Is it okay

[Big Wes]

New to loading 223 rem. I have a Dillon 550b. I have deprimed, sized, and trimmed the cases, my question is: Is it okay to run them through the sizing die again to prime them, or will it affect the overall size/length of the case.

Thanks in advance for any info.
Wes

[Skunk1]

Did you size on a different press?

Personally, if they have already been sized once I would just leave that die out of the press. If you want to leave it in, I would assume as long as they were still lubed cases (you don’t want a stuck case) that would be fine.


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[CastingFool]

Shouldn't make any difference.

[Shepherd2]

Since your cases are already sized I'd remove the sizing die from the tool head and not perform an unnecessary operation that stresses the brass. You can prime the cases and omit the 2nd sizing. I size and prime my .223 in separate steps and don't have a sizing die in the tool head.

[Big Wes]

Thanks for the info. I did size/deprime on the 550, my cases still have lube residue on them, I used Dillon spray lube, but I think removing the die is a good idea to prevent any extra stress on the brass.
Thanks to all who have replied to my post.

Regards,
Wes

[mold maker]

A second sizing won't hurt the case, except for over-working the neck, which is the likely early fail point. I'd remove the die and hand prime.
I deprime before cleaning so priming off press is a natural progression.

[vernm]

Wes

That Dillon case lube needs to come off at some point. If you fire the cartridge with lub still on the case, the case can not properly "grip" the rifle chamber wall.
The case comes back against the bolt breech face with too much pressure. This is hard on the rifle and can cause malfunctions. You can take the lub off after
resizing with solvent or just tumble them in untreated (cheap) 14/20 grit corn cob media. The small grit is mostly too small to be caught in the primer flash hole. Some people go ahead and load the lubed cases, then tumble the loaded round in corn cob. I don't like to get primers close to a lubed case so I take off the lub before loading.

I use two tool heads. The first one has the sizing die at station one. That resizes and deprimes the case. If you have a Dillon case trimmer, install it in this tool head. If not, you can take off the lub, trim, chamfer debur and clean the primer pocket if you want. That completes case prep. Now you are ready to reload.

In the second tool head, I install a Lee deprime die in station one. That punches out any corn cob that got stuck in the flash hole.Then prime the case as normal on the down stroke. Station two, powder drop. Station three, bullet seating. If you want to crimp, do that at station four. Or put a powder cop at station three and seat the bullet at station four.

I have found this to be the most efficient way to load excellent rifle ammunition on the Dillon.

[Jack Stanley]

If your cases are not lubed you may start developing scratches on the cases at station four depending on what die you have in there .

When loading M-2 and M-72 ammo I normally size and decap on a CO-AX press . Do the case prep then lube and size at station one using a cases gage to make sure it fits . The die on the CO-AX it set to size very slightly less than the die on the 550 . Dies are adjusted to fit the tightest chambered rifle I have .

Jack

[wrench man]

You don't have to resize the cases, simply prime and rotate the shell plate to station two, I operate my RL550 this way all the time when doing small runs of rifle ammo.

[StratsMan]

Another option: leave the sizing die in the toolhead, but don't use it. Instead of putting in the case then running it into the sizer, run station #1 empty. Put the case in the first station just prior to rotating the shell plate. Set the primer and move to the next station. That way the die doesn't lose its adjustment and the brass doesn't get sized twice. Personally, I always clean my brass before I load it so I don't want the brass going into the sizer the second time...

[Big Wes]

Thanks to everyone for the helpful tips they're very much appreciated.
I use Dillon carbide dies
I always wipe the cases with a rag then run my ammo in the tumbler with corn cob media to get the lube off, just a habit of mine.
I'll prime in station one but won't resize, that should work out just fine.

Thanks again everyone.

Regards,
Wes