5.56mm Reloading Dies

[Mike Boufford]

I've checked the various manufacturers as well as Midway and Natchez but I cannot seem to find 5.56mm reloading dies. Who makes them and who carries them? It would seem that the .223 dies would be too small for the 5.56mm brass I have on hand???

[ClarkEMyers]

Originally Posted by Mike Boufford

..... It would seem that the .223 dies would be too small for the 5.56mm brass I have on hand???

Not so.

RCBS and others have die sets labeled AR for gas guns but .223 dies work just fine for 5.56 cases. There are some real differences in the cartridges and in the chambers but not in the dies - bearing in mind all the varieties of dies including small base or with RCBS their X-die or bushing dies and some will bump the shoulder more than others and so it goes. But there is no point in looking only for dies marked 5.56 - use dies marked .223 making sure they suit your needs for bullet shape and crimping as you choose - no crimp for a bolt gun may or may not choose to crimp for a gas gun as appropriate and so it goes.

[Nick A]

5.56x45 NATO and .223 Remington


Totally identical exterior dimensions. PERIOD.

Same reloading dies for both.




Some argue that interior volume varies,
but it varies for both commercial and military.
When I get home I'll get you a link where they measured volumes.
You'll be surprised what the truth is.



There are so many myths, lies, misunderstandings and misquotations between 556 and 223.
But both are the same outside dimensions.


Everything Clark says (Post #2) is good true info. Thank you, bro.

[moxie]

This works good for me with both .223 and 5.56 brass. As said above they are identical for reloading purposes. Just remove the primer pocket crimp from the military brass.
Die set:http://www.midwayusa.com/product/440...-223-remington

Crimp remover:
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/319...-pocket-swager

[mikeg1005]

The only difference between 223 and 5.56 is the chamber dimensions and potentially hotter loaded ammo.

Case dimensions are the same.

Originally Posted by Nick A

When I get home I'll get you a link where they measured volumes.
You'll be surprised what the truth is..

You want to know whats even more surprising(I'm sure you already know)... 7.62 vs. 308.

The "known" difference between the two is case volume... and that 7.62 has a smaller case volume than 308...

Funny.... almost ALL Winchester brass has the same volume as LC 7.62(from my experience)

Mike.

[richpetrone]

My Rock River AR-15 has a match grade barrel with a "Wylde chamber" that is a little more tolerant when using .223 loads. The following is a cut and paste from Rock River explaining the purpose of the Wylde chamber:

"The .223 Wylde chamber was designed as a match chambering for semi-automatic rifles. It will accomodate both .223 Rem and 5.56mm NATO ammunition. It is relieved in the case body to aid in extraction and features a shorter throat for improved accuracy."

I do prefer to use a carbide resizing die, and even with this, I still use a spray on case lube. I purchased a Dillon .223 4-die set with the carbide resizer, and have never had any issues. I also load my .223 on a D550, but if I keep shooting more .223, I may end up buying another tool head for my D1050, since this would eliminate the step of having to swage military crimp primer pockets. The D1050 has a station that swages all small primer cases.

[Rifter]

Originally Posted by mikeg1005

The only difference between 223 and 5.56 is the chamber dimensions and potentially hotter loaded ammo.

Case dimensions are the same.



You want to know whats even more surprising(I'm sure you already know)... 7.62 vs. 308.

The "known" difference between the two is case volume... and that 7.62 has a smaller case volume than 308...

Funny.... almost ALL Winchester brass has the same volume as LC 7.62(from my experience)

Mike.

That is an old wife's tale. I wasted a lot of effort and sweat early in my reloading career worrying about that, but never could definitively verify to my satisfaction that military brass was heavier, in general, than commercial brass of the same caliber. I currently have a couple thousand rounds of .30-06 brass for my M1 -- about 2/3 of it various military headstamps, and the rest Winchester commercial with a few Remington commercial mixed in.

The lightest are LC surplus, but not all of the LC years I have. The commercial stuff is mostly in the middle, and the HXP surplus is marginally the heaviest. But even in those broad groups, there is a lot of variation in both directions.

[Nick A]

I agree with Mike and Rifter on the 7.61x51 / 308 Win.
Mil and Commercial manufacturers make what they make.
Some draw thin, some draw thick.
There is no hard and fast rule regarding case capacity.
You have to determine that for yourself.


Here is the study on 6mm Benchrest web site
studying weight and volume among various
military and commercial 556/223 brass:
http://www.6mmbr.com/223rem.html
As you will read, it's all over the map.
The old wives appear to be wrong in many ways.



So what does that mean to us reloaders?

If you don't measure yourself it and keep track of it, you don't know what you got.
Set up your own procedures, and stick to them.