.

 

[Forrest r]

7x, what load/bullet are you using?

 

[Jellybean]

To the posters that are not using small base dies, are you using RCBS dies?

 

[G-Mac]

Excuse my lack of knowledge, but what are small base dies? I've reloaded plenty of .223/5.56 rounds using regular Hornady dies.

 

[anomad]

Excuse my lack of knowledge, but what are small base dies? I've reloaded plenty of .223/5.56 rounds using regular Hornady dies.

RCBS Small Base 2-Die Set 223 Remington - MidwayUSA

They just squeeze the case a little tighter. That link says it applies a roll crimp too, which seems odd?

I have Lee and RCBS (standard) 223 dies and they don't leave a roll crimp. I just give the case a little kiss with the Lee FCD for usual blasting ammo anyway.

I've used the Dillon .223 dies and they work fine too.

 

[Jellybean]

Quoted from the Midway link above:

These dies size the body of cases somewhat smaller and set the shoulder back slightly more than a regular full-length sizer die in order to ensure proper functioning in semi-automatic, pump action and lever action rifles.

From what some old guys told me,...what RCBS means by this is that their small base dies do this as compared to THEIR regular full length sizer dies. Their regular dies are made for bolt, single shot and lever actions that can be forced more by the shooter and they do not size the cases down, or back, as much as other brands of dies because of this. If you buy other brands of dies you shouldn't need a small base die.

The roll crimp isn't odd as they are made for autos, semi autos, pumps et. el. and some people like to crimp their bullets in a cannelure.

 

[Dragon88]

From what some old guys told me,...what RCBS means by this is that their small base dies do this as compared to THEIR regular full length sizer dies. Their regular dies are made for bolt, single shot and lever actions that can be forced more by the shooter and they do not size the cases down, or back, as much as other brands of dies because of this.

Incorrect. I use a regular RCBS 223 die and it sizes plenty for both of my ARs. In fact, I don't screw it all the way down and do a minimal full length resize. Rounds drop right into both of the chambers in my guns.

Small base dies are a solution to a problem which 99% of people don't have.

 

[David Sinko]

I use the cheapo Lee .223 die set and never had any problems, and I load quite a bit of steel cases too. I have loaded some brass cases ten times before I stopped counting. I won't push my luck with steel cases, but they can usually be loaded at least three times.

I find that loading for the AR-15 platform is very easy and trouble free. Same with the AK-47. But loading .308 for the various semiautos has been a real nightmare and I have all kinds of sizing issues, even when using small base dies. I can't quite figure it out.

Dave Sinko

 

[Jellybean]

Incorrect. I use a regular RCBS 223 die and it sizes plenty for both of my ARs. In fact, I don't screw it all the way down and do a minimal full length resize. Rounds drop right into both of the chambers in my guns.

Small base dies are a solution to a problem which 99% of people don't have.

Now you are incorrect. The "old guys" worked at RCBS. Just because you don't have the problem doesn't mean the problem doesn't exist, it just doesn't exist in your case. Also, the AR 15 isn't the only semi auto rifle in use.

If you look at RCBS's die list, they don't list small base dies for 7.62X39 because their regular dies for this caliber are already small base. They consider it as an "auto" caliber and don't make a die for specifically for bolt actions.

If every AR 15 is able to use regular RCBS dies with no problems, especially with headspacing, then it might be a good idea to use them instead of their small base or any other brands of regular dies.

 

[jepp2]

To the posters that are not using small base dies, are you using RCBS dies?

I am not using RCBS. After I determined my Lyman die would not provide an adequate shoulder bump unless I shortened the shell holder, I picked up a set of Redding dies. They are REALLY nice. I use a Lyman cartridge gauge to set my die for the shoulder bump.

The Lyman die I had worked fine for bolt action, but left the brass about the same dimension as a "field" AR headspace gauge. So I was having problems with the bolt not closing on some rounds.

 

[silverrado58]

Small base dies are a must for semi / full auto rifles .

My cheapy Lee dies work just fine in my Colt Match Target H-Bar