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Hello people! I'm new to reloading and new to the forum so please excuse this question if its been worn out. I spent about 3 hours reading here but didn't really find the answer that I was looking for. I found so much interesting stuff that I got side tracked. Anyway, I have been trying to gather up everything to get started reloading. I bought an Lee challenger kit last week. I still need to get a set of dies. I'm on a tight budget so they will probably be Lee dies. I'm not sure which ones will be the best for my application though. I plan on reloading .223 rem for use in an Ar 15. I was planning on buying the pacesetter set . It has a full length sizer, factory crimp, and a bullet seater. After doing some reading I have noticed that a lot of people don't crimp. Isn't crimping necessary if they are going to be used in a semi auto? And do I need to use a small base die? My reloads will only be shot out of my Ar 15. | ||
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one of us |
you will not need to crimp as long as you have adaquate neck tension. SB die only if you have a tight chamber. I do crimp my loads and I do use small based dies for my hunting loads in a semi auto. with a rifle that has a bit of recoil the bullet may inch out or be driven in and cause a lot of problems. Dave | |||
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I use standard Redding dies for my AR. I do not use a small base die, and I do not crimp. Unless you are shooting the big bore magnums, it's generally not necessary. | |||
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I would crimp only if it was proven to be needed. Which, in my case, except for the model 94, means I don't crimp. Also, a standard F/L die will take you where you want to go. Don't get too wound up in the aesotherics of reloading until you get your feet on the ground. It looks like you're off to a good start. Aim for the exit hole | |||
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SB dies are not needed unless you have failure to feed. Crimping is a waste of time unless you have a bullet with a crimp groove. The crimp groove has to be in the right place too. Most likely you will make the newbie error of not sizing the case enough and it will jam your rifle. This you will attribute to needing SB dies. The correction is to make sure you have sized the case enough to touch the shoulder and move it back .001 to .002. To measure this you need a gadget or two. Rather than using a gadget, take all of your sized cases and hand feed each one into the breech and make sure the bolt will close on each. If a case does not go completely into battery resize any offending cases until they let it close. | |||
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I use Lee dies to load for my AR15 and I also use the factory crimp die. NRA Life Member HHI Member SCI Member "get busy living... or get busy dying" | |||
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One of Us |
I have a DPMS AR and have not crimped any of my loads nor do I use a small base die Just a FYI the Lee dies are good and I have a couple sets but the "O" ring that gives tension to control the die location is not my fav I prefer a solid locking ring with a cross bolt....Hornsdy dies for me ________________________________________________ Maker of The Frankenstud Sling Keeper Proudly made in the USA Acepting all forms of payment | |||
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Thanks for the advice everyone. I went ahead and ordered the rest of my equipment so I can get started. I decided to go ahead and try the pacesetter dies. The bullets I ordered (horndady Z-max) dont have a groove for crimping so I guess I wont worry about it. Just gonna try it out and see how it goes. The biggest problem that I'm going to have is setting the dies up. I dont have any friends that reload so I'm sure its probably going to take some trial and error. I found a lot of informative videos on YouTube that should help. Thanks, Steve | |||
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YouTube is great but a peice of equipment you didn't mention that I feel to be very important.... Quality Handloading Manuals (Hornady, Nosler, Sierra, ect, ect,) There is a wealth of knowledge in all of those on die set up and the in's and out's of loading safely ________________________________________________ Maker of The Frankenstud Sling Keeper Proudly made in the USA Acepting all forms of payment | |||
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one of us |
No crimp need with proper neck tension of .002" Lee does not make "small base" dies. But will adjust a Fl die to work, if needed. | |||
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When all else fails, follow the instructions. | |||
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| one of us |
Once you've 'read the instructions', of course - try this to get your sizing die set up: With the shellholder and sizer die installed, Take your ram all the way up (handle all the way down). Adjust your sizing die until it is just touching the shellholder. Lube a case that was fired in your rifle, then blacken the neck and shoulder by holding it in the flame of a candle and turning it until the entire neck and shoulder is black. You could use engineer's blue for this - it costs more, but works no better. Now run this case through your sizer die. Inspect the case carefully. Where the die has 'worked' the neck and/or shoulder, you will see shiny brass where there was black soot. You want your die to contact the shoulder ever so slightly. Once it does that, chamber a case in your rifle. If it chambers smoothly and the slide goes into battery completely, you're good to go. If not, screw your die down JUST A TOUCH and go through the whole process again, till it chambers and locks up securely. Once it does, STOP! If you go too far, you may create an excessive headspace situation. After you have fired 10 or 20 rounds, you'll know if each cartridge chambers and locks up nicely. If not, correct it with TINY downward adjustments on your sizing die. It's been a long hard Friday - let me know if I'm not making sense  | |||
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 I was going to but I assumed that there was a learning curve for best results. | |||
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Thanks for the advice Rikkie. That seems like it makes sence to me. You probally saved me a lot of time and wasted cases. | |||
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Thanks for all the advice everyone. I just tracked my order and it should be here on Tuesday. I should have everything needed to get going. Ted. I have a lee modern reloading 2nd edition manual ordered too. I plan on reading it before I start making ammo. Last thing I want to do is hurt someone or blow my gun up | |||
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One thing not mentioned, and not in your kit is a caliper and some kind of case trimmer. Use the caliper to measure your cases AFTER they have been properly sized. If the case is to long it can create dangerous pressures. | |||
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