Dies for reloading for AR15

[callgood]

I have reloaded pistol now for about a year and a half and am hoping to begin reloading .223 Remington this year, using a Forster CoAx press. My question regards dies.

I like my Redding dies. They show a set with a 1- full body die, 2- a neck sizing die, and 3- a seater. I know I need to full length size, but do body dies also set neck tension, or would this set be used to 1- full lenght size, 2- size again for neck tension 3- seat the bullet?

Both the Neck sizer and seater are micrometer type dies. I have some Redding seating dies for pistol I like and can use to set very precise depths. Once I measure the chamber of my AR these would be great to dial in the OAL.

I have a Sierra tape on reloading, but it doesn't cover this.

Thanks for any advice

 

[azredhawk44]

I like my Redding dies. They show a set with a 1- full body die, 2- a neck sizing die, and 3- a seater. I know I need to full length size, but do body dies also set neck tension, or would this set be used to 1- full lenght size, 2- size again for neck tension 3- seat the bullet?

My Lee full size die sets neck tension...So does my RCBS.

I think neck-only dies are for bolt action rifles that the hand-driven bolt has a camming action that can securely chamber a fire formed case. For that type of rifle, just set neck tension and load the brass again.

For the autoloading rifles, though, full length sizing is necessary since the chamber is a bit sloppier than a bolt action chamber. Also, the brass is extracted with a lot of force while still extremely hot and malleable.

 

[stiles]

Redding sells what they call a body die which resizes the case and bumps the shoulder but doesn't touch the neck, so you would need a neck sizing die to set neck tension after using the body die.

One note on bushing style neck sizing dies, for best results you will want to turn the necks to make sure the necks themselves are concentric.

 

[ocabj]

Once I measure the chamber of my AR these would be great to dial in the OAL.

Unless you plan on single loading rounds that you seat to the lands, 2.260" is where you want to be at for .223/5.56 overall length (so it fits the magazine).

 

[callgood]

Stiles- that is the body die that comes with the set. I wondered if it sized the neck- copy didn't say it did, but didn't rule it out. How much of an improvement will turning the necks achieve in a semi-auto? I have read it will give some, but may not be worth it (a subjective word, "worth").

And I have a single round follower. I thought it would be interesting to try different bullets/lengths. The micrometer feature makes it very easy to reset for my various pistol bullets. I would like to try some of the heavier bullets sometime in the future.

Thanks for the tips!

 

[stiles]

How much of an improvement will turning the necks achieve in a semi-auto? I have read it will give some, but may not be worth it (a subjective word, "worth").

I tend to agree with the statement it will help some but it may not be worth it. If you don't mind 2 steps in sizing you could use a Redding base sizing die to bump the shoulder and a Lee collet sizing die to set neck tension. As long as you get a good die the collet design is pretty good at setting consistent neck tension even when the neck diameter is inconsistent and will be pretty concentric, probably the best you can do without turning necks. I've been kicking around the idea of doing something similar (using the Dillon sizer/case trimmer instead of the base die and setting neck tension with the collet die) to this for my AR but haven't spent the money yet. Oh yea I forgot to mention it but the Redding base dies have no decapping assembly.

And I have a single round follower. I thought it would be interesting to try different bullets/lengths. The micrometer feature makes it very easy to reset for my various pistol bullets. I would like to try some of the heavier bullets sometime in the future.

The Redding seating die is an inline type seater and will align the bullet with the case before pushing the bullet into the neck making the seating operation more concentric. Even if you don't exceed 2.260" OAL different bullets with different ogives will require adjustment of the seating die to keep the OAL dimension the same.

 

[talon660]

Redding bushing neck die in .223

Okay guys, here's a question I haven't seen asked on ANY forum I've searched. I also have the 3 pc. Redding Type S Match die set, along with neck bushing (titanium nitride) sizes in .245, .246, and .247 for various size brass (neck thickness). I am new to reloading, and have never used any thing different on my Forster Co-ax. My AR, and some bolt rifles, dent the case mouth, sometimes quite severely. Now when I body size, there is nothing touching the neck. When I neck size, the only part that touches the neck is what I call the pre-expander, not a true expander (measures .222). This does not expand the case neck like a typical ball or "button" as it is drawn back through the neck (up stroke) after outside neck sizing (downstroke), instead it opens up on the down stroke before outside neck sizing (all on the downstroke). It is not a mandrel like the Sinclair tool (that fits their expander die body). It also pushes into the case mouth as it expands=not good at all. So my question is this: without using a mandrel to open the case neck before sizing with a bushing die (again, no expander button), how are dented/irregular necks removed? I have been told by some reloaders that they use a steel rod to open the necks by hand before neck sizing, but this to me seems like it could open a can of worms by stretching the neck and changing concentricity as well as varying the neck thickness in some spots. I shoot 600 yd. matches with my AR, and the 80 gr. Sierras I use demand a concentric, perfectly sized neck to be accurate enough for winning. Anyone here use a mandrel? Do these have their downsides as well? I don't want to go the expander button route because I don't like what it does to the brass as it pulls it after being taken down so much initially.

 

[mallc]

Carbide Button

I installed Redding's carbide button decapper on my competition neck sizing die. It rounds the case mouth on the down stroke but does not open the mouth on the up stroke after neck sizing. For 90% of my .223 I use the FL die from the deluxe set and simply back it off so it doesn't bump the shoulder back more than necessary. I only use the neck bushing for brass from the same lot that gets fired as a set (started with 200 rounds of new Laupua).

Scott

 

[talon660]

Is this what you use?
http://www.redding-reloading.com/pages/sizebuttons.html

I wished I had looked for that before forking out the bills for the sinclair version. This one looks better, esp. for heavily dented necks.
Guess Sinclair doesn't want to lose sales of their own mandrels and neglected to tell me about this one. I like the tapered mandrel, would like to know if anyone has used it for reloading AR.

Might I ask why you don't use the bushings on all your brass? Why bother getting and using a separate FL die when you have the same thing with adjustable nack sizing?

 

[jpwilly]

I've loaded lots of very accurate Varmint rounds, plinking ammo etc with Lee Dies. You'll need to Full Length resize for AR's IMO and be sure to use CCI primers they have harder cups than most mfg's.

 

[Walkalong]

I use a Redding sizer with a carbide expander ball. I use the Redding seater for blasting/plinking ammo and a Forster seater for anything else.