.223 OAL Question

pondcreekfarm · February 5, 2013, 10:39 PM

I am very new to reloading. I came into a Dillon 650, a fair amount of powder, some Sierra match .223 and about 4000 brass for the .223 and a 38-55. The dies all came too. I understand the sizing, and the die seems to do this, but what about the length. For those of you reloading this round, how do you see that your cases are the right length before reloading them? I keep seeing references to this, but has not seen directions on how to do it. I am sorry for the basic question, but I really appreciate any help.

603Country · February 5, 2013, 11:06 PM

Get a Lyman 49th reloading book (or pretty much anybody's reloading book) for info on maximum and trim-to length of the case. After resizing, measure the cases with calipers, which if you don't have, you should get. Not expensive. Then you need a case trimmer to trim the case to the trim-to length specified in the manuals. Lee makes an inexpensive one that'll work fine, and you can spend as much as you want on a trimmer if you want a real fancy one. Then you need to deburr and chamfer the cases prior to reloading.

Get the Lyman 49th reloading book, and I like the Nosler and the Speer manuals. You don't need more than one, but I recommend it. Most of the manuals will give you a good outline of the reloading process. You may have already read it carefully and applied all of that direction to your reloading. I do hope so. If I've left anything out, others will cover what I missed.

Cheap 870 · February 6, 2013, 06:17 AM

For rifle reloading you'll definitely need to get a caliper. Not just for case length but For bullet seating depth.
And yes get a manual, I like Speer's.
But nothing beats someone who knows what they are doing to get you started.

February 5, 2013, 10:39 PM	#1
pondcreekfarm Junior Member Join Date: February 4, 2013 Posts: 1	.223 OAL Question I am very new to reloading. I came into a Dillon 650, a fair amount of powder, some Sierra match .223 and about 4000 brass for the .223 and a 38-55. The dies all came too. I understand the sizing, and the die seems to do this, but what about the length. For those of you reloading this round, how do you see that your cases are the right length before reloading them? I keep seeing references to this, but has not seen directions on how to do it. I am sorry for the basic question, but I really appreciate any help.

February 5, 2013, 11:06 PM	#2
603Country Senior Member Join Date: January 6, 2011 Location: Thornton, Texas Posts: 3,998	Get a Lyman 49th reloading book (or pretty much anybody's reloading book) for info on maximum and trim-to length of the case. After resizing, measure the cases with calipers, which if you don't have, you should get. Not expensive. Then you need a case trimmer to trim the case to the trim-to length specified in the manuals. Lee makes an inexpensive one that'll work fine, and you can spend as much as you want on a trimmer if you want a real fancy one. Then you need to deburr and chamfer the cases prior to reloading. Get the Lyman 49th reloading book, and I like the Nosler and the Speer manuals. You don't need more than one, but I recommend it. Most of the manuals will give you a good outline of the reloading process. You may have already read it carefully and applied all of that direction to your reloading. I do hope so. If I've left anything out, others will cover what I missed.

February 6, 2013, 06:17 AM	#3
Cheap 870 Junior member Join Date: November 12, 2011 Location: Ohio Posts: 159	For rifle reloading you'll definitely need to get a caliper. Not just for case length but For bullet seating depth. And yes get a manual, I like Speer's. But nothing beats someone who knows what they are doing to get you started.