RELOADING .223 (Video Tutorial)

[RaymondMillbrae]

OK, Folks,

I just have two words..."Thank You"!

Thanks for all the advice and help yall have given me when advice was needed. (Some was good, and some were immediately discarded).

Thanks to the fellow shooters who have embraced me on the range and local matches, and have given me the right hand of fellowship.

If you look down at my signature, you will see that tutorials are a way I am giving back to the shooting community - and this video series will be a new way for me to do so.

It seems kind of weird to hear myself talk, but that pales in comparison TO SEEING MYSELF on video.

Anyhoo...here is a little something to help some of yall with your never-ending questions on reloading for the venerable .223/5.56 cartridge.

The tutorial videos are free on YouTube. But if yall want to watch them on TV (highly recommended), contribute to a great California website, and help a fellow shooter with reloading funds...they are also available for sale in DVD format for $20.00. (I look like a super-star on a 56" inch flat screen)! The DVD is nice, as you can sit and watch it at your leisure on TV, and get away from your PC for a while. It also gives you the option of "choosing your scenes". (Just like a regular DVD movie).

Did I mention that 40% of the proceeds will go to Calguns?! Watch the INTRO video.

This is my very first video series, and it is totally spontaneous...so follow my train of thought, and don't be so hooked on my words.

Enjoy the videos!

In Christ: Raymond

PS: Moderator, contact me via PM to figure-out how to get the monies to yall.

PSS: Out of courtesy, I have contacted a few of the manufacturers telling them I am using their products in this tutorial. If you purchase something from them, just slip-in a little mention that yall saw/heard about their product on this website.

[RaymondMillbrae]

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[RaymondMillbrae]

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[anyracoon]

Raymond
Great Job! I've been a long time Dillon 650 user and I've picked up several new tips, refreshed some ideas/tips plus see that I have been doing some of your tips/ideas also. Thanks again for your time & effort.

[hoffman259]

Nice job! I am getting everything together in order to start reloading .223. This is going to help me a lot even though I am using a 550.

This should become a sticky.

[joelogic]

Great work. A lot of video to work through. I have finished about half of them. I love the PVC coupler. I have been just duck tapping the vacuum hose to the blue thing. But now I am going to rig up something cool and I will post a pic. The lubing by hand seems too dirty, maybe add in a segment with spray lube as an alternative. I put 4 full scoops of akro bins worth of brass into a box, give it 8-10 pumps of Dillon's spray lube and shake vigorously. You can borrow one of my sprays.

Edit: For the trimmer hose hookup I believe you said 3/4". So I went and bought it but the outside diameter of the blue thing is actually 1 1/4". So back to home depot I go in the morning.

[RaymondMillbrae]

First-off...I want to say, "Thanks, guys".

If I have helped ONE PERSON, that is cool with me.

Secondly...I'm soooooooooooooo sorry about that, Joe!

I feel bad having even one person wasting gas and time on an unnecessary trip for the wrong-sized part.

I was totally winging-it, and going by memory when I stated the PVC coupler size. (I knew it had the word "quarter" in it. But I didn't know it was one and one quarter inch, and NOT three quarter inch)

I owe you a DVD, brother.

Thanks for the correction. (I have made the correction on the YouTube videos, as well as on the DVD's).

In Christ: Raymond

[joelogic]

Edit: Raymond, you can tell I am not a builder. I bought the wrong part again. The part needed is 1 1/4" OD but I bought 1 1/4" ID. I am not going back to HD so I will just use a piece of pipe (Which fits onto the blue thing) into a 90 degree elbow. If its too bulky I will exchange it otherwise two trips is my limit. Someone else can figure out which piece is the correct piece.


No worries, I cant believe I didnt think of running some tubing before. What I was doing before was ridiculous. I like the floating die and toolhead mod, I will have to try those out next.

[hoffman259]

No worries, I cant believe I didnt think of running some tubing before. What I was doing before was ridiculous. I like the floating die and toolhead mod, I will have to try those out next.

I am going to be checking out the toolhead mod as well. I was reading Randall's post about installing 2 other dies and bringing them down hard against the shellplate, but Really like the idea of this mod. Raymond do you have a link to the parts for that mod? If not I'm pretty sure I can do it without buying the kit.

[RaymondMillbrae]

Hoffman259,

I will attach links to the "Unique-Tek Toolhead Clamp Kit," and the "Whiddon Gunworks Toolhead" below.


UNIQUE-TEK TOOLHEAD CLAMP KIT
WHIDDEN GUNWORKS TOOLHEAD (From Unique-Tek)
WHIDDEN GUNWORKS TOOLHEAD (From Whidden)


Unique-Tek is now selling the Whiddon Gunwork toolheads, so you can knock-out two birds with one stone if you wish. (But I personally like to patronize the original manufacturer if possible).

If you should contact Whidden Gunworks directly (John Whidden), ask him about ONLY selling you the nuts if they have them in stock. This way you can drill and install a roll pin on all your existing toolheads, fasten the nuts to the dies, and make them "sizing floater dies". (That's what I did).

The only Whiddon toolhead I have is for my rifle dies. I don't really need all that extreme accuracy for my pistol dies. And on top of that (speaking of the floating bullet seating dies), I use hollow points and semi-wad cutter bullets for my pistols- so they get seated pretty concentrically anyways. But all my toolheads have a Whidden floater die for the sizing die.

And if you do purchase any of the above items, make sure to mention that you saw their products here on Calguns.net.

In Christ: Raymond

[damilfman]

All i can say is WOW. Raymond you did a helluva job putting together all those vids. I'm appreciative and thankful for your work. You're an asset to the forum.

[freonr22]

On phone. Tag

[RaymondMillbrae]

Edit: Raymond, you can tell I am not a builder. I bought the wrong part again. The part needed is 1 1/4" OD but I bought 1 1/4" ID. I am not going back to HD so I will just use a piece of pipe (Which fits onto the blue thing) into a 90 degree elbow. If its too bulky I will exchange it otherwise two trips is my limit. Someone else can figure out which piece is the correct piece.

Ha ha ha!

Sorry to hear that, Joe.

What I did was take the blue Dillon piece with me, and made sure the PVC coupler would fit.

Either way, I have a DVD set aside for you.

In Christ: Raymond

[damilfman]

Raymond I thought tumbling a completed round, to remove the sizing lube, is not a good thing. Wouldn't it change the burn rate or the characteristic of the powder???

[RaymondMillbrae]

If you are talking about tumbling completed PISTOL rounds for 20 to 30 minutes...nope.

I was also in those camps - thinking that tumbling completed rounds would break down the powder, hence changing it's burn characteristics. But there have been a few folks who have experimented with this theory. They left the rounds tumbling for hours, and even for a few days, and then chronographed them with non-tumbled rounds (sans lube) - and they were pretty much identicle.

So, "NO" it will not harm the powder if you tumble completed PISTOL rounds for 20 minutes to remove the lube.

But if you are talking abour RIFLE brass...well...it is not charged when the lube needs to be removed.

In Christ: Raymond