Dies for AR's and other semiautos

[Swingwing]

Are small base dies necessary for reloading .223/.556 or 6.5 Grendel? Or just use full length dies?

 

[amcardon]

I've always had better results with small base dies in semis

 

[Swingwing]

Are the dies usually small base? That is, is that standard for 5.56 & 6.5 or do you need to look specifically for small base dies?

 

[swampratt]

I have 2 .223 bolt rifles and I load for 3 5.56 AR15's and all with Lee full length dies.
Never have any issues.
I was having an issue with my buddies 5.56 chambering but it turned out to be dirty and a bent charging handle.

I size my brass the same for the AR's as I do for my bolt guns. My bolt guns get a much longer OAL for the loaded round.
I go 2.255" for the AR and 2.276" for the bolt guns with a 55gr V-max.
My 5.56 AR will shoot the longer round just fine in fact it is a little more accurate with the longer round but I must single load them.

 

[Swingwing]

I have 2 .223 bolt rifles and I load for 3 5.56 AR15's and all with Lee full length dies.
Never have any issues.
I was having an issue with my buddies 5.56 chambering but it turned out to be dirty and a bent charging handle.

I size my brass the same for the AR's as I do for my bolt guns. My bolt guns get a much longer OAL for the loaded round.
I go 2.255" for the AR and 2.276" for the bolt guns with a 55gr V-max.
My 5.56 AR will shoot the longer round just fine in fact it is a little more accurate with the longer round but I must single load them.

Yeah that extra length could help sometimes in bolt guns. AR magazines set the length limit unless you single load, like you said.

Thanks for the info guys. Now the problem will be actually finding some dies and components.