New to reloading, questions on setup, processing, etc.

[Sticks]

This is my process for .223/5.56 reloading using the Loadmaster in 2 phases, Dillon rapid trim, and some ingenuity.

I get consistent powder drops, COAL, and trims. The Lee Loadmaster does have some issues, which could be easily remedied if Lee would state a few key features in their manual, but not a problem to deal with once you get the feel for it. I have loaded over 4k rounds of 5.56 without having to make one single adjustment or deal with any hangups. Just feed the damn thing.

NO GREIF ABOUT THE PICTURE DATE STAMPS! My camera resets itself if it is not used for more than a week. Buy used (refurb - no warranty/returns) and that is what you get.

First off, my bench (in these photos it is set up for .40) There is no movement in the press/plate, or my bench. Rock solid - trust me.







The process -

Sort and clean. No pics for this. I have near 10k .223/5.56 brass now. I have all my Lake City separated from the misc range .223 scrounging. I mark all my reloads now with a band around the base of the case using a sharpie and my RCBS Trim Mate after I load by placing the base in the outer chamfer bit and a finger tip on the bullet tip, as it rotates I hold the sharpie up to the case and make the band. this is to help ID my brass from others.

Reaming primer pockets used to suck, now it is just another quick process. My marked cases should prevent me from having to ream every time I process the brass, scrounged brass being the exception.

First pass through the press is to deprime, size, trim, and bell the case mouth. Lee universal decapper, Dillon Rapid Trim w/die, and Lyman "M" die to bell the mouth. NOTE - that "M" die expander is threaded into the top half of the die, not machined. It will start to unscrew. I suggest you locktite it or you will be resizing your brass when you finally notice that it has gotten way out of control (in my case around 200 rounds).

A quick note about case lube. I tried both RCBS case slick, Hornady One Shot with absolute zero success, and a number of stuck cases. I inquired around and found that you can make your own lube for about $15 that should last you over half a million (yes, million with an "M") cases. 4oz bottle of Pure Liquid Lanolin, 16oz of 99% isopropyl alcohol, and in my case the RCBS pump spray bottle. Mixed at 8:1 (Alcohol : Lanolin) I have mixed one batch, and the line shown in the spray bottle accounts for around 8k cases lubed.





I pump about 18 shots into a 1 gallon freezer bag, then fill about half way up with brass. hand tumble for 10 seconds or so, then start running them through the press. No dry time for the alcohol. Just grab and go. By the third bag, I only use about 12 pumps (lots of lube still in the bag). If you like your hands soft and supple, go bare handed. I wear nitrile gloves. My callouses are important to me and my job. I need to keep my hands rough and tough.

Now my modified bench. I cut a hole through the mounting plate and welded in a funnel to drop the cases into whatever I choose to catch the brass, loaded rounds, etc. For the rifle brass, the have a tendency to get hung, so in the picture is a piece of Kydex that I formed to funnel them down the chute. Normally I would drop the brass from the first pass straight into one of my tumblers to remove the lube, but they were otherwise occupied cleaning more brass, so into a bucket they went. The hose you see coming off the trimmer goes to a Shop Vac micro (1 gallon) to suck up the brass trimmings.

Normally when I drop into the tumbler (running) when one get's full, I swap out for my second and when it is full, the first batch is clean, dump, separate media, and start over.

I don't run the press real fast. I slow when I approach the top of the ram travel (about the time the case mouth meets the trimmer head) and do a 1 - 2 second finish the stroke and hold for the trimmer. It makes a flat square cut, with very little burring on the inside. The expanding die takes off the little ones, and the tumbler when I clean the lube off finishes it off.









Since my tumblers were still busy, I opted to go ahead and ream the primer pockets out with the brass still lubed. By now they are slightly tacky (won't stick in the dies tacky) and easy to deal with.

My $59 primer pocket reamer. Harbor Freight drill press, Hornady Primer Pocket Reamer, and a couple of pieces of 2x4 drilled down the center at a 23/64", hinged at the back, bolted to the press table, and a couple of handles. This is the BETA version, and also incorporates my shop vac for the Dillon Rapid trim to suck up the brass trimmings (97%) and the occasional case that I flip out wrong.

Set the brass on the table under the bit, close and slightly squeeze and release, lower the drill, into the pocket, then slightly squeeze the blocks just enough to hold the case. Open, rinse and repeat.







This is about half a .50cal ammo can of trimmed brass (700ish). Takes the same amount of time, maybe slightly longer than a run through the LM, to ream the pockets.



Once they are cleaned they get loaded in the usual fashion. Deprimer in 1, sizing die backed way out in 2 for centering over the primer, powder drop in 3 using 2 micrometer charge bars, bullet seat in 4, Lee factory crimp in 5 and out & down the hole. Every 200 rounds (1 primer tray fill) I pull that lot, verify my powder drop by weight (10 drops, all weighed). Any anomalies, I inspect & weigh every single round, and recycle any that are more than 3 grains out of the average (assembled bullet will have some variances due to case weight - I don't sort by LC date, and mixed brand batches are on faith).

