.223/.556 Nato "small base" dies or not?

[PJM]

Son just purchased a Sig tactical ar platform rifle which I will probably reload for. Are these small base dies necessary for this .556 NATO chambered rifle? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Vaquero]

Not sure what small base dies are.
I just have a regular 2 die set from Lyman.
And I have a RCBS universal decapping die just so I can deprim without sizing before I throw them in a tumbler.

RP

[PJM]

they are designed for tactical and other semi autos which rely on a slide spring to extract and seat the next round. Not needed for bolt actions as the closing of the bolt is enough to "resize" the base. The small base dies resize the whole case to the rim which normal resizing dies don't. They essentially restore the brass to originally manufactured dimensions. They make chambering and extraction supposedly easier and less likely to jam. The downside is they reduce brass life.This is especially an issue on a tactical rifle on full auto where proper cycling is important. That would not be an issue for most shooters as there are not too many legal full-auto tacticals in civilian hands.

[Vaquero]

Well then you may have answered your own question.
If you don't already have a set of 223/556 dies, then I guess unless they are extremely expensive.
Why not?
I have a bolt gun and two AR's and the Lyman's have worked for me.
But No full autos.

RP

[PJM]

My concern was more about case life as if they reduced it greatly it may be just as well to buy new rounds versus reloading and also dealing with crimped primer pockets. He just bought 500 rounds of hornady frontier rounds for $300.

[Vaquero]

My problem is that I don't want to be dependent on the factory stuff.
Right now I'd be afraid to guess, but I'm sure I have in excess 5-6 thousand .224 bullets, nearly 1000 primed pieces of brass, and
another 5k of small rifle primers.
As we can see right now, besides with a little time I can generally make more accurate ammo than I can buy.

RP

[Hatchdog]

I’ve loaded .223 with standard FL dies and used it across three different AR’s and a Mini 14 and I have never had a problem. If your AR has a .556 or a Wilde chamber you shouldn’t need to use small base dies. If the AR has a .223 only chamber, particularly if it’s a match chamber then maybe. All my AR’s have a .556 chamber as does the Mini 14.

[John E Davies]

dealing with crimped primer pockets.

That isn’t a big deal at all unless you are really short of time.

John Davies
Spokane WA

[wingnut]

Sometimes a small base die is required for mil surplus brass that was fired in a full auto only weapon. I have a Henry Long Ranger in 308 that requires small base for all reloads. So YMMV.

For crimp removal- get a cutter that has depth control and can be chucked in your favorite hand drill, feed a case with a gloved hand:

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1165253550?pid=617234

[PJM]

Thanks for info!