I am brand new to reloading. This might be my only problem.
I am trying to resize some range pickup brass using the hornady new series 2 die set in .223. Heres what I do:

Raise the ram fully.
Seat my die until it touches the shell plate.
Lower the shell plate
Set my extractor/ expander rod about 1/4 inch below the die. ( just to the point it punches out a primer)
Lubed my cases and let the alcohol on them dry leaving just lube
raise the case in to the die, pops a primer out, takes a little force to resize, but doesnt get stuck or anything, just feels tight.
Then I measure my case to compare to the measurements I took before resizing.

I started with a case that is exactly 1.760" as specified at proper dimension in my hornady manual
When I finish resizing, the case comes out usually 1.765 or 1.768... sometimes even a little higher.
What gives? It seems now my case is too long.
Does anybody have any input for this issue? I have tried setting the die 1/4 turn further against the shellplate, and also backing it up 1/4 turn OFF the shellplate but nothing changes. The case stays over the spec length.
I tried removing the expander ball and primer plunger, and I still get the same result.

I can conclude one of two things:
1. I need to trim the case down to 1.760 AFTER sizing or
2. I'm retarded and I am simply doing something wrong

Please help me. My pistol rounds come out great, this is my first attempt at .223 and Id hate to blow my AR upor hurt myself or someone else.

Welcome to AR

Trim after sizing

What Ted said - trim after resizing. It will also help some if you use a nylon brush to clean the inside necks of your cases before resizing and also lube the inside of the case necks before you resize.

Something I do with all new die sets is to polish the expander ball. Chuck the stem in a cordless drill and use a small piece of 400 then 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper with a few drops of oil on the spinning expander ball.

These steps will cut down on the friction when the expander ball is dragged through the neck of the case.

Welcome to AR.

+2 for always trim after sizing.

Light a candle (away from the bench & powder) hold a .223 case that has been fired in your rifle by the base of the case and put the neck of the case directly above the flame. You'll see it begin to soot. Blacken the neck & shoulder well (it may get hot depending on how long you hold it in the flame). Lube the remainder of the case and begin to size it.

You can easily see to adjust the Die when when the soot will be off of the neck and exactly down to the neck/shoulder junction.

Voilá, Die adjusted for your rifle; yes, you've got the primer pin adjusted @ right, too..

Then trim.

Don't forget to swage all those milsurp primer pockets, no primer seating without this being done..just use commercial brass for now, less problems, I would send you a 100 1X cases all same head stamp to begin your journey into reloading. r in w

For my AR15 I trim -.020 and never ever trim again

BTW I dont crimp

Yeah, don't get too hung up on case length on a .223, which I suspect you are shooting out of an AR. Trim them a bit short and forget about them. If you are bench rest shooting, ok but I think you aren't. No need to crimp on a 223 either. It is hard to blow up an AR, and even if you do, no one ever gets hurt. Usually.They are very safe rifles to blow up.

Eric: Cases always grow a bit in length when full length size with a conventional sizing die. As the die presses the case back to its original dimensions the brass must go somewhere, so it flows forward, making the case a few thousandths longer. Also, as the expander ball drags back through the case neck as you with draw the case from the die it causes a bit of lengthening. The lengthening you are seeing, about .005" to .008" is pretty typical. That is why brass must be trimmed to around .010 short of its "maximum" listed case length so that you can shoot it several times before it need trimming again.

You can minimize case stretching by "partial full length sizing" in which you set the die off of the shell holder by a few hundredths so as not to push the shoulder back. You can also minimize or eliminate case stretching by using a sizing die like the Lee Collet die or various bushing dies. However, these dies usually only work reliably with bolt action rifles as you may find difficulty in chambering a non-full length sized case in an auto or other action type.

Thanks for all the info yall. I like that candle trick to seat the die to the correct depth. I shoot all the time and I can;t justify spending 500$ per 1000 rounds so time to make it myself. I bought a dillon super swage today to take care of those primer pockets and I'll start looking in to some case trimmers.
Pistol rounds are nice, quick,and easy. This .223 is going to be time consuming but it sure feels awesome to shoot ammo you assembled yourself.
Thanks to all of you for your quick responses. Time to go polish up that expander ball!

1.760 is shown as the max length. The "trim to" length is 1.750. Trim your cases back to that or a bit shorter or you'll be going at it all the time.
Did I read somewhere that milsup .223 brass did not have the primer crimped in????

I had some federal that has crimped primers also I had a lot of left over CBC brass. That has the 3 crimped indents on it. That super swage is going to be awesome.

All 5.56mm brass used by the US has crimped in primers. As for the partial sizing thing in your AR; might not/probably won't work as the bolt won't close on even a slightly long shoulder length round, and when you size them, the shoulder moves forward. So, FLR for your AR for reliability. Bolt action; ok.