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.223 Loading Questions?

So far, I have found crimps in 556 military, 308 military, some W-W 35 remington and recently found some CBC 10mm that was crimped. Sometimes you can seat a primer without removing a crimp, but it takes more force, may damage the primer and could possibly be dangerous. Removing the crimp is definitely a good idea.

Rosewood
 
Wow,
This forum is a wealth of knowledge!

Let me digest the responses and reply in depth...

I should say that right now .223 is cheap enough I won't be loading any volume.
I just want to have my act together in case I ever need the skill set or want to load some up.

Besides, reloading is FUN and Rewarding.

Can you visually see the crimp if you look closely?

Is it usually a complete ring or lock tabs on parts of the pocket circle?

The main thing is to load up on primers and powder.

When another panic hits, those things will disappear like crazy.

If you are planning to shoot an AR, you should get the CCI #41. If you want to see why, just chamber a round and remove it without firing. You will note a dimple on the primer. That comes from the firing pin slapping it during the chambering process. Those #41s are mil spec, and made thick enough to handle that pin slap.

Some folks will disagree, but in my opinion, it’s smart to be safe. It’s not hard to imagine how a slightly improperly seated normal primer could cause a discharge.

Besides, the good (#41s) are not much more expensive. Maybe 4 or 5 busk per thousand where I buy mine.
 
It's not only volume that I reload for. For me it's accuracy and the consistency that goes with it. I weigh out all the projectiles and put them into two piles according to weight. Then I measure every powder throw to get the best grouping I can out of that particular load. Once you have found that sweet load for the barrel you are testing then it's really the only way to see just how accurate that barrel is.
 
I use a Primer pocket reamer mounted on the RCBS trimmer
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any of the automated primer crimp removers are the way to go if you plan to reload more than a hundred or so crimped primer rounds. I have the Frankfort one with some modifications (RCBS and other brand cutters) and it's solid. I also have the bench mounted RCBS that's kind of like the Dillon bench mounted swager. You need to decide if you want to swage out the crimp (push the metal around) or cut it out (remove material). or both.

The biggest thing IMHO if you plan to do anything with crimped primers is to get a go/no go gauge to tell if you are actually doing it right.

https://ballistictools.com/store/swage-gage-small-primer-pocket

this will tell you if it's crimped, and also if you have removed it to SAAMI specs so you can set up your tools properly and know the amount of force you need, etc.
 
as for powder you could probably use 4064 but that's more of a 308 powder. I'd get something specific or better suited to 223. Do you plan to shoot heavier bullets (77gr), lighter bullets with the proper twist (45-55gr w/ 1:12-1:9) or mil spec (55gr-62gr). Each will have an appropriate powder that might be best. I've been shooting more with Ramshot TAC, Varget, AR-Comp with 55-77gr bullets.
 
Like said before you need to decide if you want to cut it or squeeze it out. I tried the less expensive ones and was not happy.
Years ago I purchased a Dillon 600 super swage never looked back. Use it one time and your done, yea you still need to clean your cases, I wet tumble, dry and load. Just my thoughts.
 
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