Reloading 223 for different rifles

[Huskerguy]

I am getting conflicting information on 223 dies for reloading.

I have brass shot from a bolt. Can I just neck size these if they are going back in the same chamber?

Is the neck sizing a separate die?

Other rounds will go in a mini 14. Do they need to be sized with a SB die?

So my assumption is brass fired in anything that goes in a bolt gets the FL treatment?

Does that mean I need three sets of dies for 223? suggestions?

Thanks in advance

[Zombie Steve]

If you plan on keeping brass separate, neck size only for the bolt... it's already a perfect match for your chamber. You can get a neck sizing die, or you can just adjust the one you have to only neck size. If you don't want to keep everything separated, you can full length size everything and you don't necessarily need a small base die. You can buy the extra dies if you want, but they aren't absolutely necessary.

[ems-1]

If you plan on keeping brass separate, neck size only for the bolt... it's already a perfect match for your chamber. You can get a neck sizing die, or you can just adjust the one you have to only neck size. If you don't want to keep everything separated, you can full length size everything and you don't necessarily need a small base die. You can buy the extra dies if you want, but they aren't absolutely necessary.

I couldn't say it any better. Zombie Steve hit on the nail!

[Huskerguy]

Thanks zombie. I have read so much stuff that I got more confused. I wondered about have one set of dies and simply adjusting them to neck size. So whey then do they sell just the neck size die? Hmmm

If an FL will do the trick then that is what I will get - thanks man

[Unclenick]

It depends on your chamber. You can usually do what is called partial neck sizing with an FL die. You just don't run the case in far enough that most of the neck has gone into the sizing portion, but the case has not entered the die far enough to start squeezing the sides, an action which lengthens the case necessitating going in and bumping the the shoulder back. A case that was fired in a generous chamber may not let you do that? A neck-size only die is more generously dimensioned so that doesn't become an issue.

The partially resized neck is supposed to help center the bullet in the neck portion of the chamber. That is supposed to compensate for any tendency the sizing die expander ball may have to pull a neck off-axis with the rest of the case, as sometimes can happen. One solution is not to neck down far enough to need the expander. One way that can be done is with one of the Redding or Forster dies that uses bushing inserts to size the outside of the neck. They come in both flavors, FL and Neck Only. The drawback is you may need several rings for different case brands and lots because neck thicknesses can vary. That's the main reason expanders exist on sizing dies in the first place. The neck ID has to come out the same size regardless of neck thickness. If you use neck bushings on the outside of the neck only, you have to pick the right one to give you a useful neck ID.

The other way to accomplish the above is using the Lee Collet Die, which sizes the neck down around a mandrel that maintains the right ID regardless of neck thickness. It also doesn't pull a neck off-axis, so the fact the rest of the case has sized itself to the chamber takes care of the centering.

The only time neck sizing falls apart is with a chamber that is off-axis with the bore of the rifle. That can prevent you from fitting it back in unless you orient the casehead the same way each time you insert it.

For any kind of reliable feeding from a magazine, be it a bolt gun or a self-loader, you need to use a full length die that will set the shoulder of the case back at least two thousandths from the size it is coming out of the chamber. This can require a small base die, but usually does not. Once a case has been formed to a chamber by firing, most sizing dies will set it back that amount. Because cases are somewhat springy, a case that goes in very long, such as a once-fired military case from a full-auto gun, it won't usually be set back enough for a tight chamber. It may, therefore, require a small base die for the first resizing, but not afterward.