Dillon carbide! If you are going for match ammo, I would look at bushing dies.
Dillon carbide dies are for high volume loaders, those loaders who load enough to wear out a steel sizer die in short order.
Dillon carbide! If you are going for match ammo, I would look at bushing dies.
I have a set of "normal" RCBS full length .223 dies and I have never needed anything else. If you buy quality dies and adjust them correctly you won't need gimmick, ummm, I mean small base dies. (IMO of course)
Bushing dies without expanders do make straighter case necks resizing brass than standard dies with expanders. Just don't be hyped into the marketing ploy makers of bushing dies claim. RCBS and Reddijng bushing dies size most of the fired case neck, but stop several thousanths short of sizing all the way to the shoulder. That unsized part of the case neck is claimed to better center the round in the chamber; an untrue statement. It does help centering before the bolt's closed on it, but the round's not fired with the bolt open.
Bottleneck cases headspacing on their shoulder perfectly center their front end in the chamber when something pushes them there to fire it, it's always the firing pin and sometimes an inline ejector pushing the case forward against the chamber shoulder when loaded. The case shoulder perfectly centers in the chamber shoulder; doesn't matter how much clearance there is between the case neck and chamber neck. The case neck floats clear of any contact with the chamber neck when the round's fired. Any amount of off center case necks will also off center the bullet relative to the bore.
Full length bushing dies don't center the sized case neck quite as perfect on the case shoulder as standard full length dies with their necks opened up to a couple thousandths smaller than a loaded round's neck diameter. The difference is small and typically isn't noticed until the rifle shoots ammo into sub 1/4 MOA groups at 100 yards.
While I do not, and have not, ever advised anyone to use a bushing die for AR 15 reloading, bushing dies are are reasonably easy to use. Not rocket science, that's for sure.Not a lot of experienced reloaders know how to properly use bushing dies and no noobs at all - not a slam, just a fact. Bushing dies incorrectly used - and from what I read on the 'net, many are - can leave case necks 'bent' about as badly as any others; straight necks just aren't as easy to obtain as saying "buy a bushing die" makes it sound. And saying it to a new guy suggests a significant lack of experience.