Put empty case in shell holder. Run ram all the way up. Screw die down until it makes contact with the case mouth. Back die off your desired amount. Set lock ring.
The OP's question IS, "
what should his 'desired amount' be?" not how to set it.
Yup - that was my question.
I played with the sizing die a bunch last night: how to secure it, how to tighten the expander rod, floating the shell holder with a rubber o-ring instead of the metal clip, all kinds of stuff. So far, the best results seem to be sizing first, then expanding in a separate step with the expander/decapping rod locked (not floating). Shell holder secured with the clip seemed to work better than the o-ring, too.
Then again, the brass in question is FC .223, purchased as factory rounds, not range droppings. It's been trimmed/annealed as needed, & generally shoots really well once I correct for runout. I've noticed trouble priming these cases in the past, & found that it might be due to crimped primers from the factory. I attempted to ream the pockets with the mouth chamfering tool last night, so we'll find out today if that was just [urinating] away so much time + effort in a lost cause.
Who knows, I might actually get around to charging the cases with powder & seating bullets today.
FC
