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Posted: 2/8/2011 9:23:22 AM EDT
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My father-in-law bought me some full length RCBS .223 sizing dies for christmas and I'm excited to start using them. So I already own a set of full length dies, but reading some of the marketing about the small base dies makes me wonder.
Are the RCBS Small Base Sizing Dies necessary when reloading for the 5.56? Reading some of the descriptions (especially in the Speer Reloading Manual) makes it sound like they are trying to say "You MUST use these dies in your semi-auto! OMGWTFBISCUIT! You're seriously considering NOT using these dies!? YOU'RE GOING TO DIEEEEEE!" But considering that the chamber dimensions for the 5.56 are a tad looser than for the .223, it makes me think that small base dies for the .223 would size the cases just a little looser than is necessary for the 5.56 chamber. I dunno... what say ye oh wisdom of the ARFCOM? |
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I have Lee dies and have not had a issue on 3 different rifles all ar15.
Some swear you dont need small if you adjust the dies correctly. Some swear small base is required for their rifle. I would just use them. If you run into issues then worry about small base. |
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I have been using a small base die with good results for many years. Running the ammo in multiple rifles without trouble.
Getting good brass life and no complaints. I just switched to using the X die and have high hopes to cut down on the brass prep time. You may not need the small base dies, but I run them just to ensure any of my rifles will run the ammo loaded........ |
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Quoted:
My father-in-law bought me some full length RCBS .223 sizing dies for christmas and I'm excited to start using them. So I already own a set of full length dies, but reading some of the marketing about the small base dies makes me wonder. Are the RCBS Small Base Sizing Dies necessary when reloading for the 5.56? Reading some of the descriptions (especially in the Speer Reloading Manual) makes it sound like they are trying to say "You MUST use these dies in your semi-auto! OMGWTFBISCUIT! You're seriously considering NOT using these dies!? YOU'RE GOING TO DIEEEEEE!" But considering that the chamber dimensions for the 5.56 are a tad looser than for the .223, it makes me think that small base dies for the .223 would size the cases just a little looser than is necessary for the 5.56 chamber. I dunno... what say ye oh wisdom of the ARFCOM? I like your Avatar-that's a hell of a manly sandwich sir! To answer your question I have used both and have never had a failure to feed with either a FL or SB 223 die. Stick with the full length-consider getting a Redding FL Sizer with a carbide expander ball so you dont have to worry about lubing the inside of the case mouth. The more important item to have is a 223 Head Space Gauge, which should be used BOTH at the time you setup your size die and later after resizing before you do any case prep. Those cases that won't gauge should be saved in a five gallon pail and clearly marked scrap. Once the pail is full you can take it to your scrap metal dealer and get $40-$50. 
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No. Skip them until you KNOW you need one. If you have too tight a chamber, you may jam a reloaded round about 1/2" out of battery that takes a wrecking bar to clear.
I have a 24" heavy barrel I bought in the mid 80's from Oly, I *think*.. It is a great barrel other than a tendancy to walk in cold weather and that too tight a chamber. While I shot this barrel, I SB resized everything .223 to avoid this problem. When I stopped shooting it, I went back to regular dies. I did not notice a decrease in case life or accuracy using the SB die, but the less sizing on a case the better. YMMV. |
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Size a few rounds from each die and measure the bases.
I did this with some 30-06 brass because I thought it was a good idea to use SB die for my, new to me, M1 Garand. The variation turned out to be .001 small base with the RCBS SB die. My FL die is also an RCBS that I have been using for more than 30 years. |
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Quoted:
My father-in-law bought me some full length RCBS .223 sizing dies for christmas and I'm excited to start using them. So I already own a set of full length dies, but reading some of the marketing about the small base dies makes me wonder. Are the RCBS Small Base Sizing Dies necessary when reloading for the 5.56? Reading some of the descriptions (especially in the Speer Reloading Manual) makes it sound like they are trying to say "You MUST use these dies in your semi-auto! OMGWTFBISCUIT! You're seriously considering NOT using these dies!? YOU'RE GOING TO DIEEEEEE!" But considering that the chamber dimensions for the 5.56 are a tad looser than for the .223, it makes me think that small base dies for the .223 would size the cases just a little looser than is necessary for the 5.56 chamber. I dunno... what say ye oh wisdom of the ARFCOM? Use your standard dies, properly adjusted they will work fine. |
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I've always wanted a reason to try small base dies but I've never found that reason.
I load .223 for ARs and a Remington 700 Varmint Special and I used to load for Mini-14s. You would think that the tight .223 chamber in the tack driving Varmint Special would have flushed out a reason for small base dies but all it did was make me pay closer attention to the regular sizing die adjustments. If you want to buy something you can really use get a .223 case gauge. |
| I have standard dies for .223, no issues. I bought a small base .308 to start and don't have any issues, but not sure if I needed it. I did find I needed small base for .3006 fired from my M1. The base of the case was not getting sized down enough to consistently pass checking with a case gauge. All the brass was getting the shoulder bumped enough with standard dies, but some wouldn't go into the case gauge. Got a small base die and the problem was solved. |
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Quoted:
I have been using a small base die with good results for many years. Running the ammo in multiple rifles without trouble. Getting good brass life and no complaints. I just switched to using the X die and have high hopes to cut down on the brass prep time. You may not need the small base dies, but I run them just to ensure any of my rifles will run the ammo loaded........ I run the small base X-dies for my .308... for an auto (or semi-auto) with a tight chamber, it's not a bad idea to use small base dies. Some guns may not need them... I like the extra insurance of knowing it will chamber in a gun with a dirty and tight chamber (like my M1a after many rounds) and a clean bolt gun. |
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