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Posted: 5/5/2016 10:37:38 AM EDT
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When my new press gets here, after a while, I’d like to get into more serious .223 loading. I’ve loaded a handful of .223 in the past but always found it very tedious compared to straight walled pistol casings. It looks like the cost to reload is also about 2/3 the cost of new brass-cased ammo so there’s less ROI as compared to 9mm which I make for about ½ the cost of factory ammo.
The RCBS X-die seems like it eliminates the trimming/chamfering/deburring which makes bottleneck loading so tedious. I don’t see why you couldn’t load in a single pass (like handgun ammo) using the X-die. But with the X-die you have to trim your brass to a uniform length the first go-around. No big deal. Here is my theoretical process for .223 loading: 1.Fire factory ammo OR range pick-up brass. 2.Brass is resized, trimmed, deburred and chamfered in the normal manner. 3.Brass is then loaded in the normal manner. 4.Then the case heads of the newly loaded ammo is marked (color entire base with large permanent marker) and boxed. 5.Reloaded ammo is fired. 6.Any brass collected with the case heads marked as described are then reloaded using the X-die in a single pass. a.tumble b.size / deprime (prime on downstroke) c.charge d.seat e.FCD (if desired) From then on out, my pool of marked brass would be loaded as described in step 6 above. When I run low on marked brass through loss or wear, I revert back to step 1 create brass ready to size in the X-die again. Does this process make sense or is there something I am missing? |
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I have a power trimmer and hit them every time they get resized. It's quicker than measuring then trimming as needed. It's also a no-brainer knowing that every case is 1.750" long.
The X-die is weird IMO simply because they want you to trim the crap out of the case the first time and then claim it slows the growth. If I trim the crap out of cases and use my regular dies they take a lot longer to grow as well. I think .223 is much easier to reload than pistol cases if one is stuck using a single stage for both. Too many steps when loading handgun ammo for a single stage press. |
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You don't "trim the crap out of the casings" for initial X-Die set up. Don't mislead people.
You have to understand the tool to know the reason for the initial trimming. Some people set up their X-Dies with brass trimmed to normal trim length. These people report that their X-Die controlled case lengths end up being close to maximum trim length. If you trim according to the directions which is only .010" under normal trim length your brass will eventually settle down right near the recommended trim length. Motor |
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I just bought a set for that reason. The directions for the dies specify .020" under the trim length. I haven't worked through enough to reload them a second time, but I will be sure to follow up on the purchase.
Your initial list is spot on how I planned it (right down to marking the cases to make for easy sorting). |
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Quoted:
I just bought a set for that reason. The directions for the dies specify .020" under the trim length. I haven't worked through enough to reload them a second time, but I will be sure to follow up on the purchase. Your initial list is spot on how I planned it (right down to marking the cases to make for easy sorting). This is incorrect, you should read those instructions again. http://stevespages.com/pdf/rcbs_dies_xdie.pdf Here is what they say. PREPARING YOUR CASES All cases must be sized and trimmed to the same overall length. For the best results, full-length resize each case and trim to .020” under maximum case length. .020 under Max case length, not .020 under "trim-to-length". . |
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Don't forget about swaging. Mil brass will need to be swaged or have the crimp cut out. I still do it in two passes. First pass deprimes, swages, resizes and trims. Then they get cleaned. Second pass has a decapper (ensures primer pocket is clear), primes, drops powder, seats the bullet and crimps. |
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