So I want to load 556 on a Lee Turret...

W

WVsig

New member
I have a Lee Turret and have been loading pistol for about 10 months now. I am confident with my ability to produce pistol rounds. 9mm, 45 ACP and 38 Spl.

I am not considering moving up to reloading for my AR15. I know 556 is not the most cost effective round to reload but it is what I shoot the most.

From what I understand I need a case trimmer, case lube, additional turret & die set.

What else am I missing? Also what powder do people recommend. I have been using HP-38 for my pistol rounds.

My understanding is that on a Lee Classic the process is as follows:

My steps are;
1. lube, deprime/full case resize
2. neck resize
3. wipe cases down with a clean dry cloth
4. clean primer pocket
5. resize/chamfer (Need Recommendation on Resizer)
6. clean while on the trimmer
7. prime
8. powder Charge
9. seat the bullet
10. crimp the bullet
11. Done!

Any and all help is appreciated. Also what is the approx. cost per round for reloading free once fired brass in 556? I can buy decent 556 at about $.32 a round so I am looking for what my relative savings will be.
 
First, determine if you want to load 556 or 223. Big difference.

No need to both full length resize and neck resize. Skip the neck resizing.

I clean first, then lube, resize and deprive, then clean again (to get the lube off). Then measure length (trim if necessary), chamfer, prime, charge, seat bullet, and shoot!

I don't crimp, and can't see a difference in accuracy when I do vs don't. I also use my Classic Turret to load 223, while my Loadmaster (aka best deal in progressive reloading) is reserved for pistol.
 
Welcome to a new challenge. I moved into 2.23/5.56 earlier this year and I too have a 3 hole turret press from Lee plus their 4 die deluxe set. A few words of caution; rifle is a different animal. You don't turn and burn as you do with pistol. Be prepared for a longer, patient process. The de-capping effort should be handled slowly and deliberately, otherwise you are going to break a lot of pins. Lee dies are outstanding but I take issue with their decapping/resizing die for 2.23. I broke enough de-capping pins to finally revert to a Lyman Universal Decapping die. It was worth every penny and haven't had any issues since purchase.

With regards to primer pockets, another step is "reaming" the pocket. You are going to encounter crimped pockets. The giveaway is a red or green colored ring around the primer (usually). Lyman makes an inexpensive hand-held tool which you can unscrew the head from the handle and place it in to an electronic drill. The drill beats the manual process. Beware of Berden brass, grey in color. I'm sure you've seen it in pistol, you'll see it in rifle as well. Try to de-prime this brass and you'll break a de-capping pin.

With regards to StripesDudes' comment regarding re-sizing, what he failed to mention is the fact that you must retrieve the brass you shot, because only that brass now fits your chamber precisely. If you pick up range brass and don't know if it's yours or you are simply gathering inventory, resize it! You will require a "Case Length Gage." They aren't expensive but very important. I expect you are doing a plunk test with your pistol barrels, which is the last step of your loading process. You don't have the luxury of that step with rifle, rather you must test the fit of your brass with the Case Length Gage. This tells you if your shoulder is set back properly. From there you move on to length trimming.

Lee makes an excellent, inexpensive product, "Deluxe Quick Trim Case Trimmer." You also need a die to go along with this tool, fits into your press.

I would recommend a case cleaning device to get rid of the case lube and other residue. Any lube that gets inside your case is going to cause issues when you drop power. You have to get rid of anything that was/is inside the case. A vibrating cleaner will do that job for you. (Others use liquid cleaning machines, either way, just clean the inside of your cases).

You do not need to crimp your round. You'll hear many opinions on this matter and should do a search on the subject. I took the advice of a USN competition shooter who advised that the neck tension is sufficient to hold a bullet, very similar to a 9mm scenario. (I just lit a firestorm, can hardly wait for the critiques). I haven't crimped a single round and have not had any issues thus far.

Here is my personal process;
1. Examine brass brought home from the range, discarding flawed cases
2. Lube/deprime/resize
3. Check cases in the Case Length Gage, adjust die if necessary, re-size again if necessary
4. Measure case size and trim accordingly (the Lee tool chamfers too)
5. Ream primer pockets
6. Into the vibrating cleaner for 2 1/2 hour minimum scrub (walnut media)
7. Examine brass, discard flawed cases
8. Store for future use
9. Loading: inspect cases, prime, powder, seat, measure length and adjust accordingly

I expect you own a loading manual or two. You should walk through the rifle section again, just for familiarity, then start looking at the data. Everyone has their own powder preferences. I look at the bullet grain and powder burn charts to determine what powder I want to load with. You can search this subject on the board as well, plenty of opinions to be had.

Good luck. Be careful and take your time.
 
I no longer shoot or load 223 (or 556 for that matter). However, loading any bottleneck case is largely the same.

For lube I use Lee's toothpaste tube stuff, poured in a Walmart atomizer and mixed 6 to 1 with Iso (6 parts Iso to 1 part lube) alcohol. Get a gallon ziplock from the kitchen, squirt 3 to 6 squirts of lube in the bag, toss in a few cases, roll around between fingers, and empty on a suitable surface to dry. The neat thing about this method is that a little bit of lube gets inside the case mouth to ease expander ball passage, and the dry nature of the lube is such that powder doesn't stick to it when you charge the cases.

Then...

