RCBS Carbide .223 dies???

[waco]

looking at buying a S&W M&P15 sport. I will want to load my ammo on my Dillon 550.
Will i need to lube the cases? If so, what would be the best way to go about this on a progressive press? I use One Shot spray right now for rifle rounds, but all that happens on my Rock Chucker. Can I just spray the cases, run them through the Dillon, then wipe them off before boxing them up? The dies are about $50, but if i have to lube them, i can get .223 dies for cheaper than that. How do you guys do it???
Thanks again.
Waco

[Rokkit Syinss]

Carbide or not, you still have to lube bottleneck cases. The easiest solution is a carbide expander button and Imperial Sizing Die Wax. With the carbide button you don't have to lube the inside of the neck, a tapered one will lessen case growth too. The Imperial wax doesn't need to be wiped off because you only need a tiny bit and it won't contaminate powder nor is it sticky after.

If you want a spray lube for your single stage that's cheap and slicker than owl snot, try PAM. Won't oil dent unless the die vent hole is plugged and washes off with soap & water. Don't use it in a progressive.

[30yrcaster]

Carbide or not, you still have to lube bottleneck cases. The easiest solution is a carbide expander button and Imperial Sizing Die Wax. With the carbide button you don't have to lube the inside of the neck, a tapered one will lessen case growth too.
I used to use a Hornady carbide button in my RCBS die and it worked great. Hadn't used it for years and now it drags thru and squeaks like a steel one. Also have a a Redding button in a Redding die and have the same problem. Redding told me to polish it and that using one doesn't guarantee it won't squeak and still may need to lube the inside case necks. I polished both of them and it didn't help but on the first few cases. If I tumble clean them first it doesn't squeak.

Talked to Dillon several years ago about the carbide 223 dies and they also told me you need to lube it. I then asked how do I clean the lube off without wipeing each loaded round. They told me they put the loaded rounds into the vibrator for a short period of time. Leaving them in for a longer time can pulverize the power changing the make up of it and that can be very DANGEROUS. For example you forget to turn off the vibrator/tumbler and you tumble them for a long time. That is too dangerous for me so I never did it. The extra expense of the carbide die didn't seem worth it to me. Just my 2 cents on it.

[tomme boy]

Save your money on the carbide dies. Not worth it for bottle neck rifle. You are going to have to lube them no matter what. I like the Hornady as the expander is carbide. I don't use any lube for in the neck. Thats why the carbide expander. And use a ball powder. It meters soo nice.

[waco]

Tomme- So i can just lube with one shot as normal and have at it(as long as the expander is carbide?)

[Mk42gunner]

I don't know where you found carbide .223 dies for fifty dollars, but that sounds awful cheap to me; Dillon wants $139.99 for a set of carbide dies, and they say to lube cases for them.

From what I have read over the years the carbide rifle dies are for longevity and wear resistance, not ease of use.

If you are satisfied with the case lube you are using now, go ahead and use it. When you spray lube cases, some of the lube will get into the neck anyway; or it always did back when I sprayed cases.

Robert

[Lizard333]

To be honest, reloading any rifle dies in a Dillon can be a real pain. I lube all my cases with the dillon lube and run them the first stage and pull them out on the second stage. From there I run them through my trimming die on my dillon trimmer. After that I tumble all my brass till they are nice and shinny. Now I finish running the brass though the press, starting with seating a primer then advancing it to the powder die and pull the handle. This adds the powder and gets another primer ready to be seated. On and on. A pain, nothing like pistol brass. I can't see cleaning lube off an already done bullet. Doesn't make sense.

[Firebricker]

I reload for .223 with regular Redding dies with a carbide expander on my 550 works great. As far as lube I use Imperial wax or RCBS lube pad. BTW I picked up a M&P sport and like it shoots well for especially for the price. FB

[Larry Gibson]

Get the standard (SB dies not needed) RCBS X-dies set + a NS die. Use the spray lube on the cases and FL size on the single stage with the X-Die. Clean the lube off, clean the primer pocket (if you want) and inspect the cases. Have the NS die in Station 1 on the 550B. This will true any case necks and the deprimer will ensure the flash hole is clear if you missed anything. It also adds a little resitance so the 550B operates smoother. Powder is thrown at station 2. Bullet seating die is at stain 3 and a Lee factory crimp die works well at station 4 if you are crimping.

Note; if loading cast bullets put the M die in station 1.

With the RCBS X-die case life will be very long (20+ firings) and you will not have to trim the cases.

That's how I do it for my 5.56/223 AR loads.

Larry Gibson

[runfiverun]

i size and de-prime off the 550.
then run the polished cases through the press.
for the ar's i seat and then final seat/crimp in two steps.
i use a combo of redding and lee die sets on the 550 for the 223.

using the mandrel die from the lee set for my de-priming and neck sizing for the bolt gun with cast.
which are then also loaded on the dillon.

[mpmarty]

I use a universal decapper in a "C" press and then tumble. Next the cases go to my 550B where the rotation is "M" die, Powder drop, boolit seat and finally factory crimp die (the collet type not the infamous double ring sizer.)

[Depreacher]

I use the RCBS X-die for my .223/5.56 with Hornady one shot. Wouldn't trade it for anyother die now made. Don't need a SB for my M1 Sales rig. BE SURE and read the directions first about pre-trimming your brass. After that it will grow almost to max length, but not quite. YMMV, but that's been my experience. An almost max length is good because on a .223 you need all the neck you can get. BTW, the one shot I use is the pressurised can type, works great and won't contaminate powder or primer. The water based pump bottle hornady works OK on my handgun brass, but is not slick enough for full length resizing bottleneck rifle brass. Maybe it was just my bottle, maybe not. Nearly stuck a 30-06 brass in a FL RCBS die. Need to try to thin down some olive oil, HEY, it's in the Bible!!!!!!!!! Mack