Some pistol measures, or measures with pistol inserts, will drop enough powder to load .223. Check and you'll know about yours. If it won't handle .223, hopefully it can accept a "rifle" insert that will work.
While lubing cases is more trouble than using carbide dies with no lube for pistol calibers, it isn't a real big deal. I use RCBS Case Lube II and Imperial. Either can be applied by hand. I put a little RCBS lube on my left pointer and middle finger and use them along with my thumb to wipe the cases as I feed them. Doesn't take much, just a fine film on most of the case. If you put too much on the shoulder you can get "lube dents". Same thing if you get carried away with the body, but it has to be really overdone there. then just tumble it off after sizing. Or rinse it off, or wipe it off, but tumbling is easy.
Trimming is more critical. Trim to 1.750 and trim again if they get to 1.260. It may take two or three firings with new soft brass, to 4 or 5 firings with more used cases which have work hardened a bit. just have to check them. I use a
Possum Hollow trimmer chucked up in a lathe. It works great and is fast. You have to deburr and chamfer afterwards, just as you would if you used a
Forster or
RCBS hand trimmer. The
Wilson is a good one as well. The Giraud and Gracey trimmers deburr and chamfer as they trim, and are fast, and a bit pricy, but are the way to go if you do boatloads of .223.
Another thing to keep an eye on are signs of case head separation. Proper sizing will go a long way to keeping this from happening. You should be able to wear the brass out due to loose primer pockets etc without signs of incipient case head separation.
You can use a
paper clip or other tool with a little bend on the end to feel inside the case for the "rut" that is a sure sign of impending separation.
When sizing for autos, sizing to fit
a case gauge will keep you out of trouble. It will make sure your length is OK, but more importantly, that
your headspace (assuming a proper chamber) is OK. Excessive headspace, whether mechanical or artificially induced by pushing the shoulder back to far, will cause case stretching and case head separations.
Using a case gauge for bolt guns works great as well, but many of us like to size to fit the gun with bolt guns, keeping case stretching at an even smaller amount, by "partial" full length sizing. Just push the shoulder back enough to chamber.
Primer pockets in .223 are often crimped, which is not a problem (usually) when decapping, but it is when repriming. We must remove the crimp so we can prime them again. There are cheap and easy ways, like this
Hornady tool which I have. I chuck it up in a drill press. Then there is what is considered the best, the
Dillon Super Swage. How many cases you will do doing will determine what you need, or are willing, to spend on a tool.
I probably missed something, but this should help. AC