Does anyone make carbide dies for the 223 ?

Are RCBS and Lee dies on par with each other or is one definitely a better die for 223 ?

I think Dillon has them.

still have to lube

Dillon makes carbide dies for 223. You do still have to lube, but I have never stuck a case with them. I have used Lee, RCBS, and Hornady. Regardless of the type of lube, I have stuck cases in each of these brands except Dillon.

They are over $152 per set.  I personally don't see any benefit that it would bring to loading rifle cartridges.  

 

Typically when talking carbide rifle dies its the expander ball that has a carbide ring. This should in theory reduce the amount of case neck stretch. Hornady makes one for the RCBS sizing die. Link to example.

They make carbide dies as well.  Again, they are meant for commercial quantity reloaders.  The carbide is used for wear resistance and you still have to lube the cases.

Thank you for the replies, they are too much for this cowboys budget

There are a number of good reasons to use carbide rifle dies.  The best one being its the last die in that caliber one will ever buy unless it gets lost.    I had a .223 case separate in a carbide die once.  I put it in the freezer then let it come  back up to room temp.  I used the appropriate tap to remove what was left of the case from the die.   It came out very easily.   One of my carbide .223 dies  has had over 290,000 case's though it.  I have yet to lose it once.  

lee dies are dam good for the money..there carbide...as a matter a fact...I will be the 1st to admitt that i prefer lee to rcbs. the lee decapper makes total sense as to not brk decapping pins.

i wish lee had small base dies though..they do have fl dies

Soooo do you still have to lube the brass when using carbide dies?  lolz

My lee FL die in 223 wouldn't set the shoulder back far enough to chamber or fit a case gauge. I really like their seating die and crimp die. i ended up getting a redding small base die for sizing. Their carbide pistol dies are great though.

what is a small base die ?

I accidentally purchased a carbide die from Dillon when I was new to reloading.  It has served me well.  I lube with lanolin and isoproply alcohol.

I have never heard of anyone with a carbide die complain that their die was scratching or galling  the brass. To clean a carbide die all I do is run a swab though it.

The Dillon carbide 223 and 308 dies are worth it.

I may have deep pockets for reloading tools, but their carbide 50 BMG resize die aint gonna happen.

Here's my take on that.  A carbide die will be FAR more forgiving of mistakes than a standard die will ever be.    Fact is a standard die will never last as long as a carbide one will.  Reason for this is simple.  Mistakes happen its a fact of life   and the reason I have a job.  

its a sizing die that sizing the brass about .002" smaller at the base.

Yes, the higher end die manufactures make carbide die's for .223, Redding & Dillon to name a couple, but you still MUST use lube, I suggest spray lube.  You cannot reload bottle neck cases with out lube, the carbide just makes it so that it resizes easier and doesn't grab the case neck on extraction causing it to pull the shoulder out of spec right after it was just resized!

As for RCBS vs Lee, there is no question RCBS are better dies, however RCBS & Hornady die's are at the lower spectrum of quality dies.

Lee, well they are in a class of their own.. They are CHEAP, that's about all I have to say about them,  do they work?  Sure, but they arn't going to be consistant like higher quality dies, they arn't going to be as well made, etc.  You can take a Lee sizing die and a RCBS resizing die and the RCBS weighs about 2x what the Lee die weighs..

I know there are Lee lovers that will come on and try to convince you how wonderfull Lee die's are,  I've had them, I've sold them, and I'll never buy them again..  But if you want to find out the hard way, you are welcome to try them out..

Oh and when someone tells you how great the Lee die's are, ask them how old the Lee die's are that they are using, because many people here that LOVE Lee die's have some that are 20-30+ years old, needless to say they were made better back then,  the dies they make today are  like many products made today vs 20-30 years ago, they are junk..

-Masta

You're just scared my Lee dies will come over and beat your Redding and RCBS dies up.

Just gotta shake my head and smile.

Carbide dies are what I bought'em for. Large volume runs.


Not high volume commercial reloading.

Didn't buy'em cause my Lee dies are inferior.

Have never worn out a die of any make.

Running a couple thousand pieces of .223 through carbide sizer die, then trim with RT1200 and finish with M die is almost a pleasure now. Dies mounted on 650 tool head with trim die set to length, not size as a matter of PREFERENCE.

OP, no you don't need carbide. Yes, I have to lube before sizing, yes they were well worth my money spent. Size on ANY brand .223 die, then size with Dillon carbide.

The differences will be noticable. Especially when sizing and trimming a few thousand in 2.5hr setting.

Just to be straight..  Lee's pistol Carbide dies work fine.. But resizing straight wall pistol brass isn't a hard task.. Unlike bottleneck brass which does need precision and higher quality dies..

-Masta