I have never loaded .223 because I have had several thousand rounds of ammo. That's about all shot up now and it's time to reload. I have a Dillon 550 press, but I don't really enjoy loading rifle caliber on it, so I bought a Redding T-7 for $160. Now I need dies. The reason for my question is thatI ran into trouble using Lee dies on my Dillon years ago because Lees are so short. I read somewhere that the Lees are hard to use on a Hornady LNL Progressive also. Then I read that Lee has lengthened their dies.
What .223 dies are the best? Do I need to use the Lyman M Die, Lee FCD or Redding Profile, or just a set of Dillons or Redding, or some mix, or what?
What dies are best? Do I need to use the Lyman M Die, Lee FCD, or Redding Profile, or just a set of any brand throughout the whole set?
I ask this because I use a mix of dies on almost all my calibers. For example for .30-30, I use the Dillon sizing die, Lyman M Die, Hornady seater, and Lee FCD. After trying several ways of loading the .30-30 I found this setup make the best cartridges the fastest with the least mistakes.
BTW, I know some people don't understand why some of us mix dies. No need to mention it because we have our reasons.
Thank you for any help you can be.

For .223 on my RL550 I use the Lee collet neck sizing die (the best neck sizing die I have found by far to date), and the Redding Competition Seater. I have also used the Lee seater that comes with the collet die set, and, frankly, it works about as well as the Redding CS for "blasting" ammo. For serious long range ammo, I switched to the Redding CS, and now use that exclusively, since it is paid for.

However, unless you are switching between more than one .223, you will need only the collet die. If you need to full length resize, the Lee full size die in the deluxe set works very well. If I get once fired brass at a gun show, I clean and full length size it, then pass it through the collet die before charging and seating.

Forster dies. Neck sizing, FL, and the Forster BR Ultra seating die.

K&M Expandiron, K&M Chamfer tool, while your at it.

Case Master runout gauge, Sierra MK's and your all set...sakofan...Good luck!!

Thanks.
You guys are awesome.
I gotta post here more often. You know exactly what I do and why I do it. Ya gotta love that. Thank you so very much. I will try all I can afford. I love to experiment and keep trying for the "perfect" round.

The above is what I use to get some super ammo. Iam talking run out consistantly around .001-.002. Not bad. I give credit to the Forster Ultra seater for most of that. And the K&M Expandiron..sakofan..

[ 11-27-2003, 04:44: Message edited by: sakofan ]

I'll have to look up those items. Do you use a Forster press also. I hear they are darned good. I use a Dillon progressive (550), but I'm going to start using a turret and single stage to get the good varmint bullets.
Thanks very much

quote:

---

Originally posted by sakofan:
The above is what I use to get some super ammo. Iam talking run out consistantly around .001-.002. Not bad. I give credit to the Forster Ultra seater for most of that. And the K&M Expandiron..sakofan..

---

I have a feeling that you're loading for a semi-auto. If that's the case, then the Lee dies should work just fine in your Redding press. I've loaded a bunch for my AR-15 and the Lee Dies are all I've used for it. No problems at all.

Rick

I load for bolt, semi, lever in rifles, and revolver and pistol, that's why I have such a mix of dies. For some reason you guys on this site seem to understand all this better than most. Thanks for the info.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sanman:
I have a feeling that you're loading for a semi-auto. If that's the case, then the Lee dies should work just fine in your Redding press. I've loaded a bunch for my AR-15 and the Lee Dies are all I've used for it. No problems at all.

Rick

---

For 223:
I DO use my RCBS decapping die.
I DO use my Forster Full Length die with the expander ball/ decapping stem removed [mostly].
I DO use my Lee collet die [sometimes].
I DO use my Forster Ultraseater die.

I DO NOT use my RCBS small base die set.
I DO NOT use my Lee RGB die set.

--
A society that teaches evolution as fact will breed a generation of atheists that will destroy the society. It is Darwinian.

[ 11-27-2003, 20:03: Message edited by: Clark ]

Clark, I'm such a novice I don't know how, as in what stage (station) in the press you use each die. I'm assuming you decap with the RCBS, then go from there. Is this on a progressive, turret, or single stage. Thank you. This is valuable info for me.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Clark:
For 223:
I DO use my RCBS decapping die.
I DO use my Forster Full Length die with the expander ball/ decapping stem removed [mostly].
I DO use my Lee collet die [sometimes].
I DO use my Forster Ultraseater die.

I DO NOT use my RCBS small base die set.
I DO NOT use my Lee RGB die set.

--
A society that teaches evolution as fact will breed a generation of atheists that will destroy the society. It is Darwinian.

---