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The Range
Ammo & Reloading
RL550 + .223 + Method???
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<blockquote data-quote="Shadowrider" data-source="post: 942679" data-attributes="member: 3099"><p>I've been working with some brass that I bought off of a board member. I work about 1K at a time so keep this in mind.</p><p></p><p>1) Tumble clean</p><p></p><p>2) Decap in a RCBS decapping die.</p><p></p><p>3) Swage all pockets</p><p>(I've found it easier just to do them all than sorting all the crimped cases out and processing them separately)</p><p></p><p>4) My press set up is station 1: size, station 2: prime, station 3: charge, station 4: seat, station 5: crimp w/Lee factory crimp die (this is optional and not an option with your 550 being a 4 station press. Don't sweat it, it's not really necessary to crimp for an AR. I have the station available so I do it.)</p><p></p><p>I've found that the brass that I got has alot of Lake City brass and that it had been reloaded once because the primer pockets were already swaged in most of it. Which brings the discussion to trimming. I was rocking along and noticed that the cannelure was disappearing on some of my rounds. I found these cases to be a little long. So now I'm trying to figure out a way to trim large quantities and not take 6 months to do it. Setting a Dillon trimmer up on the press seems to be the best route of all the ideas I've had but I haven't bought one yet. One thing to keep in mind on trimming, is that <strong><em>MY</em></strong> die makes them grow about .008" after sizing. This is normal as the brass has to go somewhere when it's sized back down. (When it's fired it will shorten as it expands to the chamber.) This will vary with each individual sizing die and chamber combo but I suspect it's a pretty typical amount of growth. Also, get yourself a case gage from Dillon. My die sizes them just about perfectly with a good firm cam over. I was using the comparator gages from Hornady and found that with my die I had to cam it over pretty firmly to get about .003" shoulder setback and when you check the loaded round in a case gage it sets just perfectly.</p><p></p><p>Obviously when you reload the second time you can skip steps 2 & 3 from the above list. Hope this helps.</p><p></p><p>Edit to add:</p><p>I use Imperial case sizing wax for lube. Just rub a little in both palms and grab about 5 cases at a time and rub them in your hands. A tiny bit of this stuff goes a very long ways, when you think you have enough, you probably have too much. After finished loading either wipe them off or I tumble the rounds for a few minutes in untreated corncob. They sure are pretty. <img src="/images/smilies/biggrin.png" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":D" title="Big Grin :D" data-shortname=":D" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Shadowrider, post: 942679, member: 3099"] I've been working with some brass that I bought off of a board member. I work about 1K at a time so keep this in mind. 1) Tumble clean 2) Decap in a RCBS decapping die. 3) Swage all pockets (I've found it easier just to do them all than sorting all the crimped cases out and processing them separately) 4) My press set up is station 1: size, station 2: prime, station 3: charge, station 4: seat, station 5: crimp w/Lee factory crimp die (this is optional and not an option with your 550 being a 4 station press. Don't sweat it, it's not really necessary to crimp for an AR. I have the station available so I do it.) I've found that the brass that I got has alot of Lake City brass and that it had been reloaded once because the primer pockets were already swaged in most of it. Which brings the discussion to trimming. I was rocking along and noticed that the cannelure was disappearing on some of my rounds. I found these cases to be a little long. So now I'm trying to figure out a way to trim large quantities and not take 6 months to do it. Setting a Dillon trimmer up on the press seems to be the best route of all the ideas I've had but I haven't bought one yet. One thing to keep in mind on trimming, is that [B][I]MY[/I][/B] die makes them grow about .008" after sizing. This is normal as the brass has to go somewhere when it's sized back down. (When it's fired it will shorten as it expands to the chamber.) This will vary with each individual sizing die and chamber combo but I suspect it's a pretty typical amount of growth. Also, get yourself a case gage from Dillon. My die sizes them just about perfectly with a good firm cam over. I was using the comparator gages from Hornady and found that with my die I had to cam it over pretty firmly to get about .003" shoulder setback and when you check the loaded round in a case gage it sets just perfectly. Obviously when you reload the second time you can skip steps 2 & 3 from the above list. Hope this helps. Edit to add: I use Imperial case sizing wax for lube. Just rub a little in both palms and grab about 5 cases at a time and rub them in your hands. A tiny bit of this stuff goes a very long ways, when you think you have enough, you probably have too much. After finished loading either wipe them off or I tumble the rounds for a few minutes in untreated corncob. They sure are pretty. :D [/QUOTE]
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