Ok, recommend a die set and brand and type for .223

Most my dies are Redding and one honaday set.
I havent used any bushing dies yet, but thats on the list for some of my other calibers also

Mine are Redding..

For neck sizing, I recommend a Lee Collet sizer. Either Redding or Forster for a seater.

Well, If you shoot a lot of 223 like I do..

dies are a cheap part of the investment..

I have a set of RCBS, The Lee Deluxe Set with the Neck Sizing Die ( those are really worth having in a 223, you can double your brass life or more!)... and then a set of Back Up Lee RGB ( really great buy) dies for $10.00....

The Lee's do some things better than the RCBS and vice/versa...

The RGB dies are just a plain cheap investment for a back up.. I have about 10 sets of them for the various calibers I shoot....

In ALL of my major calibers that I shoot, I have a Lee Deluxe Set and an RCBS set..
Considering the price of bullets, $50.00 per caliber is pretty cheap investment!

My .223 setup is a Dillon 650 with case feeder....and it's slick and uses Dillon's carbide dies!

If I were to set up a single stage or something without a case feeder I'd opt for Lee dies as I'vefound them to be less costly and fully adequate to the job!

I would recomend Redding Full Length S bushing dies. This way you can control the headspace using the stoney point headspace gage for the chamber and still control neck tension by changing bushing size. This is what I do.

Doc , I was thinking of getting the redding full lenghth size die with the neck bushing, So I can just neck size or also full length size with with a neck bushing, Instead of justgetting their neck size only bushing die.

Im curious about the Lee collets everyone likes

How does The Lee collet die work? Is the neck sizeing adjustable on how much it squeezes the neck? Instead of seperate size bushings used in other dies? Is part of the die aluminum? I thought I read the neck part was aluminum???

I cant make out how it works from this diagram

http://www.leeprecision.com/graphics/shoppingcart/patents.jpg

+1 for Redding

For sizing .223 I have:
Lee
RCBS
Redding "S" FL
(3) Forster FL honed out to different neck diameters.

I think in bushings, I like .246"
In honed necks, I like .245"

In .223 seaters I have:
Lee
RCBS
Forster Ultra seater [sliding sleeve, micrometer]
Bonanza benchnrest [sliding sleeve]


I don't think it is the dies as much as the skill of the operator.[Take out the expander ball, chamfer the neck, bump the shoulder back .001", seat the bullet straight, seat the bullet so it touches the lands, use good bullets, use a 40X scope, no Copper fouling, no hot barrel warping, no stock touching barrel, rifle is held the same way for each shot, the cross hairs are horizontal with target, and go on a day with no wind]

I have got repeated sub moa 5 shots at 100m with 8mm surplus rifles, Sierra bullets, and RCBS plain vanilla dies.

And .223 is allot easier to get groups with than 8mm.

Redding "S" dies are not good for me with factory chambers.

I have a .250" neck .223 reamer that makes chambers that will work with the floating bushing.

But with the SAAMI chamber I like a FL die with the expander ball removed. [Or the neck lapped out enough so the expander ball slips through without causing a bent neck]

#1 - forester #2 redding #3 RCBS

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
My .223 setup is a Dillon 650 with case feeder....and it's slick and uses Dillon's carbide dies!

If I were to set up a single stage or something without a case feeder I'd opt for Lee dies as I'vefound them to be less costly and fully adequate to the job!

Question about the Dillon carbide dies, do you still use lube on the case even though its carbide. Thanks

Years ago, I had a situation where a regular set and a small base set of RCBS dies would not size .223 brass suficient to load them back into the chamber of the AR-15 they had initially been fired in. I called Redding and asked them if they sold small base dimension dies. Mr. Weebe, the owner said "no" and I asked why. He said "Because we make them right in the first place". Anybody who produces a product has a right to feel the superiority of his product but, I took it with a grain of salt but, did order a set of his dies. Long story short, they worked slicker than OS. Put me down for the Reddings.

Strange how some people have problems with certain company's products or services and others don't !.

I've never had any problems with RCBS or Redding or Dillon . I use them all . I use mostly neck sizing dies . I have purchased those new ( to me any way ) X-FL RCBS dies . I like them !.

I use lube even on my carbide dies !. Never hurts .

Shoot straight know your target . ...

GSP7 When I set up my dies, I measure 10 cases that have been fired in my gun with the stony point headspace gage. I find the average fired headspace. Then I start to screw the dies down and you first start to size the case you will see the headspace start to get a little longer. Now start to turn the die a little bit at a time and keep measuring the headspace. When it is .002 smaller for BOLT GUN or .004 for a SEMIAUTO of the fired cases dimension I lock the dies. If you try to go tighter then this you will not leave enough room for the gun to operate properly without gauling the locking lugs.

I dont have any head space trouble, I neck size with My redding full size dies, and bump back the shoulder a bit as needed every 3 or 4 loads.

Im just switching to either a bushing die or a lee collet for my neck sizeing

I'm new to reloading the .223 but I finally bought a Stevens model 200 and I found a set of the Lee dies for $10 in a closing-business gunshop. I full-length resize and I'm up to three firings on a few cases. I haven't had anything to trim so far and I have no complaints about the dies. Most of my other dies are RCBS and I see no difference when it comes to the finished product.

GSP7, I have also used the Redding competition neck sizing die and now mostly use the Redding full length S die. But I always use the Redding competition seater die. My Rem 40X in .223Rem. has shot a .204inch five shot group at 100yds. in a benchrest match. Load is Norma case, Fed205M primer, 25grs.Varget, Sierra 80gr.LIGHTLY MOLY COATED no wax.