Couple of things to address here. 1) The difference in the 5.56 and the .223 rem centers mostly around the throating of the rifles themselves, and the max pressures used by SAAMI and the NATO military ammo; a piece of fired brass can be reloaded without regard to which it originally was to begin with. As far as small base dies go, they're not generally required for ARs, but I'd recommend something like the Redding, which sizes down to minimum specs with their standard FL dies. Unless you actually see a problem, don't automatically assume that an AR needs a SB die. Semi autos kill brass quickly enough as it is, no sense in compounding the problem by excessive sizing if you don't have to. 2) Military 5.56 brass, at least that made by LC (our only US Army Ammo plant), has virtually the same capacity as commercial .223 brass, and in some cases even more. This caution got carried over from the military 30-06 and 7.62 NATO (308 Win) brass, which definately did have less capacity, and did need charges to be reduced compared to what their civilian counterparts would hold. Most LC brass of rcent years has gone 92 to 94 grains, or thereabouts. Compare it to Win, Rem or Fed and they're pretty much in line. You do not need to reduce loads for the .223/5.56mm military cases. 3) It sounds as though you're new to loading for the ARs? Tread slowly, for here thar be dragons. The ARs aren't nearly so bad as the M1 or M14 Service Rifles, but they do have their own share of quirks. Like it or not, they constitute "advanced handloading," as does any semi-auto. Powders must be selected carefully in regards to both bullet weights and port pressures. Primers become quite critical, and correct primer seating needs to be monitored very closely. Gages, from something as simple as Wilson's to as complex as the RCBS Precision Mic or the Redding Instant Indicator are virtually required for properly loading these guns. I'd strongly recommend that you hit Glen Zediker's books on reloading for the ARs, as well as those by John Feamster and Derrick Martin. All will give you some new insights into feeding the mouseguns properly. 4) Loading for friends . . . lotsa folks do it, I'm just not one of them. I won't load ammo for anyone, and there's very few people I'll let use my ammo. By the same token, the people whose handloads I'll shoot in my own guns can easily be counted on my fingers, with several to spare. Yes, I do still have all 10, and I intend to keep it that way. I'm more than willing to help anyone get into reloading, and will teach them anything I can. But I won't load ammo for them, and I don't want them loading it for me. I've seen too many guns blown up, slam fires, out of battery firings, handloader induced jams, etc., to be comfortable with this idea. In today's society, that's just too big a risk for me to casually assume; especially in a Servie Rifle. Your call here, that's just my take on it, for what it's worth. 5) You might take a peek over on usrifleteams.com for some info pertaining to reloading for Service Rifles, as there's several very good threads on this topic over there. After all, the AR's dominate the Service Rifel world today, and for good reason. Great rifles, all the way around.
Anyway, just a little food for thought, and I hope it helps.
Kevin Thomas