My case feeder adjustment bolt broke a couple of years ago, and I have not gotten around to extracting the bolt. I find that I can load just as fast by hand feeding the brass and bullets without it (gave me a lot of hassles hanging up on cases dropping out of the tubes).

All three steps after cleaning, I can probably load 1k in about 8 hours. Once I get down to pre-reamed primer pockets, it'll be down to 5 maybe 4 hours per 1k (size, trim, clean, load, mark).

Complete 5.56 Loadmaster for $300
Dillon Rapid Trim - $275 and well worth it.
Extra tool head for my 5.56 loading $15
Extra dies $??? - whatever retail is.
Mini shop vac $19 (no brass shavings everywhere)
2 Frankford Arsenal tumblers - $59 ea.
Miscellaneous tools (scale, case gauge, calipers, etc...) - $150

My reloading setup has paid for itself in 5.56 loadings and I get near match grade ammo (+/- .1gr on the powder, +/- .02" on COAL usually on the first 5 rounds and the last 5).

[rdc0000]

If you want to speed up reloading 223/556 then

1. Dillon primer pocket swagger
2. Gracey power case trimmer ( or similar non drill powered )
3. Lee water soluble case lube.

Mix up the water/lube in a bucket or ammo can dump or dip all your cases in. Size them wet. Air dry with a compressor. Then finish the case prep trim and swag. Hand prime with a Lee or other hand primer.

Case prep is the most time intensive process. With that done, you can throw ball powder and load fast on any press.

Spend your money wisely and forget the indexing foolery.

[markm]

Case prep is the most time intensive process. With that done, you can throw ball powder and load fast on any press.

You don't have to be a slave to ball powder. H322 and Benchmark are two good powders that meter right up there with ball.

[Eric D.]

Thanks for all the great info!

A couple more questions:

What's the consensus on full length sizing dies? I understand they work the brass harder and shorten its life but are there any benefits?

I may ante up for carbide dies. Some say case lube isn't necessary with these but is it still good practice?

[markm]

Full length sizing is mandatory for an autoloading rifle. Small base dies are not.

The brass will get worked, but that's the nature of the beast. I pitch it in the recycle bucket when the primer pockets get loose. The brass almost always outlasts the primer pockets tension, so who cares?

[HackerF15E]

I may ante up for carbide dies. Some say case lube isn't necessary with these but is it still good practice?

Carbide or not, you still have to lube bottleneck rifle cases.

Unless, of course, you want to get experienced at stuck case removal.

[Sticks]

...Unless, of course, you want to get experienced at stuck case removal.

Not fun - even with case lube that does not work. Been there, done that, have the small pile of trashed brass to show for it.

[chadbag]

Everybody i know has single and progressive. You do not have to learn on a single, but it is a good way to go. You get to learn everything without the complication of keeping a progressive running. Almost all progressives are going to need tuning to keep running smoothly. If you take apart for cleaning you Will need to setup again. 550 is not bad as some auto advance progressives.

Use it like a simple turret press (i.e., basically as a fancy single stage) until you get it down. An RL550B or the BL550 does not HAVE to be run as a progressive (which the BL550 is not really anyway, being more a reverse turret).


--

[chadbag]

I may ante up for carbide dies. Some say case lube isn't necessary with these but is it still good practice?

The carbide die -- no lube thing is for straight walled pistol cases only.


As has been mentioned, you still lube the bottle neck cases (rifle and pistol, though some people claim you can get by on pistol). The main advantage of the carbide rifle dies is die-longevity. However, most people won't load enough to wear out steel dies unless you you are running commercially/commercial level quantity.

You can buy a second steel sizing die (or 2) for the same price as a set of carbide.

Some folks claim that the carbide rifle are smoother. I don't know. While I have a carbide 223 sizer, it does not get used as I am trimming and sizing with the Dillon trimmer instead.


--

[gogetal3]

I use the Dillon RL 550B. And I wish I had bought the 1050 from the start. Let me add that Dillon has FANTASTIC!!!!!! customer service and has replaced parts for me without question. Simply asked me for an address in the email. Next email said....Parts sent...thank you.
I use all Dillon Dies.
Process is simple for .223

Tumble Brass using Crushed walnut (buy from pet store 20lb bag), and 2 cap fulls of nufinish car wax. I tumble this load for about 3hrs sometimes more.

Run the decapping resizing station seperate, and use generous lube. Lyman case lube works for me. After sizing station trim using the W.T.F. Simple easy to use does the job. Will work your fingers good but if you're looking to save some $$ for now it's a great product. I then very quickly scrape out the primer pocket and Chambfer and Debur with a all in one hand tool.

Tumble again with same media maybe a few hours, no hurry. (Note on tumbling: tear up a lint sheet and toss it in. It'll collect a lot of crud).

Then onto the reloading station they go.
H335
Hornady 55gr
charge is 24.5gr
CCI primers most of the time. And, although some people may knock them I've had plenty of success with wolf primers.

I usually load several hundred over the course of a week. each day a different station. But I'm in no hurry.