1) Full length resize/decap.
2) Trim every case, every time, with WFT trimmer.
3) Swage primer pockets of .mil brass on Dillon Super Swage.
4) Use Lyman "M" die if I'm loading flat based bullets to flare the case mouth a little bit. This saves the "chamfer/deburr" step, which I find to be my least favorite step.
5) Prime cases using favorite method.
6) Charge with powder.
7) Seat bullet (and crimp if you choose to do so).
8) Wipe off case with rag moistened with mineral spirits. (This step optional with the Lee lube as you can shoot them without removing the lube if you so choose, per Lee instructions... it doesn't attract dirt or dust or particles).
9) Box 'em up
10) Shoot 'em.
 
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Reloading costs/savings

There are many, many calculators on the internet. Find them by searching "Reloadng Cost Calculators" or any words to that effect. Here is one:

http://ultimatereloader.com/tools/reloading-costs-calculator/

some are easier to use than others and some let you enter your figures in different batch sizes, but all I have found are accurate.

I made one that even lets you input the startup costs and amortize them along with (if you so desire) your own training time and time at the loading bench. I caught a lot of grief about monetizing my hobby time. But calculating worth is one thing I enjoy doing - hobby, sort of. So I ignore my critics

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=663065

Thanks for asking our advice.

Here is my advice: Don't worry about the savings. Once you do it for a while, you will probably find you enjoy crafting better ammo than you can buy, with the accompanying satisfaction of greater independence from the retail supply lines other shooters are enslaved by.

Lost Sheep
 
WVsig said:
Want to load 556.
Click to expand...

There is no difference between a 223 and a 5.56 handload.

You will not find 5.56 dies, only 223 dies.

You will not find 5.56 load data, only 223 data.

(EXCEPT, for some 5.56 62K psi load data from Western Powders. According to our Moderator Unclenick, this data is in error and should be avoided as pressures are to high)

Bullets are the same.

Brass is the same.

Dimensions are the same.

The only difference will be the primer crimp. Most if not all factory 5.56 ammo has a crimped primer. This must be removed before a new primer can be seated. Once it is remove, your 5.56 brass will be the same as your 223 brass.

What manuals do you have?
 
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I use a Lee Classic Turret.

I process my rifle brass in large batches independent of any other step. Then on the press for prime, charge, seat and crimp.
 
So looking at equipment... Roughly $179 give or take where I get it.

RCBS Case trimmer http://www.midwayusa.com/product/817007/rcbs-trim-pro-2-manual-case-trimmer-kit or

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/435802/lyman-universal-carbide-case-trimmer-kit-with-9-pilots

Lee Ultimate 4 die set 223 http://www.midwayusa.com/product/628930/lee-ultimate-4-die-set-223-remington

RCBS Primer pocket swagger http://www.midwayusa.com/product/235832/rcbs-primer-pocket-swager-combo-2

What else am I missing? Other equipment that would work better? I am not married to any of these items but they seemed to have decent reviews and are not too expensive.

I would also add an additional turret for the press and pick up a new Lee Drum powder measure. So maybe another $75.

I have Lee, Lyman and Speer manuals. I also have the ABCs of Reloading so I have enough materials to understand the process. I took my time with the pistol so I will take my time with this too.

I am thinking about using H335 other powder suggestions welcome.
 
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First, determine if you want to load 556 or 223. Big difference.
Click to expand...
please explain...i did not determine this first and still haven't. i decided to load my ar15 with the available data and dies that i could find.

i say get your dies and get your hands dirty, you'll find quickly that it is not that daunting to load rifle vs pistol. i have went through some lubes before picking my favorite, being the Lyman aerosol case lube. I use Lee Dies with FCD, which i choose to use most of the time unless playing with shooting groups. i use a countersink to remove the crimp from the primer on once fired brass, this is something you'll have to personally decide on, whether you are okay with cutting the crimp out, or you find swaging the pocket is the proper way. determine you rifle twist and best shooting factory ammo weight to give you a starting point for accurate ammo, the bullet weight may also determine the powders which will be the most appropriate.

do you plan to neck size for an AR15? i think you only need the 3 die set.

i use a counter-sink bit and a powered hand drill for primer crimps, it's very easy and i have yet to come across an associated problem in the last 3 years and 10k pieces of once fired brass. it'll look like this, and a countersink is practically free. try to find the flattest angled one you can, i think i use this one, but i just looked for the lowest angle, they all work fine.http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay...gId=10051&cmRelshp=rel&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1
 
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The RCBS case trimmer and the Lee Case Length Gage do the same thing. They trim the case to the proper length.

I used the Lee system for years and then migrated to the Lyman EZ Trim. I like the Lyman better.
 
The RCBS case trimmer and the Lee Case Length Gage do the same thing. They trim the case to the proper length.

I used the Lee system for years and then migrated to the Lyman EZ Trim. I like the Lyman better.
Click to expand...

Ok I thought it might be the case.
 
Ok I thought it might be the case.
Click to expand...

No matter what case trimmer you get, getting one that does trimming, chamfer and deburr cuts in one step - it will save you a TON of time. There are a few options out there that do this.

If you have the RCBS TrimPro you can add the three way cutter head, and chuck the spindle in a drill and that is really fast and not hugely expensive.

If you get the three way cutter, you do not need any of the pilots, each trimmer is caliber specific.

There is limited 5.56 load data available. Ramshot lists loads for TAC for sure and maybe other powders. TAC is temperature sensitive though, if you develop in cold temps and shoot that load in hot temps, you could run into trouble. So be careful when walking the 5.56 ground. TAC is not a great choice for lighter bullets though.

What length is your barrel, are you planning on precision shooting?
 
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