.223 setup for Lee Loadmaster

[IrishPirate]

I'm pretty sure .223 is the next round i'm going to start loading, but when i looked online for dies and accessories for my Lee Loadmaster I got kinda lost. Currently i have a setup for .45acp, but the .223 setup seems to be pretty different. I noticed there's no deprimer/decapper die, and no powder-through expander die options for .223.....can anyone tell me what kind of setup i'm going to need to load .223 with my Lee Loadmaster?? (and thanks in advance for not telling me to sell the Lee and get a Dillon or RCBS setup...)

[bearing01]

First off, go here:

http://www.loadmastervideos.com/

and check out:

http://forums.loadmastervideos.com/forums/index.php

What I put in my turret:
Location #1 = Lee resizing die with decapper pin in place. If you already have your brass resized, decapped, and trimmed (which you should) then technically you don't need a die in this place and you can leave it empty (or instead use the die in position #2). I like to resize once again so the decapping pin will wipe out any wax / grease that may be inside the case mouth that could otherwise cause powder to stick and hang up.

Location #2 = Lee resizing die with decapper pin removed. This location is for priming and the die (with decapper removed) is for making sure the brass is centered over the primer properly. I have found the LM to be problematic with small primers otherwise. I own two Lee .223 pacesetter die sets so I just use the resizer from my 2nd set.

Location #3 = Lee Universal Charge die. I use this die to drive the Lee perfect powder measure at location #3. If I use the double disk kit and pro auto-disk then I instead use the Lee rifle charging die. I prefer the perfect poweder measure for 223.

Location #4 = Lee bulled seater die.

Location #5 = Lee factory crimp die.

Get the pacesetter dies since you will want to do full case resizing if it's for an autoloader like an AR-15. It comes with the factory crimp die. It does not have a powder feed die.

Just to note, the Lee rifle case feeder for 223 doesn't work that well right out of the box. Here's a modification you can do to the case slider to get it to feed better.

http://forums.loadmastervideos.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=631&highlight=

[IrishPirate]

cool, thanks...i'll come back if i need more help

[IrishPirate]

Will the perfect powder measure and powder through die i have for my .45 setup work for the .223 also?

[bearing01]

Will the perfect powder measure and powder through die i have for my .45 setup work for the .223 also?

The perfect powder measure is the one with the hand crank on it that most people bench mount. To use it on a progressive press you need the Lee universal charging die to drive/actuate it (the powder through die that came with the 45ACP die set won't drive it) and this universal die comes with extra collet / spacers to use for either short or long cases. If you have the universal charging die then you should have those spacers and, yes, that will work with 223 Remington.

If you have the Lee auto-disk powder measure (the one with the disks), that powder measure is driven by the powder through / case mouth expander die that came with your 45ACP die set. To use the auto-disk with 223 Rem you will need the double disk kit add-on to deliver enough powder for the larger rifle case. The Lee 223 Rem die set does not come with a powder through die. Case mouth expansion is done with the resizing/decapping die. If you didn't receive the Lee rifle charging die when you bought your press kit (I got one with my Lee Classic Turret pree kit) then you will need to buy one in order for the 223 Rem case to drive/actuate the auto-disk powder measure.