I'm new to reloading and would like a recommendation for dies for 223.

Thanks

I use Lee dies for my reloading gear.

Any of them will work. If you plan on loading precision rounds I would suggest going with  Redding or Forster inline competition dies.

I have Hornady .223 dies. I only bought Hornady brand because I bought there press too.

Other wise all the brands work great.

Over the years I have upgraded to Redding dies.
I particularly like the Competition Seaters.

Looking back, I would have saved $$ by getting the best dies first. That way I would not have a box full of fully-functional dies that I don't use.

My recommendations -

Redding Type S FL sizing die with a TiN coated bushing

Redding (or Forster) competition seating die

No crimp die is needed but the Lee Factory Crimp Die is decent if you think you have to have one.

I've used Lee, CH4D, Hornady, RCBS, Lyman, and Redding.

Lee:  Cheap ass crappy dies that work, sort of.  I will only use Lee for really occasional use loads.  Example:  Father in Law had 35 Rem, and I'd load 1 box shells/year for him.

CH4D:  a nearly $200 custom dies set for .310 Martini Cadet.  Quite possibly the single worst die set I've ever seen.

Lyman:  Seems pretty crude, with poor finish.

Hornady:  A decent set.  But they don't offer anything that RCBS cannot equal

RCBS:  Very good dies set, great materials.  World class customer service.  Definitely a good choice

Redding:  Just bought a .280 Ackley Improved premium set with micrometer seating.  Wow!  These are stellar!!!

I used Dillon. They are treated with the same no BS warranty. Others may have the same warranty, but I prefer Dillon.

I used Hornady, have the older one for .223



but newer ones have the zip spindle which is nice, keeps expander ball/rod from moving

For sizing the only set I've ever used are Lee, they simply just work.

For seating, that was another story. Lee seating dies work fine for fmj and sp's but I could never get it to seat deep enough with a tipped bullet, v-max, ballistic tip, etc.

A Hornady seating die solved that problem. If you'll be loading any tipped bullet I would recommend going with a full Hornady set.

 
I bought a Redding FL bushing die for my 6.5 Creedmoor that is extremely rough. Almost like it was never lapped.


That reminds me I need to send them an email and see how their warranty is.

This is exactly what I use and recommend.

I've got the Lee FCD too (and it works great), but I don't crimp rifle anymore.

Thanks for the information. Follow up question:

From experience, do the RCBS X-Dies really prevent from having to trim cases once the initial trim per the instructions has been made? Is it realistic to think that I won't be trimming brass after multiple reloads with the same casing?

Case stretching happens in the chamber upon firing. Cases will still stretch and still need trimming.

The X die uses a different crimp method that is less dependent upon case length, so the CRIMP will vary less with different case length.
The cases still get longer and will still need trimming when (not if) they get too long.

ETA:
I only recommend bushing dies with neck-turned cases.
Variations in case-neck thickness means that a neck sized to a uniform OUTSIDE diameter will have all of the variation moved to the inside of the neck.
Standard dies use a neck expander that creates a uniform inside diameter.

Measure the case neck thickness and you'll see that they are not very uniform. 0.005" variation in the same case is not at all unusual.
Variation between cases will effect neck tension on the bullet, which also effects accuracy.

Redding Bushing dies.  

You have the option to adjust your bushing size, with replaceable inserts, and skip the expander ball entirely - which is said to give more consistant neck tension and more precise loads.  But if you want the expander ball anyway, then it comes with one as well.  

When I'm done with the dies, I pull out the innards, hit with hot water from the sink, and dry out with a paper towel.  Absorbed heat causes any water film left to quickly evaporate away.  One day I forgot to dry them out.  I used both Hornady and Redding dies (I pop between one or the other depending - while working my way through a bucket of brass).   The Hornady Die (good dies too) was rusted the next day.  The Redding was not.

Or just use Lapua brass, you can expect +/-.0005" around the circumference IME. I have doubts any neck turner would do much better than +/- .0005".


To add, yes I think using Lapua brass or neck turning would be overkill for plinking  AR loads, just stating neck turn is not a requirement with quality brass.

Or get a gun with a 'tight' chamber and a die that has enough relief for ease of use to not size far enough down.

You do not need a small base die until you know you have a problem.

If not required it is wasted money and work.

I used nothing but Lee for the past 20 years and had no issues, and just recently switched to Forster in 223.  Using the full length sizer and the Ultra micrometer seater die.  So far I'm impressed with the Forster sizer have had no issues, and is a bit easier to setup and maintain.  But I'm really impressed with the Ultra Micrometer Seater Die.  Very little runout using this die compared to the Lee seater.  I'm still using the Lee crimp die.  As a startup you can't go wrong with the price of Lee though, and it'll get you where you need to go.

+1 i have had several ar's, m1's etc with no issues with standard FL dies.

For sizing I use a X-die.
Seating Is a Hornady
Crimp is a Lee FCD.

I like Hornady's dies, but I use a Hornady Lock n Load AP progressive press, and the die "deck" is a little thick, so their slightly longer dies work great.

I have Lee, RCBS, CH4D, Lyman and Hornady dies; all of them are well made, but some have nicer features than others.  Lee's rubber O ring lock rings aren't my favorite things, but their collet-retained depriming rods are great - so great that Hornady developed their "Zip Spindle" to do something like Lee's part.

One key thing to keep in mind is that ALL of the major die makers stand behind their dies 100%.  I've goobered up parts of RCBS dies and they've sent me parts FOR FREE, even though the issue was me being clumsy or stupid.  Hornady has done the same for me.  I haven't managed to break any other brands' parts, but I'm certain they'll all take care of me properly when it happens.

So you can decide which brand you want based on lots of things.  I'd go with a middle-of-the-road priced die set, like RCBS or Hornady (their regular, not "small base" dies) and go from there.  You should know that Lee's die sets usually come with a case holder, but nobody else includes that in their main product lines, though Hornady has a new line called their American Series that DOES come with a case holder, and is priced VERY competitively with Lee's dies.