Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles .223 Rem. die-reg. FL or SB?

Going to purchase a .223 Rem. body die for reloading AR's.
What's the consensus on a regular body die vs the SB body die? I don't want to over work the brass but I don't want feeding issues either.
From those with experience which would you recommend I purchase?
rookie

At the risk of hijacking the thread I would like to add/ask if anyone us using the RCBS X die, says it helps prevent stretching and you only need to trim once....

I have never had an issue in the AR with handloaded ammo that was loaded with a regular FL die.

I’ve gotten by without SB dies for years, I don’t think they are needed unless most of your brass is previously fired from unknown sources.

Regular 223 Rem fl dies are fine correctly adjusted until they aren't. That is I've never owned an AR or bolt gun that the regular dies wouldn't work. If you pick up range brass that was shot in a gun with a max sized chamber it can happen that regular dies wouldn't resize it enough for trouble free use. That in my honest opinion is what a small base die is good for. Use the regular fl die follow it with gauging the brass with a Dillon or Lee case gauge. Once you have sized then gauged your brass ( setting aside any that do not gauge) take the brass that fail to gauge and run them thru the small base die the regauge for acceptance. Any that do not enter the shell holder easily are scrapped. Check length all should be under 1.76" if you are going to crimp all need to be trimmed to the same length. Chamfer inside and outside. Not necessary to have sparkling shiny brass every reload but certainly much to be said for it. Mb

Agree

This ^^^

I do have a body die that squeezes the brass tighter than my full length resizer. If you are having issues like with a Wylde chamber consider using a body die verses the small base. I believe my body die is a Redding. Also consider getting a Hornady Comparator so you can dial in your resizing. Buying one and then using it was a real eye opener for me. I have one .223 rifle that has a Wylde chamber that is much tighter than all of the others. When it warms up I am going to dial it in and then check the brass for dimensions and resize accordingly.

kwg

You need the mouth chamfer and it's good practice to chamfer at each loading. The X die mashes chamfers flat.

Get a drill-mounted Giraud trimmer & trim & chamfer every time you load. Takes less than 3 seconds per case.

Regular FL die works for 99.5% of reloaders. So unless you think you're special.....

Being the range brass scounging mutt I am, I always use a SB die just in case. No issues so far

That's where im at too, plus most of my ar's have tight chambers (CLE). I never have any issues and brass is free, so why not?

My outlook is probably different than most others on the subject, but I look at it that dies are one of the cheapest items you can purchase, vs how long it will serve you....

I shoot a lot of 223, and most of it is range pick up or once fired brass I purchase...

a die set costs as much as a box of premium ammo....which folks buy with no thought.... how long does that box of bullets last?
a box of Hornady ELD/ M bullets runs $40 for a hundred bullets...

I can buy a die set from RCBS, or Lee 4 die set for that amount or less...
a Redding body die, is that amount or less..around 30 bucks...
a RGB die set from Lee is like $20 now...

when I started reloading for the 223, the RCBS die set was $25.
The Lee 4 die set was 28.00 ...
the Redding Body die was like $25,00
the Lee RGB set was $10.00

That stuff has lasted me 20 years, and will out last me...
I picked up a used Small base sizer die from RCBS used for $5,00...

So any scenario, I have to deal with reloading 223 cases, I've pretty much got covered...

RCBS has a great warranty, replacing parts when I brake them... Lee is pretty cheap... there is nothing to break on a body die
The Lee RGB set was a cheap back up when something was broken and I'm waiting for a part to come in...

Nowadays, I primarily use the REdding body die, and the Lee Collet neck sizer, when I reload any cartridge... the other stuff being back up...
I've done well over 100,000 reloads in the last 20 years on 223s....I've got less than $100 out of pocket on dies for he 223...
If I sold them all today to make liberals happy, I'd recover 60% or better of my dollar investment on those dies..

most of the cartridges I load for, I have both a RCBS and a Lee 4 die set for....body dies I just make out of other cartridges by removing the spindle... like a 308 die makes a great body die for a 243, or 260 Rem or a 7/08....

dies are tools, and are the cheapest investment a reloader can make... they'll last forever.. and if you shoot a lot, your ROI is off the charts...
and sure saves a lot of frustration in the long run...

that is what I quickly learned, on how to look at the subject of dies and die sets....

buy em used, you get an even better ROI... and can sell em for what you invested in them...which makes em free in their service life for your needs...

I use small base dies as well & have loaded thousands of rounds for multiple guns with no issues whatsoever.

It just so happened that when I needed FL dies, that was all that was available so I've used them for years.

I have a body die & a neck sizer that I use for my bolt guns.

But the SB dies used for loading for an AR, while probably not necessary for most guns/brass, hurts nothing at all. The small amount of extra sizing near the base cause no real shortening of the case life.

One the other hand, it will ensure that your sized brass will chamber, assuming you also get the HS right as well & don't leave the case HS too long for a given gun.

MM

I’ve never used SB dies for my AR’s and never had any problems.

I've loaded and fired thousands of rounds of 5.56/.223, most of it with range pickup brass, and none of it required SB sizing.

Agree with Bob. You either need a SB die or you don't.

If you don't need it you will probably overwork your brass. I don't anneal or try to milk brass to 30 loadings, so overworking it is not a mortal sin, IMO.

If you have a relatively tight chamber and want to use scrounged or bulk brass a SB die may make sense. Of course, making overstretched pieces fit your chamber may be a false economy, think partial/complete separation.

As for the SB X die. I have one in .308. Sometimes I think it reduces need to trim, sometimes I think it's all between my ears.

Nor have I.

If ya need them, ya need them; most do not.

What do you base that on?

Frankly, that's an old wives tale that is pretty much pure BS............gonna shorten the life from 10 to 9 loadings? Maybe? Really?

MM

Good post mm. The funny thing about mine. I never even knew they were SB dies until a thread on this subject came up. I went out to the shop and looked at my die sets and it turns out I had 2 small base die sets. When I bought them, I just grabbed the RCBS dies that said .223 rem and didnt even notice it said "s.b" on it. Im not one for overworking brass, but I really havent noticed the die set doing that either. I do know that out of all the AR's I load for, all the ammo always chambers without any issues. I like 100% reliable ammo and it also still shoots accurately. Im not saying you need a small base die set, but from what ive experienced, they work just fine.

I did have an issue the first time I tried to fire reloads out of my first AR. I picked up the RCBS small base die set and never looked back. I use a lot of range pick up brass so the SB die gives me peace of mind. I am now loading for 2 ARs in 223/5.56 as well as two bolt actions, a single shot Ruger #3 and a TC Encore. I do have a regular die set on back order for the brass that I have previously fired, so the SB die will only get used for range pick up brass. I do have several firings on some of my brass and no signs of overworking yet.

I had an issue with 308 reloads between an older 308 and a newer one. I have a SB die for 308 and had to resize all my prepped brass with that die to get it back to specs so the newer 308 would chamber the rounds. I should not need that 308 SB die anymore, but it served a job and saved me a bunch of brass.