Questions for .223 reloaders

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Jcelt

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I don’t shoot .223 very often but I have mixed brass I have saved and I am going to reload. I have already deprimed , cleaned and sized the rounds and am ready to trim and swage. I am looking at purchasing a Lee deluxe pro trimmer and a RCBS Swager. I know these are not the fastest tools but I think they would fit my occasional need. Does anyone use either or both of these? Thanks for your help.
 

rickm

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I have the RCBS swager and it is better than the C&H swager, and yes it weill be slow but will get the job done with little problems . But if it isnt military brass you dont have to swage it.
 
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I also have the RCBS and don't really use it that often. on mixed brass the webbing can vary enough to eventually bend the pin. Instead I use a cheap pocket reamer. Like rickm said. you only have to fiddle with the ones that were originally crimped (military)
 

Glock 40

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Are you talking about the RCBS swager die set? Or the actual swager tool? The die set and the Lee trimmer are both going to be slow but will work. Some folks complain about the swager die sets that are used on single stages about alignment issues I believe.

As for swaging 223 I just swage it all then I don't have to worry about it. I have a Dillon swager and just started playing with the LEE APP swager yesterday. Still not sure if that will cause me to sell my dillon swager but it could happen.
 
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I had the RCBS primer pocket swager tool and a Lee classic cast press The cup does not fit over the FAT lee shaft..
I made a cup with pipe and a washer.
The swager did not work very well at all.
Lots of work and I still had many primer pockets that destroyed primers or were very hard to seat and it would leave peeled brass when seating.
JUNK!
I now use this for all my crimped .223 cases it is faster and I never have a primer that will not seat.
https://ads.midwayusa.com/product/1...MI1aDPkOfg6AIVxMDACh27OgUHEAQYASABEgL01vD_BwE

It is the lyman VLD chamfer tool and i use it on the neck also to allow easier bullet seating without peeling gilding metal off the bullets.
The lyman did not work on my LC .308 cases either even after 2 times swaging.
I have prepped thousands of .223 cases and the Lyman tool is still good and sharp.
And it is pretty quick to do.
 

Glock 40

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Are you trying to make plinking rounds or target ammo? Its very time consuming making 223 the way you are going about it. How many pieces do you have?
 

Jcelt

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Are you trying to make plinking rounds or target ammo? Its very time consuming making 223 the way you are going about it. How many pieces do you have?[/


Just plinking rounds . I don’t shoot this caliber a lot. Probably got around 500 pieces of brass. I was looking for an inexpensive way to reload this round rather than speed since it is not what I primarily shoot.
 

PBramble

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I use the RCBS pocket swager with relatively good luck. I tend to do several thousand at a time, so I try to hit each stage independently. Since it's just plinking ammo, I'm not in a hurry to get it done. I don't use the pro trimmer though. I have an old Forster trimmer that I picked up. I set the case length, then hook up my 1/2 inch drill in place of the crank handle.
 

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