Lyman 310 222 Rem - anyone load 223 Rem with that set? Can it be done?

[bedbugbilly]

Have a question I hope someone can answer.

I've been going through my reloading things here in MI and as I was going through organizing my 310 tongs/dies in a better manner, I remembered that a few years back, I bought a set of steel tongs for the 222 Remington along with a number of 310 dies for the 222 Rem - I know I have a complete set plus a couple of expander dies with different OD stems, etc. I don't have a 222 Remington but I picked it up for something like $30 and stuck it away on a shelf out at our AZ house above my reloading bench - at the time I thought I might run across a 222 Rem Rifle sometime.

I ended up getting a Ruger bolt action All American Ranch in .223.

So my question is - the 222 Rem case length is 1.700 + or _ and the 223 Rem is 1.750 + or _ - a difference in length of .050". Currently, I FL size and load in a set of Lee dies - I am limited to a cartridge length of 2.250 due to the magazine for the Rugere - so I use the Lee 226-55 grain flat nose.

With me being in MI at this time and the 310 set of 222 Rem being in AZ, I can't check. Can you . . . or does anyone . . . load 223 Remington with a set of 222 Remington 310 dies? Can the dies 222 Rem dies be adjusted enough in the tongs to accommodate the additional .050 length of the 223 Rem casing?

I'm not shooting heavy 223 loads - I don't hunt and the rifle is strictly a "fun gun" for paper and killing cans and gongs. I normally FL size to start and then just neck size from then on. I have gobs of "range brass" so if the 223 can't be loaded with the 222 Rem 310 set I have, maybe it's time to start thinking about resizing some 223 brass and finding a rifle in 222 so I can have the ecuswe to use the 222 Rem 310 set?

Appreciate any input on it - I thought I remembered that I read something one time that the 222 Rem 310 set can be used to load 223 Rem, but I can't seem to locate the article or post where I read it.

I don't have my chart handy to check if they made a 223 Remington dies set - and if they did, is it the same as the 222 only with a different stamp for marketing - or the die chambers a different length?

Thanks!

Jim

[ascast]

I would be very much surprised if it did not work just fine. Those dies have a lot adjustment. At 30 TPI that's 0.0333" per revolution. So it looks like about 1 1/2 rev off of 222 will do it. I don't think that will be a problem.

[Mk42gunner]

Since the 310 only neck sizes, the .222 or .223 Remington dies are supposed freely interchange according to everything I have read. Except Lyman, but they were trying to sell new die sets too.

Robert

[Green Frog]

At one time, that was the way the die sets were advertised, the same set for 222, 222 Mag, and 223. As has been stated, with neck sizing only, they are all effectively the same except for length. Think 38 Special and 357 Magnum.
Froggie

[bedbugbilly]

Thanks fellas - appreciate your replies. I figured they should work, but without having them in hand just wasn't sure. When I get back to AZ I'll be pulling them out and putting them to use!

Of course you do realize that since they will work on the 223, it means I won't "HAVE" to find a rifle in 222 in order to use the die set!

You really do have to marvel at how they marketed the 310 dies, etc. and it makes you wonder how many multiple sets were sold when one would have done the job of two. I think about stuff like that every time I use my 30-06 steel tongs to load my 8 X 57 Mauser cartridges . . . .

[Green Frog]

I once met an elderly party who had been a prepper before the term had been coined. He had a steel handled 310 tool and matching dies for 222 in his stash for just the purpose you propose.

Also, apropos of nothing, those same dies we are discussing were at times also sold for use with the 221 Fireball. I once had a set of dies specifically marked for that cartridge but later saw a set touted by Lyman as being suitable for loading all of these cartridges. Although some of them could even be loaded with a set of “Small” handles, it was stated that “Large” handles would handle them all.

Since all but a very few of the 310 dies only even touched the neck of the cartridge being loaded, there were several cartridge “families” where this was true. The 30-06 and 308/7.62 NATO come to mind, f’rinstance.

Froggie

[poppy42]

Yep it’ll work. I’ve got 310 set ups for every caliber a shoot. With the exception of 9 mm. ( harder to find any decent price than a unicorn). I do not reload 223 with my 310 dies because currently the only thing I have that shoots 223 is an AR. 310 dies only next size (unless you hav the full Length sizer. For 9 mm and 223 I use a Lee hand press with standard dies. But in answer to your question yes you can neck size 223 with a set of 222 310 dies.

[Eddie Southgate]

Another yes .

[beagle]

Yes, works quite well from my experiences./beagle